Pupils' transition to secondary education: An exploratory study of teachers' recommendations discussed at teacher-parent conferences

Educational systems worldwide are characterised by a great diversity in teachers' allocation practices of pupils at transitory moments. In the highly liberal educational system of Flanders, the crucial role of teachers' decision-making processes and recommendations to parents, as discussed at teacher-parent conferences, is highlighted. The present study aims to investigate: (1) how teachers communicate their recommendations at these conferences in the form of its content, and (2) the perceptions held by teachers that form the basis of their recommendations, as expressed by the teachers at these conferences. Using a qualitative research design consisting of an inductive approach, observational data was gathered from 36 teacher-parent conferences. The results indicate highly differentiated recommendations accentuating teachers' study choice recommendations and generally including short-term secondary study choice options. Although enrolment in the A-or B-stream is the first study choice option at the onset of secondary education, overall, the teachers did not include this option in their study choice recommendations. The school choice and study choice recommendations were predominantly based on teachers' perceptions about school characteristics (i.e. pupils' perceived opportunity to complete their school career in the school of their choice) and pupils' attributes (i.e. pupils' perceived school achievements) respectively.