The Czech Republic has a highly stratified education system at both ISCED 2 and ISCED 3 levels. International comparative studies (IEA studies, OECD PISA) show that individual tracks differ significantly in terms of both student composition and achievement, and that the differences have been further increasing (e.g. Straková 2011). Unfortunately, no longitudinal data enabling an analysis of the impact of stratification on the knowledge, skills and attitudes of students in various tracks are available in the Czech Republic. Studies from other education systems (e.g. Gamoran, Mare 1989; Kerckhoff 1986; Slavin 1990) reveal that tracking has a negative impact on the educational achievement of students in lower tracks. They achieve worse results than they would achieve in a comprehensive system. One of the main causes of lower achievement consists in deteriorated learning conditions: less capable teachers, worse teaching climate, less demanding curricula and lower teacher expectations (e.g. Oakes 1990). Gamoran and Nystrand (1991) pointed to the varying educational experience of students in different tracks: lower quality of classroom discussion and lower engagement of students in lower tracks. 

This paper focuses on the effects of stratification on civic attitudes.  Although the researchers pay significant attention to the impact of stratification on achievement and self-concept, analyses of the civic attitudes of students in various tracks are not available. There are analyses showing that the attitudes differ for males and females and for students with a high and low level socio-economic status (Baldi, Stephane, and Others, 2001). Education at a Glance shows that, in many countries, there are differences in attitudes towards elections, political activities and volunteering among adult citizens with different levels of education (OECD 2011).

A valuable source of data for studying the civic and citizenship attitudes of young people is provided by the surveys carried out by the International Association for Evaluation of Educational Achievement. In 1999 the Czech Republic participated in the IEA CIVED Study that examined the knowledge, skills and attitudes of fourteen- and eighteen-year-old students. The survey focused on three areas: democracy/citizenship; national identity/international relations and social cohesion/diversity (Torney-Purta et al 2001). In both populations Czech students showed relatively good knowledge of the principles of democratic society.  Their civic attitudes (e.g. the willingness to vote, to engage in the community, to volunteer, etc.) were more lukewarm than those of their peers in other developed countries. CIVED also showed significant differences in the attitudes of students in different tracks at both ISCED 2 and ISCED 3 levels. A difference exceeding half of the standard deviation appeared between students in the academic and ordinary track at ISCED 2 level in the attitudes towards elections.  At ISCED 3 level the same was also true for students’ attitudes towards women’s rights, and the rights of minorities and immigrants. A significant proportion of the variance was explained by the educational climate in individual tracks (Basl, Straková, Veselý 2009). This paper studies the development  of attitudes of eighteen-year-old students in the last decade.

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