Selection for Whom? Upper Secondary School Choice in the Light of Social Justice

The education policy in Iceland emphasises inclusive and comprehensive education for all, and upper secondary schooling is open to all students throughout their lifetime. However, schools set their own admission policies, and some are selective. High-status schools are traditionally those that offer only academic programmes that prepare students for university, while comprehensive schools that include vocational programmes are considered less prestigious. The aim of the chapter is to explore how the institutional governing structure of school and programme selection perpetuates and reflects social inequalities. Systematic patterns in students’ school and programme choices based on their social and economic background, academic achievement, and educational expectations were analysed. In a longitudinal cohort study, questionnaires were administered to all students at the end of compulsory education in the Reykjavik metropolitan area in 2014, and then data on their standardised grades and progress at upper secondary schools were collected. The results show a pattern of school composition where some schools can select high-achieving students who tend to have a stronger social background and access to more resources. Comprehensive schools offering vocational education are not among them. This school hierarchy reflects a social stratification reinforced by a selection system that in practice contradicts the inclusion policy.