How tracking structures interethnic class group interactions: an ethnographic study of the educational system in Belgium

The influence of ethnic school composition on interethnic interactions has been studied extensively and has received ample interest from policy makers. However, less attention has been paid to the structures and processes inside schools that organize interethnic interactions. In Flanders, secondary education, often referred to as a cascade system, is organized by grouping students in different tracks (academic, art, technical and vocational), which are hierarchically ordered and prepare students for different futures. Tracking in Flanders was originally intended to group students according to their abilities to facilitate teaching. However, a side effect of tracking appears to be that it segregates students along socio-economic and ethnic lines. In the present study, the interethnic interactions in each track will be explored, based on ethnographic observations and semi-structured interviews conducted in three multi-ethnic secondary schools in one city in Flanders (Belgium). Distinct patterns of interethnic interactions across tracks and fields of study were found. The observations and interviews in this study demonstrate how students’ habitus (Bourdieu, 1971) subtly structures interactions and leads to the formation of in- and out-groups along habitus lines. However, in- and out-groups interacted differently across tracks, suggesting the importance of track characteristics. The highest fields of study in academic tracks were characterized by co-existence, intermediary tracks by interethnic contact and vocational tracks by interethnic conflict. When relating these patterns to the field in which they occur, interethnic interactions seemed to be shaped by the relative sizes of ethnic groups in each class, and the societal appreciation, resources and future opportunities associated with each track. In sum, this study demonstrates the importance of track characteristics and ethnic class compositions to understand interethnic interactions in classes