The Interplay of Social and Immigrant Background: Effects on Educational Outcomes and Educational Processes

• Applicants: Professor Dr. Michael Becker; Professorin Dr. Aileen Edele; Dr. Kristin Schotte
• Subject Area: Education Systems and Educational Institutions ; Educational Research on Socialization, Welfare and Professionalism
• Term: since 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 545913872

In Germany, both pupils from families with a lower social status and pupils from families with a history of migration are significantly less successful in the education system than their peers from families with a higher social status or without a history of migration. However, pupils with a migration background have very diverse learning conditions: Their families come from different regions and countries, have lived in Germany for different lengths of time and have different resources to support their children's educational path. Educational research has so far paid relatively little attention to the diversity of families with a history of migration as a whole, but especially in its interplay with social background, although theoretical accounts clearly suggest to consider several dimensions of inequality simultaneously. There are only a few studies that explicitly examine the interplay of these dimensions of inequality, and they come to different, sometimes contradictory results. In order to better understand and tackle educational inequalities, it is important to disentangle the effects of migration-related and social inequality and to comprehend their complex interaction. The central aims of this project are therefore to investigate the significance of migration-related and social background and their interplay for the educational outcomes and processes of pupils. We also look at gender-specific effects and analyze over time to what extent migration-related educational disparities in different epochs are varying. Since educational disparities can vary greatly depending on the indicators of educational success considered, we take a multidimensional perspective and look at performance indicators, socio-emotional and motivational characteristics in different domains as well as educational transitions and participation in education. In addition to educational outcomes, the project also focuses on processes at the family level that are responsible for the "inheritance" of educational inequalities: It examines the extent to which education-related cognitions (educational aspirations, education-related attitudes, knowledge of the education system) and education-related practices of parents differ according to social and migration-related origins. In addition, it determines the significance of these origin-related differences in family socialization conditions for the educational success of pupils. The significance of the inequality dimensions will be differentiated and, in particular, the specific effects of the intersection of different characteristics will be examined. To this end, relevant large-scale studies from the German context will be analyzed comprehensively using integrated data analyses. The project aims to produce at least six high-quality publications. In the spirit of Open Science, the planned analyses will be preregistered and the protocols for data preparation and evaluation will be made available to the scientific community.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• Co-Investigator: Professorin Dr. Petra Stanat