Different pathways to student guidance in mainstream primary and secondary education: Results from a parent survey

Students of lower socioeconomic status and ethnic minority groups are underrepresented in extramural support services and overrepresented in special education. This raises questions about their participation in other student guidance trajectories and the support they receive from the school during the student guidance process. Therefore, a quasi-representative sample of 4005 parents of children aged 2.5-18 in mainstream education in Flanders completed a survey. Logistic regression analyses indicate differences in initiation and type of used student guidance program, and in involvement of different persons during the referral process, in the disadvantage of students of lower socioeconomic status and ethnic minority groups.