The topic traces the role of early tracking in the European educational systems and its mechanisms for the operation in the international comparison.

In the theoretical framework of the presentation we clarify different types of tracking and describe the research activities dealing with its effects. Then we compare the European educational systems which just like in the Czech Republic use tracking at the schools. Early selection has been re-introduced in the Czech educational system during the first years of post-socialism transformation after 1898. The same development may be observed in other countries in the region, namely in Hungary and Slovakia. Germany and Austria are also the countries where early tracking has a long tradition with no interruption. In the paper we consider early between-school tracking as it is practiced in the Central-European countries at the stage of lower-secondary education and introduce some international and national researches which analyse advantages and disadvantages of tracking based on pupils´ individual abilities during compulsory education.

Research questions:  

After theoretical part we introduce the methodological aspects of qualitative research we have undertaken, which aims to analyse Czech teachers´ opinions and personal experiences regarding tracking of students into different school types, particularly tracking of pupils to ‘multi-year gymnasia’ at the age of eleven. In the paper we answer the following research questions: How do Czech teachers perceive tracking at the stage of lower-secondary education? According to teachers what are the reasons of early tracking? How teachers perceive possibility of educating gifted students in heterogeneous groups? How teachers perceive parental influence on student´s school results? How teachers perceive gymnasium application process, and whether they agree with the statement that entrance examination is the best way how to recognize the gifted students who should attend select school (multi-year gymnasia)? With the last research question we introduce the types of entrance application processes which are used in the Central-European countries to identify acceptable pupils´ knowledge for admission. We familiarize the participants with different methods of admissions of pupils to multi-year gymnasia in the countries which use tracking in their educational systems.

The main objectives of the presentation are:

• to clarify different types of tracking
• to analyse the school educational systems in the Central-European countries which are experiencing with an early selection of pupils
• to explain the types of admission of pupils to multi-year gymnasia and their effectiveness
• to introduce Czech teachers´ opinions (just chosen ones for our research) to tracking in the Czech educational system at the stage of lower-secondary education
• to summarize the reasons of early tracking in the Czech educational system according to Czech teachers
• to explain how Czech teachers perceive possibility of educating gifted students in heterogeneous groups
• to show how Czech teachers perceive parental influence on students´ school results and the choice of their education
• to clarify how teachers perceive gymnasium application process, and whether they agree with the statement that entrance examination is the best way how to recognize the gifted students who should attend select school (especially, multi-year gymnasia)   

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