Tracking pupils based on their abilities or other aptitudes is a common
practice in many countries. In Finland, selective classes with a special
emphasis have become popular. The societal and individual effects of
tracking are a topic of ongoing educational discussion. Tracking has
been seen to increase educational inequality, but still it has been
defended as an important practice enabling individualised and adjusted
teaching. This study examined whether studying in a selective class with
a special emphasis has an effect on the development of pupils'
action-control beliefs from grade seven to nine. Results showed that
pupils who studied in classes with a special emphasis showed greater
achievement and were more likely to have highly-educated mothers than
pupils in classes without an emphasis. This selectivity explained most
of the differences found in action-control beliefs between classes.
Pairwise comparisons showed small differences in the change of certain
action-control beliefs between classes.