Social Identity of School Superintendents and their Attitudes and Perceptions on the Structure of Educational Tracking in Public Education

Tracking or ability grouping is an educational policy and practice that impacts educational access and outcomes for students. Although the practice of tracking is evidenced in schools, these policies and practices have negative economic, political and social impacts on student outcomes. School based policies and practices may serve to widen achievement gaps and limit educational access and opportunities for some groups of students. The attitudes, beliefs and social identity of a school superintendent may affect how the leader makes decisions on the implementation of policies and practices with respect tracking and ability grouping. This study seeks to understand how the social identity and beliefs of educational leaders, specifically the superintendent of schools, may affect decision making that maintains the practice of tracking in secondary public education. To understand the technical, normative and political dimension of tracking it must be examined through a theoretical lens. Based on the research problem and the impact on student outcomes learning theory and social reproduction theory were used as the foundation for this study. The purpose of this qualitative study is to understand how the social identity and beliefs of educational leaders, specifically the superintendent of schools may influence decision making that maintains the practice of tracking in secondary public educational programs. This narrative study explored the social identity of superintendents and their attitudes and beliefs about intelligence and the influence of their social identity and beliefs about learning on educational decision making.