Valeriya Ivanyushina, Ph.D. in Biology, leading researcher at the Sociology of Education and Science Laboratory, National Research University — Higher School of Economics — St. Petersburg, Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation. Email: v.ivaniushina@gmail.com

Daniil Aleksandrov, Ph.D. in Biology, Professor and Head of the Sociology of Education and Science Laboratory, National Research University — Higher School of Economics — St. Petersburg, Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation. Email: da1581@gmail.com 

Analyzing the results of a survey among students in regular public schools, the study seeks to check for existence of a differentiation — polarization effect in Russian schooling system. The latter is characterized by a specific stratification based on socioeconomic status of families and differing from stratification patterns in foreign schools. The study compares how pro-school and anti-school cultures influence academic performance at various levels of students’ social environment (school, class, close friendship groups).

As a result of two-stage stratified sampling, the schools involved in the study have been divided into two groups: with standard and advanced educational programs. Multi-stage regression analysis has established that socioeconomic differentiation of Russian schools does not result in polarization of pro-school and anti-school attitudes in different types of schools. The level of pro-school attitudes is rather determined by individual and family factors (gender, immigration status, socioeconomic status of family and parental education).

In order to compare how school and immediate environment influence overall academic performance, the authors have built a three-tier model: individual — clique (an intensive interaction group) — school. The clique level was introduced into analysis by building social cliques within classes and identifying intensive interaction groups where internal relations are much closer than relations of members with other students. It has been discovered that factors of pro-school attitude in cliques have a positive influence on academic performance, with due account of individual attitudes and sociodemographic factors. Polarization of attitudes, uncharacteristic of the school level, evolves and consolidates at the level of intense interaction groups.