Tracking teacher pride of course! A study on how track position and subject matter influence the feelings of pride in Belgian teachers

The aim of this paper is to gain insight in the relationship between teachers’ track position and the feelings of pride (cfr. private regard) they hold towards that specific track. Tracking is used to describe the organizational structure of an educational system that groups students in various curricula based on their ability. There are curricula focusing on academic achievement while other tracks are oriented towards the labor market. Previous research has shown that different statuses are ascribed to these different tracks. Subsequently this might affect the private regard of the teachers employed within these tracks, which could undermine their morale and performance. Furthermore, this study investigates the role of being a track-specific teacher in moderating this relationship. To test this model the data of the Belgian SIS (school, identity and society)-survey is used, a large scale dataset gathered in 2017 containing the self-reports of 450 teachers, clustered in 22 secondary schools. The results of a multilevel analysis show that there is a significant positive effect of teaching in technical or vocational tracks in comparison to teaching in the academic track, so the former holding higher levels of private regard. Furthermore, the analysis indicates that this relationship is not moderated by being a track-specific teacher. No significant variation was detected at the school level. These results go against the theoretical expectations and suggest that other dynamics are at play in understanding teachers’ private regard.