Opportunities or new disadvantages? The long-term impact of curriculum modifications and accommodations on post-compulsory educational trajectories

• Published in: Empirical Research in Vocational Education and Training Vol. 17; no. 1; pp. 16 - 22
• Main Authors: Lustenberger, Sara, Sahli Lozano, Caroline, Brandenberg, Kathrin, Hauser, Janine, Wüthrich, Sergej
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 01.12.2025; Springer; Springer Nature B.V; SpringerOpen
• Subjects: Academic Accommodations (Disabilities); Academic achievement; Accommodations; Apprenticeship; Career and Technical Education; Careers; Classroom Environment; Cognitive ability; Compulsory education; Developmental Tasks; Disability; Economic Sociology; Education; Educational objectives; Educational trajectories; Higher education; Inclusion; Individualized Instruction; Integrative school measures; Intermediate Grades; Labor Economics; Learning; Learning Processes; Low Achievement; Mainstreaming; Mild Disabilities; Opportunities; Organizational Studies; Professional and Vocational Education; Reduced learning objectives; School districts; Secondary education; Self Evaluation (Individuals); Socioeconomic Background; Socioeconomic factors; Socioeconomic status; Special Classes; Special Education Teachers; Special educational needs; Special Schools; Students; Students with Disabilities; Transition from lower to upper secondary education; Switzerland; Germany; Integrative school measures; Reduced learning objectives; Educational trajectories; Transition from lower to upper secondary education; Educational inequality; Special educational needs; Accommodations
• ISSN: 1877-6345; 1877-6337; 1877-6345
• DOI: 10.1186/s40461-025-00190-8

This study examines the long-term effects of two different integrative school measures in lower secondary education — reduced individual learning objectives and accommodations — on post-compulsory educational trajectories in Switzerland. Based on data from the Bernese Longitudinal Study on Integrative School Measures (BELIMA; N  = 2297), this study examines how these measures influence students’ transitions to upper secondary education, focusing on the level of academic demands and educational discontinuities (delayed entry and apprenticeship contract terminations). Through propensity score matching, students with and without integrative measures were compared while controlling for various factors including school type, academic performance, intelligence, and social background. Results show that students with reduced learning objectives were significantly more likely to enrol in educational programs with lower academic demands compared to similar students without this measure. However, they did not experience more discontinuous pathways. No effects were found for students with accommodations, neither regarding the level of academic demands nor educational discontinuities. These findings suggest that reduced learning objectives may limit educational opportunities beyond compulsory education, potentially due to their stigmatizing effects. This raises important questions about how integrative measures can be implemented to support students effectively while avoiding unintended negative consequences for their educational trajectories.