A recent study published in the journal Social Indicators Research has identified significant long-term effects of streaming in primary schools on adult civic participation. The study by Francesco Bartolucci, Donata Favaro, Fulvia Pennoni, and Dario Sciulli explores the effects of ability grouping on people’s civic engagement over the course of their adult lives. Using data from the British National Child Development Study (NCDS), the researchers applied a causal hidden Markov model to trace these effects over time.
The NCDS follows the lives of 18,558 individuals born in the UK during a single week in March 1958. The dataset is comprehensive, covering various aspects of participants’ lives, including education, health, behaviour, and socio-economic conditions. Specifically, the study focused on six binary variables observed when the participants were 33, 42, and 51 years old to measure civic participation, which included voting in general elections and membership in organisations such as political parties, environmental and charity groups, women’s groups, and tenant associations.
The study found that streaming based on ability levels significantly impacts civic participation in adulthood. High-ability individuals who were placed in high-ability groups during their school years showed a higher likelihood of participating in civic activities, particularly in voting. Conversely, individuals in low-ability groups were less likely to engage in such activities.
When participants were 33 years old, those from high-ability classes were more likely to vote compared to their non-streamed peers. However, the influence of streaming diminished over time, and by the ages of 42 and 51, the study did not find significant differences in civic participation between streamed and non-streamed individuals.
The implications of these findings are profound, considering the renewed interest in streaming practices worldwide. While comprehensive school reforms in the 1970s reduced or postponed streaming, its resurgence in recent decades makes this study particularly relevant. Streaming, according to the research, contributes to the development of an individual’s general self-concept, which in turn influences their civic engagement.
The study’s authors argue that high-ability students benefit from a positive self-concept developed through their placement in high-ability groups. This enhanced self-concept encourages greater civic participation. On the other hand, low-ability students might suffer from a negative self-concept, leading to lower levels of civic engagement.
To ensure robust results, the researchers employed a weighted maximum-likelihood estimation method, considering pretreatment covariates such as socio-demographic characteristics and school performance. They also accounted for missing responses under the missing-at-random assumption. The flexibility of their approach allows for generalisation to more recent cohorts, despite the original data focusing on individuals born in 1958.
The study’s findings suggest that while streaming can boost civic engagement among high-ability students, it may also exacerbate disparities in civic participation. This polarisation calls for a critical evaluation of streaming practices in educational policies. The authors highlight the need for educational reforms that consider the long-term social implications of ability grouping.
