Different settings, different choosers? Applying Ball’s framework on the case of second‐generation Turks

Abstract

This article examines the applicability of Ball’s categorisation of ethnic minority students as contingent and embedded choosers in the context of higher education choice. Considering the role of the selective school system in shaping the educational careers of the children of Turkish immigrants in the Netherlands the study uses case studies to illustrate the interplay of social class background with the educational structure. The cases of educationally successful second‐generation Turks interviewed in the city of Amsterdam clearly illustrate the significance of early tracking in regulating the educational outcomes of pupils of immigrant origin, thus determining their chances for educational advancement and social mobility.

Keywords:

• higher education choice
• tracking
• social mobility
• second‐generation Turks
• Netherlands

Acknowledgements

My thanks go to Nergiz S. Daldal for providing research assistance during the early days of the project; to Elif Keskiner for the endless hours spent by discussing the research; and to Paul Wakeling for his constant support before, during and after the project. I would also like to thank to the anonymous reviewers for their insightful comments, which were very much appreciated. Nevertheless, I am most indebted to the young women and men who agreed to participate in my research and spoke openly about their educational experiences. Without their contributions this research wouldn’t have been possible. The research has received funding from the European Research Council under the European Community’s Sixth Framework Programme.

Notes

1. The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is the name of an academic qualification awarded in specified subjects taken by students aged 15–16 in secondary education in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

2. ‘Cold’ knowledge represents ‘official information’ and refers to the usage of prospectuses, guides, league tables and websites in the HE choice process. In turn, ‘hot knowledge’ represents the ‘word of mouth’ referring to personal recommendations from family and friends but also from cousins, neighbours, people at bus stops (Reay, David, and Ball 2005).

3. The Integration of the European Second Generation (TIES) is a large‐scale survey of second generation Turks, Moroccans and ex‐Yugoslavs across eight European countries including the Netherlands (see www.TIESproject.eu).

4. The father, although teacher by training in Turkey, had been unable to secure employment of the same level in the Netherlands. After attending a technical school and learning the Dutch language he held some odd jobs before getting his current position as a receptionist. In spite of the mismatch between his education and job situation he clearly takes an active part in his daughter’s life and supports her in a way characteristic for the middle classes.

5. The existence of gender differences is supported by recent survey results on the Turkish second generation (TIES), pointing at females being more likely to receive lower school advice than their male peers at the end of primary schooling and leading to a growing enrolment of girls into the least selective secondary school tracks. Given that university education is not directly accessible from the mentioned school levels, females become underrepresented at universities (see Crul and Heering 2008; Crul et al. 2009).

6. The tripartite system of the UK (consisting of grammar school, secondary technical and secondary modern) – based on the 11‐plus exam – was progressively replaced by a ‘comprehensive’ system in the seventies.