Participation without Belonging [InclusionIllusion] (C02)

• Subject Area: Empirical Social Research
• Term: since 2026
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 549839646

With Bourdieu's thesis of the illusionary character of equal opportunities, the German expansion of education can be reconstructed as a history of exclusionary inclusion. The project reconstructs the contradictory structural dynamic of the education system by following a two-stage work program: In addition to an analysis of the political and public discourse on education policy (1970-2022), biographical-narrative individual interviews and problem-centered family discussions will be conducted. By focusing on the educational trajectories of families in the context of a qualitative longitudinal study, we can analyze the significance of subjective expectations and experiences as well as the intergenerational transmission. In doing so, the project provides a dynamic analysis of educational inequality and investigates the meaning of social justice and recognition experiences.

• DFG Programme: Collaborative Research Centres
• Subproject of: SFB 1750: Inclusion : Recognition : Justice. Participation and Involvement in Childhood and Adolescence
• Applicant Institution: Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main
• Project Heads: Dr. Laura Hanemann; Professor Dr. Stephan Lessenich