An Urban Secondary School Case Study of Disciplinary Writing in Tracked Classrooms

Abstract

This yearlong ethnographic case study investigated higher and lower track adolescents’ experiences with core content-area (social studies, science, and math) writing in one urban working-class district. Teacher, student, and administrator interviews; field notes; and students’ written work comprised the data set. The findings from this study, framed by sociocultural theory and Bourdieu’s theory of practice, suggest that higher and lower track students experienced disciplinary writing in distinct ways in terms of the expectations for the kinds and complexity of writing and the importance placed on writing in content learning. These contrasting experiences affected the quality of students’ preparation to engage in advanced disciplinary discourse as they progressed through secondary school. The findings from this study are discussed in light of the increasing emphasis on disciplinary writing at the secondary level.