Determinants of Tracking in Israeli Secondary Education: Ability Grouping and Sponsorship in the Educational System / גורמים הקובעים את מסלול הלימודים העל-יסודי: ההקבצה ותהליכי ניעות-מטעם במערכת החינוך

This paper examines the argument that school sponsorship mechanisms are, relatively to Significant Others' Influence, a more effective determinant of educational plans and attainment in societies geared toward sponsored mobility. This argument has been previously validated in respect to aspirations for higher education in Israel. The present paper analyzes the determinants of curriculum placement in Israeli high schools. In particular, it examines the relative impact of Significant Others' Influence versus ability grouping at the junior high level. A path analysis of longitudinal data for a representative sample of junior high students shows that the latter's aspirations for specific high school trainings are determined mainly by SOI. Yet, their curriculum placement in the tenth grade is affected by ability grouping much more than by SOI or aspirations. This bifurcated process is interpreted as indicative of a transitional period in the formation of educational careers in sponsorship-oriented systems. In such systems, sponsorship mechanisms may determine educational attainment at all school levels, but their cumulative effect on aspirations is apparent only at an advanced stage of schooling. Comparative studies which may further validate this thesis are proposed.