ABSTRACT
During the last two decades, proponents of the detracking movement have tried to fundamentally change the structure and culture of high schools by reducing curricular differentiation within them (Oakes, Wells, & Jones, 1997; Wells & Serna, 1996). Prior research speaks to the influence of tracking on authority (Metz, 1978; Oakes, 1985; Page, 1991), but no studies have focused on authority relations in detracked classrooms. The detracking reform movement derives from an egalitarian impulse and challenges the individualistic values that reformers believe drive the organization and management of high schools and reproduce an inequitable social order (Page, 2000). Cultural values, including individualism and egalitarianism, have great bearing on the authority relations between teachers and students that shape classroom life (Pace, 2003b). Thus, an examination of detracked classrooms provides new insights on the interrelated cultural and structural factors that influence authority.
