Teaching and Teacher Education 54 (2016) 117e127

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Teaching and Teacher Education

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/tate

Teachers' beliefs about students, and the intention of students to drop

out of secondary education in Flanders
Mieke Van Houtte*, Jannick Demanet
Ghent University, Department of Sociology, CuDOS, Korte Meer 5, 9000 Gent, Belgium

h i g h l i g h t s

We examined the teachers' role in students' intention to dropout from high school.

We related teachers' beliefs about students to students' intentions to quit school.

Being enrolled in vocational education heightened the risk of planning to quit.

Teachers' beliefs impacted dropout plans, beyond students' perceived teacher support.

Particularly in vocational education, teachers' beliefs played an important role.

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Students dropping out of education with no qualifications has been an important problem in the West for
Received 13 April 2015 decades. Little relevant research has concentrated on school characteristics, and research into the role
Received in revised form teachers might play in students' decision to quit school is particularly scarce. Using multilevel analyses of
3 December 2015
data for 11,844 students in 84 Flemish secondary schools, we investigate whether teachers' shared ex-
Accepted 14 December 2015
Available online 22 December 2015
pectations of students are associated with students' intention to drop out. Particularly in vocational
education, teachers' beliefs about the teachability of students influence the students' intention to quit,
irrespective of perceived teacher support and students' sense of futility.
Keywords:
Dropout
© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Teacher beliefs
Vocational education
Teacher expectations

1. Introduction research has concentrated on school characteristics (Luyten et al.,

2003), and research into the role teachers might play in students'
Students dropping out of education with no qualifications has decision to quit school is particularly scarce. However, some studies
been an important problem in the West for decades (Lamb, have associated dropout with students' own reports on the quality
Markussen, Teese, Sandberg, & Polesel, 2011). In Flanders, on of teachers (Rumberger & Thomas, 2000), on teachers' relation-
average 10%e15% (even higher in the cities) of students in sec- ships with students, and on students' perceived teacher support
ondary education leave school prematurely, and without any (Croninger & Lee, 2001; Lee & Burkam, 2003). Perceptions might,
educational qualifications (Van Landeghem, De Fraine, Gielen, & however, be shaped after students have left school (see Worrell &
Van Damme, 2013). Predictors of student attrition have been Hale, 2001). Moreover, negative feelings about school might bias
studied intensively, but most existing research has focused on in- students' views about their teachers, and accordingly might not
dividual student characteristics, specifically sociodemographic and inform us about the actual role of teachers in the dropout process
academic risk factors (De Witte, Cabus, Thyssen, Groot, & Maassen (Van Houtte, 2011). Therefore, an assessment that is not obtained
van den Brink, 2013), turning dropout into an individual problem from students, but reported by teachers themselvesefor example
(Luyten, Bosker, Dekkers, & Derks, 2003). Relatively little empirical teachers' expectations or beliefs concerning their studentsemight
provide a more accurate picture of the impact of teachers. On a
methodological note, research also indicates that surveying a single
* Corresponding author. respondent (teacher or student) when measuring different con-
E-mail addresses: [email protected] (M. Van Houtte), Jannick. cepts, might create problems of shared-method variance. Using the
[email protected] (J. Demanet).

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2015.12.003
0742-051X/© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
118 M. Van Houtte, J. Demanet / Teaching and Teacher Education 54 (2016) 117e127

same method to measure two variablesein this case, the same in- risk factors: social risk and academic risk (Croninger & Lee, 2001;
dividual is surveyedecan yield inflations of intercorrelations and Lee & Burkam, 2003). Social risk entails demographic characteris-
effect sizes, creating bias in the results (Hawker & Boulton, 2000). tics associated with a higher likelihood of school failure, such as low
Accordingly, whereas previous research relating teacher and socioeconomic status, being male, and having an immigrant back-
student characteristics has focused exclusively on either teacher or ground (Blue & Cook, 2004; Dalton et al., 2009; Rumberger, 1987,
student data (e.g., Baker, Grant, & Morlock, 2008; Blue & Cook, 1995). Academic risk refers to the actual manifestation of school-
2004; Hallinan, 2008), in the current study we relate teacher- related problems, such as poor performance, absenteeism, and
reported data to student-reported data. More specifically, we grade retention (Blue & Cook, 2004; Croninger & Lee, 2001).
examine the relationship between teachers' self-reported beliefs, In the mid-1990s, Rumberger (1995) started to associate
and students' self-reported intention to drop out. This is made dropout with school features by means of multilevel modeling,
possible by considering individual teacher beliefs as manifestations dealing with school demographic composition (e.g., poverty con-
of the teacher culture at school. These beliefs can be related to centration), and school structure (e.g., size), organization, and
student characteristics through a multilevel framework, in which climate (e.g., discipline) (see also Blue & Cook, 2004; Dalton et al.,
the teacher culture is added as a school-level feature, and the 2009; McNeal, 1997). Remarkably, a large proportion of relevant
student outcome as an individual-level feature (see also Demanet & research remains focused on factors related to students, rather than
Van Houtte, 2012). Consequently, although we lean on the expec- on those related to schools (De Witte et al., 2013; Lee & Burkam,
tancy effects tradition begun by Rosenthal and Jacobson (1968), we 2003). Therefore, it remains unclear whether and how the orga-
do not focus on the expectations individual teachers have about nizational and functional features of schools, for example, aspects
individual students, or on teachers' predictions for particular stu- of culture and climate are associated with dropout, although these
dents (cf. Dalton, Glennie, Ingels, & Wirt, 2009). Instead, we focus are alterable and therefore potentially useful with regard to pre-
on the effect of the teacher culture, in other words, the beliefs vention (Luyten et al., 2003).
teachers in the same school share about their students in general Teachers in particular have been paid relatively little attention,
(see alsoVan Houtte, 2004, 2011). To our knowledge, the possible notwithstanding evidence that the quality (as reported by stu-
direct influence of teachers' beliefs has rarely been considered in dents) and quantity (student-teacher ratios) of teachers have an
dropout research (for an exception, see Rumberger & Palardy, effect on dropout ratios (Rumberger & Thomas, 2000). Moreover, a
2005). However, as teacher beliefs affect both studenteteacher school's social climate, specifically student-teacher interactions
relationships and student engagement (Demanet & Van Houtte, and relationships as perceived and reported by students, has been
2012)ethe latter being considered the primary factor in under- demonstrated to be associated with dropping out. Students' reports
standing and predicting high school dropout (Fall & Roberts, 2012; of positive, caring, and supportive relationships with teachers
Finn, 1989)eit is not too far-fetched to hypothesize an effect of coincide with lower dropout rates (Barile et al., 2012; Blue & Cook,
teacher beliefs on students' intention to drop out. 2004; Croninger & Lee, 2001; Lamote et al., 2013; Lee & Burkam,
Hence, our objective is to investigate how teachers' shared be- 2003). Accordingly, relationships perceived as negative, or
liefs about studentsethe teacher cultureeaffect the intention of student-teacher conflicts, might push students out of school,
students to drop out of school. In addition, we focus particularly on whereas positive relationshipsesocial capitalemight create
students in vocational tracks, as the prevalence of dropout is powerful incentives to stay in school and be successful (He
bert &
highest in vocational education, making these students most at risk Reis, 1999; Lee & Burkam, 2003; Stearns & Glennie, 2006).
(for Flanders: Van Landeghem & Van Damme, 2011; for the
Netherlands: van Uden, Ritzen, & Pieters, 2014; for Turkey: Tas, 2.2. Teachers' beliefs and students' dropout
Selvitopu, Bora, & Demirkaya, 2013). Therefore, knowing that
teachers in lower tracks have a relatively poor image of their stu- Research into dropping out points to the fact that it is not only
dents (e.g., Kelly & Carbonaro, 2012) and knowing that lower track associated with problems regarding learning and academic
students, in particular vocational students, are most vulnerable to engagement, but also with problems regarding social engagement
dropping out, we aim to examine what role the beliefs of teachers (Finn, 1989; Rumberger & Palardy, 2005; Wehlage & Rutter, 1986).
play as a determinant of vocational students' intention to drop out. In this vein, Finn (1989) presented the ‘participation-identification
model’, which emphasizes the importance of ‘bonding’ with school.
2. Background If this bonding does not occur, the likelihood of problem behavior,
including leaving school before graduation, increases.
2.1. Antecedents of dropping out Studies into the impact of the social climate of schools,
however, commonly rely on students' reports and perceptions of
Dropping outeleaving secondary education prior to completion, the studenteteacher relationships and the support from teach-
and without qualification or diploma, or with only a minimal cre- ers (e.g., Barile et al., 2012; Fall & Roberts, 2012; Lamote et al.,
dentialehas been studied for decades as a serious educational and 2013; Lee & Burkam, 2003). This might be deceptive, particu-
social problem (e.g., Blue & Cook, 2004; De Witte et al., 2013; Lee & larly in cross-sectional studies, as the perceptions of students
Burkam, 2003; Rumberger, 1987). By leaving school before who drop out might be formed after they leave school.
completion, most dropouts suffer a high personal cost because of Furthermore, these perceptions might express negative feelings
educational deficiencies that hamper their economic and social toward school irrespective of how teachers act in reality, and
well-being in adulthood (Rumberger, 1987). There is also a social therefore might not provide insight into the actual role of
impact, in terms of the loss of human capital (Lee & Burkam, 2003) teachers in the dropout process. A more useful and accurate
and the hindering of policymakers' objectives for sustainable eco- indicator of the quality of teacherestudent relationships, not
nomic growth (De Witte et al., 2013). Consequently, a great deal of obtained from the students themselves, may be teachers' beliefs
research has concentrated on explaining why students leave school or expectations about their pupils (Van Houtte, 2011). After all,
unqualified. how teachers relate to and interact with their students is largely
The most common explanations for dropping out focus on in- informed by how they see these pupils and what they think
dividual students and their families (overview: De Witte et al., about them (Van Houtte, 2004, 2011). Over the years, colleagues
2013; Lee & Burkam, 2003), distinguishing broadly between two (in the same school, for example) develop common ideas and
 M. Van Houtte, J. Demanet / Teaching and Teacher Education 54 (2016) 117e127 119

views to react to the circumstances and problems that are 2.3. Vocational education
particular to their work. In this regard, teachers and principals
share certain beliefs about the nature of students, education, 2.3.1. Dropping out in lower tracks
and school, forming teacher cultures (Hargreaves, 1992). The In many countries, students in secondary education are grouped
teacher culture consists of the work-related beliefs and knowl- according to their level of ability, which is a practice founded on the
edge teachers share; beliefs about appropriate ways of acting in belief that students have relatively fixed levels of ability and need to
the job, about the rewarding aspects of teaching, and about the be taught accordingly (Boaler, William, & Brown, 2000; Gamoran,
knowledge that enables them to do their work, for example, Nystrand, Berends, & LePore, 1995). This grouping of ability is
ideas about who the students are and what they are capable of organized in a myriad of ways. ‘Tracking’ refers to a situation in
(Feiman-Nemser & Floden, 1986). which students are taught an entirely different curriculum
Since the 1960s, educational researchers have been in agree- depending on their ability group, with the different tracks
ment that the opinions teachers have about students can have a commonly classified hierarchically in terms of level of abstraction
profound impact on students' educational progress (e.g., for the and theorizing, placing technical and vocational tracks at the bot-
USA: Brophy & Good, 1970; Jussim & Harber, 2005; Rosenthal, tom of the ladder (Boaler et al., 2000). Technical or vocational
2002. For France: Trouilloud, Sarrazin, Martinek, & Guillet, 2002; training is therefore usually not a positive choice, but instead a
for New Zealand: Rubie-Davies, Hattie, & Hamilton, 2006). second choice because of not meeting the standards set for aca-
Rosenthal and Jacobson (1968) were the first to present evidence demic tracks (Ainsworth & Roscigno, 2005). This is certainly the
regarding self-fulfilling prophecies in education. Specifically, they case in educational systems where curriculum placement is based
contended that students bring particular characteristics to the on prior achievement, such as in Flanders (Trautwein, Lüdtke,
school context, which are, mostly unwittingly, used by teachers as Marsh, Ko € ller, & Baumert, 2006). A lack of perceived ability, based
an indication of the students' potential educational success. on achievement, forces students into lower tracks, which entails a
Rosenthal and Jacobson's (1968) main contention was that teach- loss of status due to the hierarchical nature of the system
ers' expectations determine their behavior toward students, which (Hargreaves, 1967; Rosenbaum, 1976). Moreover, in the contem-
can actually result in raising students' performance. Pupils who porary knowledge society, the occupations for which students are
teachers label as ‘gifted’ make the greatest progress, primarily prepared in technical or vocational tracks are often held in low
because of differential treatment by teachers (Jussim, 1986; esteem, and de-industrialization and technological change have led
Rubovits & Maehr, 1971). It has been suggested that the attitudes to a collapse in the demand for skilled, semi-skilled, and unskilled
of teachers shape their treatment of students in two ways (Jussim, manual workers (Nixon, 2006). The unemployment rate increases
1986; Rosenthal, 2002). First, when their expectations of some as the educational level decreases, offering technical or vocational
students are low, they spend less effort and time teaching those students poor future prospects. Technical and vocational tracks
pupils (Jussim, 1986). Second, lower expectations result in less- seem to suffer from a negative image, resulting from the social
supportive teacherestudent relationships (Jussim, 1986; Rubovits overvaluing of cognition and white-collar jobs at the expense of
& Maehr, 1971). The Pygmalion study raised considerable contro- manual labor. Given this undervaluation within society, it is
versy and resulted in much research into the effects of teacher conceivable that lower-track students lose faith in the system and
expectations (e.g., Hinnant, O'Brien, & Ghazarian, 2009; Hughes, no longer see the point of studying or working hard at school.
Gleason, & Zhang, 2005), most of which focused on students' Ethnographic case studies have pointed to the existence of more
cognitive outcomes (for reviews, see Brophy, 1983; Jussim & fatalism in lower tracks. For example, Schafer and Olexa (1971)
Harber, 2005). suggested that lower-track students develop more negative atti-
A few studies have also focused on non-cognitive outcomes, tudes toward school, partly because they consider that grades,
such as school misconduct (Demanet & Van Houtte, 2012) or commitment, and staying in school until graduation will show few
attachment to school (Hallinan, 2008). Hallinan (2008) investi- future returns. Malmberg and Trempala (1997) indeed found that
gated the effect of teachers' expectations, as perceived by stu- vocational-track students express lower levels of control over their
dents, on the students' enjoyment of school. She hypothesized future than academic-track students do. Those in the more
that students would enjoy school more if they could live up to academically-oriented tracks are, according to Friedkin and Thomas
the expectations of their teachers, but actually found that these (1997), on average less fatalistic and more self-efficacious than
perceived expectations did not affect students' liking of school. students in vocationally-oriented tracks. This fatalism is likely to
In a related study, Hinojosa (2008) looked at punitive actions negatively affect the willingness of lower-track students to deliver
against students related to outcomes of teacher expectations. effort at school (Carbonaro, 2005; Rosenbaum, 2001). Previous
She found that students who reported higher teacher expecta- research in Flanders has shown that students in technical and
tions had a lower likelihood of being suspended from school, vocational tracks display higher feelings of futility than students in
and speculated that students are more attached to school if they academic tracks do (Van Houtte & Stevens, 2008, 2010, 2015),
feel that teachers have high expectations of them. However, leading to less study involvement (Van Houtte & Stevens, 2010) and
both the studies by Hallinan and Hinojosa were based on stu- higher levels of school misconduct (Van Houtte & Stevens, 2008). It
dents' perceptions regarding the expectations of teachers. has repeatedly been shown that lower-track students tend to
Rumberger and Palardy (2005) showed that schools where perform worse, achieve less, fail more frequently, and be more
teachers had high expectations (measured among teachers prone to dropping out compared with students in higher tracks
themselves) had lower dropout rates. Moreover, Demanet and (e.g., Duru-Bellat & Mingat, 1997; Hallinan & Kubitschek, 1999;
Van Houtte (2012) demonstrated that lower expectations gave Natriello, Pallas, & Alexander, 1989; Shavit & Featherman, 1988).
rise to more oppositional behavior. As disorderly behavior at A number of studies have suggested that students make the
school is strongly related to lower achievement (Bryant, decision to drop out based on their perception of their future op-
Schulenberg, Bachman, O'Malley, & Johnston, 2000) and portunities and the utility of education (Bickel, 1989; Worrell &
dropout (Jenkins, 1995), there are certainly reasons to expect Hale, 2001). Therefore, it is easy to understand why dropout is
that low teacher expectations or poor teacher beliefs in students most prevalent in the lower tracks, specifically in vocational edu-
might result in worse academic progress and eventually stu- cation (for Flanders: Van Landeghem & Van Damme, 2011; for the
dents dropping out. Netherlands: van Uden et al., 2014; for Turkey: Tas et al., 2013).
120 M. Van Houtte, J. Demanet / Teaching and Teacher Education 54 (2016) 117e127

Moreover, among vocational students, it might be expected that the subsidized; private as well as state schools. Usually, children attend
most fatalistic and pessimistic have the highest likelihood of nursery school from the age of two and a half. Education becomes
dropping out. Tas et al. (2013) found that most vocational students compulsory when the child turns six years of age. After six years of
drop out because of social and academic factors, such as grade primary education, children transfer to secondary education at the
retention. However, most participants in their research also pointed age of twelve. There are then six years of secondary education
to the attitudes and behavior of teachers, stating that teachers were divided into three grades, each lasting two years. In theory, the first
unfair in their practices. grade (years one and two) is an orientating grade officially divided
into a core curriculum known as the A-stream, and a B-stream
2.3.2. Teachers in the lower tracks preparing for vocational education. In practice, however, the type of
It has been shown that teachers in lower tracks tend to share courses offered in the A-stream depend on the main tracks offered
negative views about students; lower-track students are deemed in the particular school. There are four main tracks: academic ed-
less able, more disruptive, and less interested in schooling (Stevens ucation preparing for higher education, technical education, voca-
& Vermeersch, 2010), and therefore less teachable and less trust- tional education, and artistic education (which is relatively
worthy (Van Houtte, 2004, 2006a, 2006b). When teachers end up in marginal in terms of the number of students). In Flemish secondary
tracks characterized by specific groups of students, they need to education, tracks are organized within and, mainly, between
adjust their general conceptions about teaching to the real context, schools. A common differentiation is between schools offering ac-
which might deviate from what they learned in teacher training ademic education and those offering technical and vocational ed-
(Fang, 1996). To do this, many will appeal to common stereotypes. ucation, but there are also schools offering just one track and others
Accordingly, the allocation of students into tracks is a given for offering all the tracks; termed multilateral schools. Hence, voca-
these teachers, who usually do not make independent, individual tional students might be enrolled in a school offering solely voca-
evaluations of students, but start from the stereotype that lower- tional education, or in a school also offering academic tracks. The
track students are academically lacking (Ball, 1981; Rosenbaum, latter has been shown to be the most influential for vocational
1976). In other words, even before they have met their classes, students, since in these multilateral schools vocational students
many teachers have formed an image of their students' academic compare themselves with academic track students more directly,
abilities and have developed certain expectations, in line with resulting in stronger antischool attitudes, namely lower study
which they adjust their goals for, and interactions with, students involvement and higher sense of futility (Van Houtte & Stevens,
(Ball, 1981; Finn, 1972; Jussim, 1986; McLaughlin, 1993; Metz, 1993; 2009, 2015). Within each main track, different tracks are distin-
Midgley, Feldlaufer, & Eccles, 1988; Page, 1991). As a further result, guished, for example, economy and modern languages in academic
teachers in low-track classes often demand less academically education, electricity and mechanics in technical education, and
(Boaler et al., 2000; Evertson, 1982; Goodlad, 1984; Hargreaves, childcare in vocational educationecharacterized by different sub-
1967; Oakes, 1985, 2005; Page, 1991; Stevens & Vermeersch, jects and emphasis. At the end of each year, students are given a
2010). Generally speaking, the attitude of many teachers in certificate indicating whether they can continue their current
higher tracks is more in tune with promoting learning than it is in school path (certificate A) or not (certificate B or C). In the case of
lower tracks (Oakes, 1985, 2005; Van Houtte, 2004, 2006a), the latter two, a certificate B indicates that the student may prog-
although there are also schools with apparently effective instruc- ress to the next year but needs to join a lower track, and a certificate
tion in low tracks, characterized by high expectations from teachers C means that the student cannot move on and has to repeat the
(see Gamoran, 1993). year. These certificates are based on the obtained Grade Point
Kelly and Carbonaro (2012) demonstrated in a system of within- Average (GPA), which is determined by the teachers based on tests
school tracking that track placements affect teacher expectations and assignments designed by the teachers. There are no stan-
above and beyond student achievement and other characteristics. dardized tests, for example in the form of centrally-administered
However, in a system of between-school tracking, Van Houtte, and standardized examinations (Stevens, 2007). At the end of
Demanet, and Stevens (2013) showed that teachers' negative each grade, that is, in the third and the fifth year, the students need
judgments of students in lower tracksemore specifically in tech- to refine their branch of studies. There is an option to enroll in part-
nical and vocational schools compared with academic school- time vocational education from the age of sixteen, combining
secould be ascribed to the students' background variables, namely classes with experience on the shop floor. After six years of general,
gender, socioeconomic status, immigrant status, and especially, technical, or artistic education, or seven years (six years plus an
ability. Teachers' views of students are more negative in lower extra year) of vocational education, the student receives a diploma
tracks because teachers base their judgment on precisely the of secondary education, granting unlimited access to each form of
characteristics that make students opt for the lower tracks in the higher education. Each student having a diploma of secondary
first place. However, irrespective of their origin, teachers' shared education may enter university. If they only complete six years of
beliefs and expectations have been demonstrated to be responsi- vocational education (without the additional year), students obtain
bleeat least in partenot only for the higher failure rate (Van Houtte, a qualification that does not grant access to higher education.
2004), but also for the lower sense of school belonging (Van Houtte Secondary education is compulsory until the age of eighteen, and a
& Van Maele, 2012) of technical and vocational students. student is considered to have dropped out if they leave education
Knowing that many teachers in lower tracks hold a relatively before having finished the six years and having obtained a diploma
poor image of their students, and given that lower track students (academic, arts, and technical education) or qualification (voca-
are most vulnerable to dropping out, an obvious question is to what tional education).
extent, especially in vocational tracks, is the intention of students to
drop out associated with teachers' shared beliefs and expectations? 4. Methods

3. Context 4.1. Data

Before describing the methodology of the study, it seems useful Our analyses are based on data from the Flemish Educational
to describe briefly the Flemish educational system. First of all, it Assessment (FlEA), gathered in 2004 and 2005 from 11,872 third
should be kept in mind that every school in Flanders is state and fifth grade students (equivalent to ninth and eleventh grade
 M. Van Houtte, J. Demanet / Teaching and Teacher Education 54 (2016) 117e127 121

students in the American education system) clustered in a repre- determine the amount of variance that occurs; in this case, between
sentative sample of 85 secondary schools in Flanders. Schools schools. However, in hierarchical logistic models, it is not appro-
agreeing to participate did so with parental consent. Students priate to partition the variance of the outcome into its between and
completed the questionnaires in class, in the presence of one or two within components. The between-school variance component t0
researchers and a teacher. In the end, 11,945 students completed a estimated in an unconditional model does give an idea of whether
questionnaire, of which 11,872 proved to be valid; a response rate of or not the between-school variance is significant and can be
87%. As part of the FlEA, a questionnaire was also distributed among modeled (e.g., Frost, 2007).
all third and fifth grade teachers in the selected schools. A total of In a first model, we included individual characteristics that have
2104 teachers (response rate ¼ 60%) returned the questionnaire. been shown to be related to dropout: social risk factors (gender,
However, in one school, no teachers responded to the question- age, socioeconomic status, and immigrant background) and aca-
naire. As we used aggregated data to estimate the effects of teacher demic risk factors (ability, achievement, being retained, and track
beliefs, and multilevel analysis does not permit missing values at position). In the second model, we added teachability culture (the
the school level, we had to remove this school and its students from shared expectations of teachers regarding students' teachability) at
the analyses. Hence, the analyses were performed for a total of the school level, to assess the role of teachers in the intentions of
11,844 students across 84 schools. The questionnaires were not students to drop out. In the third model, we added students'
anonymous, because we wanted to couple the data with other in- perception of teacher support to assess whether this explained an
formation such as academic results provided by the schools. All the eventual association between the teachability culture and the
names were removed as the data were assembled, so the final intention to dropout. This was a possibility, in light of existing
dataset and all the analyses are completely anonymous. The ana- research indicating that lower teacher expectations lead to lower
lyses for the vocational tracks were based on 2589 students in 48 perceived support. In the fourth model, we added the culture of
schools offering vocational education (for the descriptives, see futility (school level) and the sense of futility (student level), to
Table 1). ascertain whether an association between teachability and the
intention to drop out still remained. This would indicate that the
expectations of teachers were not merely a response to students'
4.2. Design
negative attitudes, but that teachers' expectations actually affected
the intention of students to drop out.
As the data is cross-sectional, gathered within schools, there is
These four models were repeated for vocational students,
no information on the actual number of students who dropped out.
although omitting the track position variables in the first model
However, we did ask the students whether they were planning to
and taking into account (at the school level) whether or not the
complete high school. If not, they were assumed to have been
vocational track was in a school that also offered academic tracks
intending to quit, although we are not aware of whether these
(school type), as this might have affected the teachability culture.
students actually did so. It is most plausible that some of them in
After all, teachers were asked how they perceived the students at
the end did stay on in education. Expressing an intention to quit is
their school in general (see Section 4.3.), which might differ be-
nonetheless an indication of severe disengagement (Janosz,
tween schools offering solely vocational education and those of-
Archambault, Morizot, & Pagani, 2008).
fering vocational and academic education.
Given the clustered sample of students nested within schools,
and with an outcome at the student level (the intention to drop out)
and determinant at the school level (teachers' shared teachability 4.3. Variables
beliefs, that is, a schools' teachability culture), multilevel tech-
niques were most appropriate. In view of the binary outcome 4.3.1. Outcome
(intending to drop out ¼ 1, not intending to ¼ 0), we used nonlinear As our data concerns students in a sample of schools, we could
Bernoulli models (HLM6, Bryk & Raudenbush, 1992). Multilevel not take into account students who had already dropped out.
analyses commonly start by estimating unconditional models to Instead, we asked the students whether or not they were planning

Table 1
Intention to dropout in secondary education in Flanders: Descriptives.

Total sample Vocational students

Frequency (%) or mean (SD) N Frequency (%) or mean (SD) N

School level
Teachability culture 99.79 (10.35) 84 93.46 (7.89) 48
Futility culture 10.06 (0.73) 84 10.46 (0.66) 48
School type: academic 22.9% 48
Student level
Dropout intention 5.4% 11,519 13.9% 2437
Gender: girls 51.5% 11,815 53.4% 2589
Age 16.45 (1.31) 11,775 16.95 (1.30) 2579
SES 5.21 (2.10) 11,111 3.58 (2.02) 2210
Immigrant background 11.1% 11,842 25.3% 2598
Ability 77.98 (9.85) 10,673 70.12 (10.62) 2008
Achievement 69.42 (9.22) 10,685 69.29 (10.40) 2105
Retained 20.3% 11,517 27.2% 2433
Academic track 46.8% 11,844
Arts track 2.7% 11,844
Technical track 28.5% 11,844
Vocational track 21.9% 11,844
Teacher support 23.99 (3.98) 11,593 23.54 (4.29) 2467
Sense of futility 9.99 (3.20) 11,587 10.88 (3.55) 2466
122 M. Van Houtte, J. Demanet / Teaching and Teacher Education 54 (2016) 117e127

to complete high school with a credential. The majority of the respondents showed a mean SES of 5.21 (SD ¼ 2.10, range 1e8). On
students (94.6%) were aspiring to finish high school (coded 0), 5.4% average, the vocational students had a lower SES (mean ¼ 3.58,
of the total sample and 13.9% of the vocational students expressed SD ¼ 2.02, Table 1).
the intention to quit (see Table 1). We also distinguished between native and immigrant students.
As is common (Timmerman, Hermans, & Hoornaert, 2002), the
4.3.2. School-level variables principal criterion was the birthplace of the students' maternal
To investigate the beliefs of teachers about the pupils at their grandmother. If this was missing (only 1% missing of the total
school, we used the ‘Teachable Pupil Survey’ developed by sample, n ¼ 11,872) we used the nationality of the mother and fa-
Kornblau (1982) (see also Demanet & Van Houtte, 2012). This five- ther, as most immigrant students are second or third-generation
point scale comprises 31 items, encompassing ‘school-adjusted and have Belgian nationality. As is normal practice in Flemish and
behaviors’ (e.g., ‘concentrates well’ and ‘enjoys school work’), Dutch educational research (Duquet, Glorieux, Laurijssen, & Van
‘cognitive-motivational behaviors’ (e.g., ‘intelligent’ and ‘curious, Dorsselaer, 2006; Sierens, Van Houtte, Pelleriaux, Loobuyck, &
inquisitive’), and ‘personalesocial behaviors’ (e.g., ‘calm’ and Delrue, 2006; Timmerman et al., 2002), birthplaces and national-
‘confident’). The score for each teacher's answers was computed by ities other than Western European are considered as foreign
summing the items, with missing ones being imputed by item descent, because the relevant students are more likely to face
correlation substitution (Huisman, 2000). This yielded a range from educational difficulties. Additional criteriaein the event of missing
39 to 146, with a mean score of 100.15 (SD ¼ 15.307; Cronbach's data regarding nationalityewere the language spoken at home (a
alpha ¼ 0.94; n ¼ 2,104). By summing the item scores, we obtained language other than Dutch), religion, and finally the student's name
a reliable measurement of perceived teachability at the individual (see Felouzis, 2003). We created a dichotomous variable
teacher level. However, because the purpose was to measure cul- (0 ¼ indigenous, 1 ¼ immigrant). In the available data, 11.1% of the
ture, and because culture is a group feature defined as ‘shared be- students were identified as being of foreign origin. The proportion
liefs,’ aggregation of the scores obtained was a necessary of immigrant students who were in the vocational tracks was
subsequent step. One customary aggregation strategy is to calculate higher (25.3%, Table 1).
the mean of the scores of the individual members of a group or As a measurement of ability, we used the GPA at the completion
organization (e.g., Hofstede, Neuijen, Ohavy, & Sanders, 1990). In of primary education (range 0e100). This requires caution. There
this process, it is necessary to ensure this aggregation is valid by are no standardized tests in the form of centrally-administered and
ascertaining whether the aggregated measurement is reliable and standardized examinations in the Flemish educational system,
represents something actually shared at the group or organization which makes educational achievement very hard to compare
level (Glick, 1985). One useful measurement is the ‘mean rater across schools and across students. Teachers are responsible for
reliability’ (Glick, 1985), calculated by means of the Spearman- designing tests and grading students, generating the GPA (Stevens,
Brown formula based on the intraclass correlation (ICC) of a one- 2007). Furthermore, we need to rely on a self-reported GPA,
way analysis of variance: ICC(1, k) ¼ (between mean square- resulting in issues concerning validity due to memory problems
within mean square)/between mean square (with k ¼ number of and cover-up strategies. Not unexpectedly, this variable showed
raters in each group or organization). The result must reach a more missing values than other variables do (9.2%). Notwith-
minimum of 0.60 to permit aggregation at the group or organiza- standing these problems, it remained the best measurement
tion level (Glick, 1985; Shrout & Fleiss, 1979). Aggregation of this available to us to control for prior academic attainment. The mean
measurement at the school level, by calculating the mean per GPA for the total sample was 77.98 (SD ¼ 9.85). Vocational students
school, was legitimate (ICC ¼ 0.92). For the 84 schools in the showed a lower average GPA (mean ¼ 70.12, SD ¼ 10.62, Table 1).
sample, the measurement for the culture of teachability had a mean To measure prior academic achievement, we used the GPA at the
of 99.79 (SD ¼ 10.35, Table 1), for the 48 schools attended by end of the grade preceding the survey (range 0e100, pass mark of
vocational students this was 93.46 (SD ¼ 7.89). 50). Again, due to the lack of centrally-administered standardized
To assess the schools' culture of futility a similar procedure was tests, we also needed to rely on self-reported GPA for this variable,
followed, starting with the measurement of students' feeling of resulting in the same issue of validity as applies to ability. However,
futility (see below). Aggregation of this measurement at the school research indicates that self-reported grades are generally highly
level by calculating the mean per school was valid (ICC ¼ 0.84). For correlated with grades taken from students' transcripts, and that
the 84 schools in the sample, the score for the culture of futility had GPA has some desirable features relative to standardized test scores
a mean of 9.99 (SD ¼ 3.20, Table 1), for the 48 schools attended by (Kelly, 2008). The mean GPA for the total sample was 69.42
vocational students, this was 10.88 (SD ¼ 3.55). In the analyses for (SD ¼ 9.22). The average for vocational students was lower (69.29,
vocational students, we added (at the school level) whether the SD ¼ 10.40, Table 1).
school offered an academic track (coded 1, see Section 4.2.). Of the We measured retention by asking the respondents to report
48 schools attended by vocational students, 22.9% offered an aca- retrospectively on their history of grade retention (0 ¼ never
demic track. retained; 1 ¼ retained at least once). Of the respondents in the total
sample, 20.3% indicated that they had been retained at least once in
4.3.3. Student-level variables the course of primary and secondary education. For the vocational
The sample was almost equally divided with regard to gender, students, the corresponding figure was 27.2%.
with 51.5% of the total sample and 53.4% of the vocational students Four tracks can be distinguished in the Flemish educational
being female (coded 1). Our research concentrated on third and system: the academic track (46.8% of the students in our sample),
fifth-grade students, so the respondents were on average 16.45 the arts track (2.7%), the technical track (28.5%), and the vocational
years old (SD ¼ 1.31), although the average age of the vocational track (21.9%). To account for the students' track position, the last
students was slightly above this (mean ¼ 16.95, SD ¼ 1.30), due to a three were added to the analyses by means of dummy coding, with
higher retention rate (Table 1). academic track as the reference category.
We measured the socioeconomic status (SES) of origin of the Perceived teacher support was measured by a subscale of the
students by means of the occupational prestige of the father and Psychological Sense of School Membership (PSSM) scale
mother (Erikson, Goldthorpe, & Portocarero, 1979), with the high- (Goodenow, 1993). The scale consists of seven items, such as
est of the two used as an indicator of the family SES. The ‘Teachers in this school respect me,’ and ‘Teachers in this school are
 M. Van Houtte, J. Demanet / Teaching and Teacher Education 54 (2016) 117e127 123

not interested in students like me.’ Students could choose from five Table 2). This small association decreased slightly (OR ¼ 0.986) and
answers, ranging from ‘completely disagree’ to ‘totally agree’ (1e5). was no longer borderline significant (p ¼ .134) when taking into
Scores across the items were summed, yielding a scale ranging from account students' perception of teacher support (OR ¼ 0.880,
7 to 35 (Cronbach's alpha ¼ 0.74; n ¼ 11,593). For the total sample, p < .001) (Model 3, Table 2), meaning that the effect of teachers'
the mean was 23.99 (SD ¼ 3.98; see Table 1), for vocational students culture was mediated by students' perceptions of teacher support.
it was 23.54 (SD ¼ 4.29). When adding culture and sense of futility in the final model, the
Sense of futility was measured by means of a scale adapted from association between teachability culture and intention to quit
Brookover, Beady, Flood, Schweitzer, and Wisenbaker (1979), and increased slightly (OR ¼ 0.981) and again became borderline sig-
consisting of five items dealing with the feeling of control at school, nificant (p ¼ .089), although remaining very small. In the final
such as ‘People like me will not have much chance to do what we model, the significant predictors of the intention to drop out turned
want to in life.’ Each item had five answer categories, ranging from out to be the school's teachability culture and student's perceived
‘completely disagree’ to ‘totally agree’ (range 1e5). Responses were teacher support, in addition to the expected gender, socioeconomic
imputed for missing values by way of item correlation substitution status, achievement, retention, vocational track position, and sense
(Huisman, 2000). In this analysis we worked with the sum of the of futility. It is noteworthy, therefore, that the difference between
item scores, yielding scores from 5 to 25 (Cronbach's alpha ¼ 0.75, students in academic and vocational tracks was not due to a dif-
n ¼ 11,620). In the total sample, the mean was 9.99 (SD ¼ 3.20), ference in teacher culture.
while the mean for vocational students was higher (10.88, For the vocational track, the between-school variance in the
SD ¼ 3.55, Table 1). unconditional model indicated that it was useful to estimate a
model taking into account school-level variables (t0 ¼ 0.059,
p ¼ .006). Surprisingly, none of the social or academic risk factors
5. Findings
appeared significantly related to the intention to drop out, indi-
cating that once enrolled in the vocational track, these character-
The between-school variance in the unconditional model indi-
istics apparently no longer mattered or made a difference. One
cated that it was useful to estimate a model taking into account
exception was achievement, which was borderline significant
school-level variables (t0 ¼ 0.774, p < .001). The first model
(OR ¼ 0.984, p ¼ .057; Table 3, model 1). Teachability culture proved
confirmed the impact of the social and academic risk factors, except
significantly negatively related to the intention to quit (Model 2:
for migrant status, which proved not to be significantly related to
OR ¼ 0.974, p < .05) and this association held after controlling for
the intention to quit (Table 2). With regard to the social risk factors,
perceived teacher support, teachability culture, and sense of futility
boys, younger students, and students with a lower socioeconomic
(Models 3 and 4). The most important predictor of intending to
status were significantly more likely to indicate that they consid-
drop out for vocational students proved to be their sense of futility
ered dropping out, although the differences were small. For the
(OR ¼ 1.173, p < .001), followed by perceived teacher support
academic risk factors, students with a lower ability and with a
(OR ¼ 0.951, p < .01), and the teachability culture of the school
lower achievement showed a significantly higher intention to quit.
(OR ¼ 0.972, p < .05).
The most important predictors appeared to be whether the stu-
dents had been retained previously, and the track. The vulnerable
position of vocational students was confirmed: if academic stu- 6. Discussion
dents had a probability of 2.25% of intending to quit, the equivalent
figure was 8.96% for vocational students (3.59% for technical stu- The educational level of a country is one of the most important
dents). In the second model, teachability culture was borderline indicators of its socioeconomic development and productivity
(p < .10, see Lee & Burkam, 2003: 373) significantly and negatively rates. A high dropout rate entails a loss of human capital, and affects
(OR ¼ 0.984, p ¼ .07) associated with the intention to quit (Model 2, policymakers' objectives for sustainable economic growth (De

Table 2
Correlates of intention to dropout in secondary education. Results of logistic multilevel analysis, Bernoulli (HLM 6).

Model 1 Model 2 Model 3 Model 4

Intercept 3.774 (0.160) 0.023*** 3.641 (0.178) 0.026*** 3.811 (0.168) 0.022*** 3.894 (0.172) 0.020***
School level
Teachability culture 0.017 (0.009) 0.984 
0.014 (0.009) 0.986 0.019 (0.011) 0.981þ
Futility culture 0.166 (0.138) 0.848
Student level
Gender 0.335 (0.104) 0.715** 0.311 (0.104) 0.732** 0.256 (0.110) 0.774* 0.262 (0.113) 0.769*
Age 0.104 (0.047) 0.901* 0.106 (0.047) 0.900* 0.110 (0.049) 0.896* 0.074 (0.050) 0.929
SES 0.123 (0.027) 0.885*** 0.118 (0.026) 0.889*** 0.112 (0.027) 0.894*** 0.104 (0.028) 0.901***
Immigrant background 0.012 (0.167) 1.012 0.051 (0.170) 0.951 0.023 (0.180) 0.978 0.064 (0.205) 0.938
Ability 0.015 (0.005) 0.986** 0.014 (0.005) 0.986* 0.013 (0.005) 0.987* 0.011 (0.006) 0.989
Achievement 0.024 (0.006) 0.976*** 0.025 (0.006) 0.975*** 0.021 (0.006) 0.980** 0.014 (0.006) 0.987*
Retained 0.451 (0.149) 1.571** 0.433 (0.150) 1.542** 0.439 (0.144) 1.552** 0.387 (0.147) 1.472**
Arts track (ref. Academic) 0.261 (0.269) 1.298 0.127 (0.277) 1.135 0.023 (0.227) 1.024 0.046 (0.244) 0.955
Technical track (ref. Academic) 0.484 (0.189) 1.622* 0.301 (0.213) 1.352 0.307 (0.200) 1.024 0.294 (0.205) 1.341
Vocational track (ref. Academic) 1.456 (0.197) 4.289*** 1.239 (0.243) 3.453*** 1.250 (0.236) 3.490*** 1.168 (0.245) 3.216***
Teacher support 0.128 (0.014) 0.880*** 0.081 (0.016) 0.923***
Sense of futility 0.180 (0.017) 1.197***
Variance components
Intercept U0 0.042* 0.036 0.041 0.044
Teacher support U1 0.003* 0.005*

Note: Presented are the (unstandardized) gamma coefficients with the standard errors appearing in parentheses and odds ratios and the variance components U (when
significant).
þ
p ¼ .089,  p < .07, *p < .05, **p  .01,***p  .001.
124 M. Van Houtte, J. Demanet / Teaching and Teacher Education 54 (2016) 117e127

Table 3
Correlates of intention to dropout in vocational secondary education. Results of logistic multilevel analysis, Bernoulli (HLM6).

Model 1 Model 2 Model 3 Model 4

Intercept 2.163 (0.134) 0.115*** 2.193 (0.127) 0.112*** 2.278 (0.138) 0.103*** 2.308 (0.136) 0.100***
School level
School type 0.208 (0.251) 1.232 0.159 (0.269) 1.173 0.048 (0.264) 1.050
Teachability culture 0.026 (0.012) 0.974* 0.025 (0.012) 0.976þ 0.028 (0.014) 0.972*
Futility culture 0.148 (0.171) 0.862
Student level
Gender 0.084 (0.164) 0.920 0.033 (0.174) 0.968 0.048 (0.185) 1.049 0.053 (0.179) 1.054
Age 0.045 (0.052) 0.957 0.035 (0.052) 0.966 0.032 (0.052) 0.968 0.002 (0.054) 1.002
SES 0.077 (0.047) 0.926 0.067 (0.047) 0.935 0.055 (0.047) 0.947 0.053 (0.050) 0.949
Immigrant background 0.289 (0.213) 1.335 0.174 (0.212) 1.190 0.200 (0.217) 1.222 0.149 (0.244) 1.160
Ability 0.010 (0.008) 0.990 0.009 (0.008) 0.991 0.009 (0.008) 0.992 0.006 (0.008) 0.994
Achievement 0.016 (0.008) 0.984 0.016 (0.008) 0.984* 0.015 (0.008) 0.985 0.011 (0.008) 0.989
Retained 0.245 (0.229) 1.278 0.214 (0.228) 1.239 0.224 (0.222) 1.251 0.154 (0.220) 1.166
Teacher support 0.092 (0.016) 0.913*** 0.050 (0.017) 0.951**
Sense of futility 0.159 (0.023) 1.173***
Variance components
Intercept U0 0.008 0.034 0.052 0.077

Note: The (unstandardized) gamma coefficients and odds ratios with the standard errors appearing in parentheses and the variance components U (when significant) are
shown.

p ¼ .057, þp ¼ .052, *p < .05, **p  .01, ***p  .001.

Witte et al., 2013; Lee & Burkam, 2003; Tas et al., 2013). On a more also showed that once students' perceptions were controlled for,
personal level, dropping out is a major life event that severely the actual teacher-reported beliefs still had a small impact. Studies
impacts students' chances for ensuing educational and occupa- maintain that expectancy effects occur to a lesser extent when
tional opportunities (Dalton et al., 2009; Rumberger, 1987). Because students do not perceive differential treatment by teachers based
students dropping out without qualifications is manifestly an on their expectations (Brattesani, Weinstein, & Marshall, 1984;
important problem within Western education (Lamb et al., 2011), a Jussim & Harber, 2005). In line with literature on expectancy, we
great deal of research has been carried out, aiming to reveal the found that expectancy effects on dropout intentions were mediated
main predictors of student dropout. However, most research has by students' perceptions of teacher support: in other words, the
focused on individual student characteristics, specifically socio- affective component of differential treatment by teachers (see also
demographic and academic risk factors (De Witte et al., 2013), Rosenthal, 2002).
turning dropout into an individual problem (Luyten et al., 2003). In For decades, research into expectancy effects has urged teacher
particular, research into the role of teachers in students' decision to education programs to raise awareness among trainee teachers of
quit school is relatively scarce. Research taking teachers into the beliefs they bring into the classroom, as teachers are not always
consideration often focuses on students' perceptions of teacher aware of the images they have of students and the interaction
support or studenteteacher relationships (Croninger & Lee, 2001; patterns they maintain with students following from those images
Lee & Burkam, 2003), neglecting that these perceptions may be (see also Demanet & Van Houtte, 2012; Jones, 1989). However, we
colored and may not accurately reflect the teachers' actual role. may expect that, despite the good intentions of teacher education
Therefore, this study had the objective of ascertaining whether programs, a newly trained teacher entering a school may be so-
teachers' shared beliefs regarding students were associated with cialized into the prevailing teacher culture in that school. The
the intention of students to quit school, irrespective of students' present study, for example, demonstrated the existence and the
perceptions of teacher support. important role of the teachability culture at school. The socializ-
By means of multilevel analyses, the study showed that all the ation into such a teacher culture most likely takes place in informal
social and academic risk factors at the individual student level, and situations, for example, in the teachers' lounge, where teachers
already defined in international research, are indeed significantly share their experiences from the classroom and talk about their
associated with students' intention to drop out. Male students of a students (Ben-Peretz & Schonmann, 2000; Hargreaves, 1992). For
younger age, with a low socioeconomic status, lower ability and individual teachers, it may prove very difficult to turn the tide in a
lower achievement, and who had been retained at least once during school where school-wide expectations for the students are low. As
their schooling, were more likely not to aspire to finish high school such, teacher education programs need to make trainee teachers
with any qualifications. The most important predictor, however, aware as well of the existence of specific teacher cultures in schools,
appeared to be track position; specifically, being enrolled in a usually related with the specific student composition of schools.
vocational track. In addition, students' perceived teacher support The question remains, then, whether individual teachers are able to
and sense of futility were also significant predictors. The teach- counteract the influence of the teacher culture at school. In that
ability culture in school, however, proved to be only borderline regard, it is noteworthy that the current study points to the
significantly related to students' intention to drop out, and this perceived teacher support of the students as an important medi-
association acted through students' perceptions of teacher support. ating factor. This could imply that when individual teachers provide
Hence, it appeared that associations between teacher attitudes and students with a sense of support, this may help to reduce the
students' intention to drop out were smaller when teachers' self- impact of the wider teacher culture (see also Demanet & Van
reported attitudes were used than when using perceptions re- Houtte, 2012). As such, it is important that teachers know that
ported by students. The findings were in line with the vast body of they should develop supportive relationships with every single
literature on the beneficial impact of students' perceptions of student, even though they may have low expectations of them.
having supportive relationships with their teachers (e.g., Barile As vocational students appear the most vulnerable to planning
et al., 2012; Croninger & Lee, 2001; Lamote et al., 2013), but they not to finish secondary education, it is important to know which
 M. Van Houtte, J. Demanet / Teaching and Teacher Education 54 (2016) 117e127 125

risk factors are at play in this specific group. An analysis for this educational choice (Boone & Van Houtte, 2013). Accordingly, there
group separately, demonstrated that the traditional social and ac- is a profound need for a social (re)appreciation of technical and
ademic risk factors no longer played a role once a student is vocational tracks and occupations. Whilst there is a relatively large
enrolled in a vocational track. In vocational tracks, the likelihood of group of unskilled unemployed people who dropped out of tech-
planning to quit was not dependent on gender, age, SES, immigrant nical or vocational tracks, in Flanders there is a shortage of skilled
status, ability, or previous retention. When taking into account manual workers, such as gardeners, welders, butchers, carpenters,
students' sense of futility, even prior achievement was no longer a bricklayers. To solve this discrepancy, the negative image of tech-
predictor for the intention of vocational students to drop out. This nical and vocational tracks needs to be reversed.
finding contradicts statements by, for example, Tas and colleagues It is important to acknowledge some limitations of the current
(2013) that the main reasons for dropout in vocational high study. First, we should stress again that this was a cross-sectional
school were individual academic factors such as grade repetition study, which precludes the possibility of making causal claims. It
and achievement. These findings may be due to the specific nature is possible, therefore, that the direction of the effect was reversed;
of the track system in Flanders. As already noted, tracks are hier- that the intention to drop out led to lower teacher support and a
archically ordered, with the vocational tracks at the lowest level. worse teacher culture. As discussed above, it may be the case that
The finding that academic risk factors had no effect within the students having decided to drop out of education eventually report
vocational track, suggested that attending this track in Flanders is more negatively about school-related matters in general, and about
in itself an academic risk factor for considering dropping out. The their relationships with teachers in particular. We took this into
students concerned, felt that they had failed in the educational account by investigating teacher-reported expectations, but we
system, and therefore they were more likely to have the intention considered the role of student-reported teacher support as well,
of dropping out prematurely. In light of this, it was unsurprising which admittedly proved the stronger predictor of the two.
that the most important predictor of vocational students' intention Moreover, we controlled for students' sense of futility, which
to drop out turned out to be their sense of futility. Students who enabled us to investigate whether teacher expectations were not
had a stronger feeling that studying was of no use to people like merely a response to students' negative attitudes and instead that
them, were more likely to indicate that they had the intention of teachers' expectations really affected students' intentions to drop
quitting. Moreover, students' perceived teacher support and the out. We suggest, however, that future longitudinal studies should
teachability culture were also related to the intention to quit, with try to replicate the findings in order to support this interpretation
the teachability culture retaining its impact even when controlling of the direction of the effects. Further, longitudinal research would
for students' perceptions of teacher support. In contrast to the allow investigation of actual dropout behavior, instead of the
general sample, it appeared that teachers' self-reported beliefs intention to quit.
were important for student dropout in vocational education. This A second limitation of this study is the way in which we oper-
was a substantive finding, as it suggested that teachers had the ationalized teacher expectations. By considering school-wide atti-
power to counteract, albeit only to a certain extent, the influence of tudes, we could not go into detail regarding the effects of individual
vocational track position. More specifically, when students in the teachers. A further objection concerning the operationalization of
vocational track were confronted with beneficial teacher expecta- teacher effects was that we could not distinguish between indi-
tions, they were less likely to consider dropping out early. Teachers, vidual students or different groups of students within the same
therefore, held the key in demonstrating to students that attending school: the culture of teachability is a collective idea about the
the vocational track was not equal to failing in the educational teachability of students as a group, and therefore pertains to all the
system. Teachers, however, could not fully eradicate the negative students at a school. It would be beneficial to have data from each
influence of vocational track enrollment. Although the teachability teacher about his or her expectations of each student. However, this
culture and students' perceptions of teacher support could make a method of data collection would be very extensive and demanding
difference for vocational students, it needs to be stressed that these of teachers, and may not be feasible in secondary education (see
did not explain why vocational students had a significantly higher also Van Houtte, 2011, p. 84). Moreover, we contend that oper-
likelihood of planning to drop out. The association between track ationalizing teachers' expectations by means of the teacher culture
position and the intention to quit remained, when taking into ac- at school has its merits. In secondary schools, it is more logical to
count the teachability culture and perceptions of support. Even the investigate the role of teacher culture than that of individual
sense of futility could not explain why vocational students were teachers' expectations, because students are taught by a number of
more likely not to aspire to finish high school. different teachers during each school year.
The detrimental consequences of being in a low track prompt
the question of whether hierarchically-ordered tracks should be 7. Conclusion
abandoned, particularly as mixed-ability groups have been shown
to be beneficial for low-ability students (Hallam & Ireson, 2006; This study contributes to existing knowledge about the pre-
Ireson & Hallam, 1999; Linchevski & Kutscher, 1998). Neverthe- dictors of high school dropout by demonstrating that teachers'
less, one reason for tracking is preparing students for different fu- beliefs about the teachability of students influence students'
tures, since societies are as much in need of manual workers as of intention to quit high school, irrespective of students' sense of fu-
brainworkers, so it is not advisable to abandon tracking altogether. tility and perceived teacher support. The teachability culture makes
Postponing the educational choice is recommended, though, to a difference in particular for the most vulnerable group; vocational
turn the choice for technical and vocational tracks into a more students. This finding underlines the importance of the school, and
positive and a conscious one. Currently Flemish students need to more particularly the role of teachers, in explaining dropout in
choose already at the age of 12, making this transition largely a secondary education.
parental decision. Technical and vocational education is usually
only considered an option when a student does not meet the
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