Books by Mieke Van Houtte
European Education, 2021
Given the importance of relatedness for study motivation, motivation might be associated with fac... more Given the importance of relatedness for study motivation, motivation might be associated with faculty trust in students and, as such, with schools' student composition. Representative Flemish data of 5162 students and 1247 teachers in 57 Flemish secondary schools, gathered at the end of the 2013/2014 school year (April-May 2014), reveal that the association between faculty trust in students and students' autonomous motivation goes through students' trust in teachers. In schools with a higher socioeconomic student composition, students are less autonomously motivated, but this does not show because faculty trust is high, which generates more autonomous motivation-via students' trust in teachers.
In explaining why girls outperform boys in school, some studies
focus on individual gender-ident... more In explaining why girls outperform boys in school, some studies
focus on individual gender-identity. Others stress the interactional
dimension of students exerting pressure to act in a more masculine/
feminine way. Still other research examines the development of
student cultures in specific school contexts. Considering the gender
structure, this study aims to understand gender differences in
educational engagement by looking at the three dimensions of
gender – individual, interactional and institutional – simultaneously. Stepwise multilevel analyses of data of 5162 students in
57 Flemish secondary schools, show that girls are more engaged in
class activities than boys. The gender gap gets significantly larger
with higher levels of traditional gender-role-attitudes (considered
here a reflection of the institutional dimension) – making boys less
engaged. Second, boys display significantly more disruptive behaviour. This gender gap gets larger with higher levels of gender
pressure (interactional dimension) and, above all, traditional gender-role-attitudes – both making boys misbehaving more.
Gender and Education, 2021
This study assesses the effect of secondary schools' sexcomposition on boys' and girls' felt pres... more This study assesses the effect of secondary schools' sexcomposition on boys' and girls' felt pressure for genderconformity. Whereas gender-conformity pressure affects adolescents' well-being, little large-scale research examines school features' influence. Multilevel-analyses are conducted on representative Flemish data of first grade students, 2688 boys and 2430 girls, in 57 secondary schools, gathered at the beginning of school-year 2012/13 and the end of 2013/14. When estimating the effects on gender-conformity pressure at time 2, the gender-conformity pressure at time 1 is accounted for. For girls, no effects of the school's sex-composition are found. Boys in schools with more girls display lower levels of felt pressure at the start of secondary education. The felt pressure at time 2 increases with the proportion of girls, indicating that boys forming a numerical minority at school, report more growth in genderconformity pressure. This effect is stronger for boys holding more traditional gender-role attitudes.
Sex Roles, 2021
School misconduct is a threat to educational careers and learning. The present study sheds light ... more School misconduct is a threat to educational careers and learning. The present study sheds light on why male adolescents in particular are prone to school misconduct. Qualitative research has argued that male adolescents' construction of masculinity is a factor driving their school misbehavior. We examined the role of felt pressure to conform to gender stereotypes in predicting school misconduct among male and female adolescents. Data were provided by a three-wave panel study encompassing more than 4200 Flemish early adolescents (ages 12-14). Three-level growth curve models showed that male adolescents misbehaved more in school than female adolescents did. Male adolescents also demonstrated a steeper increase in school misconduct than female adolescents. Furthermore, greater felt gender conformity pressure predicted an increase in school misconduct in male adolescents but not in female adolescents. We conclude that school misconduct forms part of an enactment of masculine gender identity with detrimental consequences for male adolescents' educational achievement.
Journal of Homosexuality, 2020
Schools are often heteronormative environments, negatively influencing the wellbeing of LGB stude... more Schools are often heteronormative environments, negatively influencing the wellbeing of LGB students. Less is known about the impact on gender-variant adolescents. Hence, this study investigates the wellbeing of gender-variant students—as evidenced by their gender (a)typicality and pressure for gender conformity— in different school cultures—as evidenced by the level of traditional gender role attitudes and homonegativity. We examine these context-dependent associations in a sample of 4987 Flemish students, who were questioned three times in 2012–2014. Multilevel regression analyses show that both gender-typical and atypical adolescents feel worse in heteronormative than inclusive schools. Furthermore, the social acceptance of boys seems to be more conditional on gender-conformity in heteronormative than inclusive schools. Overall, inclusive schools ensure higher wellbeing for all students (regardless of sex or gender variance), and student–teacher relationships seem central in explaining these school differences. Implications for school policy as well as research considering heteronormativity and gender-variance are discussed.
Teching and Teacher Education, 2020
Research on students’ aspirations, an important predictor of educational attainment, is mostly fo... more Research on students’ aspirations, an important predictor of educational attainment, is mostly focused on individual-level determinants, reflecting the classical status attainment model. Studies have suggested a school composition effect, but ignore school processes. Inspired by new insights in school effects research looking at teachers’ expectations at the school level, we investigate the mediating and moderating role of teachability culture in the relationship between SES composition and aspirations. Multilevel analyses of data (2013–2014) from 2.354 students and 502 teachers across 30 Flemish secondary schools show that teachers’ shared expectations can compensate for the detrimental effects of low SES composition on aspirations.
Acta Sociologica, 2020
Educational tracking amplifies social inequalities in a wide range of outcomes. From an instituti... more Educational tracking amplifies social inequalities in a wide range of outcomes. From an institutional perspective, the current study examines whether this holds for educational disparities in general health. To investigate this question, we use information from the European Social Survey (Rounds 1–8: 2002–2016) for individuals between the ages of 18 and 45 years (N = 99,771) in 22 European countries. The estimated three-level hierarchical models indicate that tracking is indeed associated with larger educational inequalities in overall health. Individuals who have attained vocational education fare worse in terms of general health than do individuals who have pursued academic qualifications. However, the strength of association is much higher in countries with highly tracked systems (e.g. Germany and Czech Republic) than it is in countries with more comprehensive systems (e.g. the United Kingdom and Scandinavian countries). This result suggests that health inequalities between educational groups can be reduced by reorganizing secondary educational systems.
Youth & Society, 2020
This study examines whether the gender difference in sense of academic futility is related to the... more This study examines whether the gender difference in sense of academic futility is related to the proportion of girls attending a school. We argue that the more progressive gender role culture in schools with a higher proportion of girls might influence especially boys’ sense of futility. Multilevel analyses of data gathered in 2014 from 5,162 second-grade students in 57 secondary schools in Flanders confirm a small but significant gender difference in sense of futility. The more girls at school, the less feelings of futility boys manifest. This impact can be explained by boys’ traditional gender role attitudes. For girls, the impact of gender composition, higher feelings of futility in schools with more girls, is buffered by girls’ progressive gender role attitudes. In schools with more girls, boys display lower levels of futility than girls. Finally, this impact of gender composition can be ascribed to the students’ educational track.
Gender and Education, 2019
This study examines whether secondary schools’ gender composition and levels of laddish attitudes... more This study examines whether secondary schools’ gender composition and levels of laddish attitudes influence the degree of ethnic prejudice among Flemish pupils. We hypothesize that in addition to pupil-level predictors of prejudice, the school’s gender composition and its laddish culture play roles in pupils’ attitudes toward ethnic minorities. We use multilevel analysis with data obtained in 2014–2015 from 2250 Flemish pupils in 48 secondary schools in Flanders. Both girls’ and boys’ ethnic prejudice is related to their laddish attitudes. Boys’ levels of ethnic prejudice are associated with the gender composition and the laddish culture of their school, while girls’ ethnic prejudice is more likely to be influenced by the laddish culture of the school when the proportion of male pupils in the school increases. The findings suggest that in order to reduce ethnic prejudice it might be fruitful to focus on macro-level factors, such as tackling laddish cultures at school.
Van Praag, L., Sierens, S., Agirdag, O., Lambert, P., Slembrouck, S., Van Avermaet, P., van Braak, J.,Van de Craen, P., Van Gorp, K. & Van Houtte, M. (2016) Haal meer uit meertaligheid. Omgaan met talige diversiteit in het basisonderwijs. Leuven/Den Haag: Acco.
Papers by Mieke Van Houtte
Sociological Quarterly, Jan 15, 2020
This study assesses whether ethnic congruence associates with students' share of cross-group frie... more This study assesses whether ethnic congruence associates with students' share of cross-group friendships and number of overall friendships. We investigate differences between natives, Western-European immigrants, and non-Western European immigrants. Multilevel analyses on 11,759 students across 83 Flemish secondary schools demonstrated that, for natives and Western-European immigrants, higher congruence linearly related to lower shares of crossgroup friendships. For non-Western European immigrants we observed a U-curved relationship. Moreover, for the latter, higher congruence associated with more friendships overall. As such, non-Western European immigrants are better integrated in the peer group when at least a critical share of co-ethnics is present at school.
Track position has an impact on students’ academic self-appraisals in school. Academic self-appra... more Track position has an impact on students’ academic self-appraisals in school. Academic self-appraisals matter as they relate to educational and professional aspirations and choices. In this study, based on ethnographic observations and semi-structured interviews, we want to increase our understanding of the combination of within- and between track comparisons for students’ self-appraisals of their academic success. The data indicates that the hierarchy between tracks in the Flemish educational system is reflected in the between- and within track comparison groups students use to evaluate their school success. In academic tracks, most students considered their educational career automatically as successful, regardless of their actual grades. Conversely, students in vocational tracks developed more contradictory feelings with respect to their personal school success and felt the need to distinguish themselves from their classmates. Thus, regardless the existence of different school cultures across tracks, students searched for strategies to define themselves as successful in school.
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Books by Mieke Van Houtte
focus on individual gender-identity. Others stress the interactional
dimension of students exerting pressure to act in a more masculine/
feminine way. Still other research examines the development of
student cultures in specific school contexts. Considering the gender
structure, this study aims to understand gender differences in
educational engagement by looking at the three dimensions of
gender – individual, interactional and institutional – simultaneously. Stepwise multilevel analyses of data of 5162 students in
57 Flemish secondary schools, show that girls are more engaged in
class activities than boys. The gender gap gets significantly larger
with higher levels of traditional gender-role-attitudes (considered
here a reflection of the institutional dimension) – making boys less
engaged. Second, boys display significantly more disruptive behaviour. This gender gap gets larger with higher levels of gender
pressure (interactional dimension) and, above all, traditional gender-role-attitudes – both making boys misbehaving more.
Papers by Mieke Van Houtte
focus on individual gender-identity. Others stress the interactional
dimension of students exerting pressure to act in a more masculine/
feminine way. Still other research examines the development of
student cultures in specific school contexts. Considering the gender
structure, this study aims to understand gender differences in
educational engagement by looking at the three dimensions of
gender – individual, interactional and institutional – simultaneously. Stepwise multilevel analyses of data of 5162 students in
57 Flemish secondary schools, show that girls are more engaged in
class activities than boys. The gender gap gets significantly larger
with higher levels of traditional gender-role-attitudes (considered
here a reflection of the institutional dimension) – making boys less
engaged. Second, boys display significantly more disruptive behaviour. This gender gap gets larger with higher levels of gender
pressure (interactional dimension) and, above all, traditional gender-role-attitudes – both making boys misbehaving more.