Opportunities for advancement in Germany still depend too much on the parental home.
(Photo: dpa)
Berlin It’s not as if the problem hasn’t been recognized: For years, educational politicians have been pointing out the miserable opportunities for socially disadvantaged students in the German school system. Education and Research Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger (FDP) now wants to use the Startopportunities program to give 4,000 schools with a high proportion of socially disadvantaged students special support.
The reality at the moment is that whether a child makes it to the Gymnasium after primary school depends largely on the parental home they come from. New calculations by the Ifo Institute at the University of Munich now show how much the educational opportunities of children differ, depending on how wealthy and educated their parents are.
Accordingly, equal opportunities in the German education system have not improved over the past ten years. Although more children are now making it to grammar school, the difference between the students remains large – depending on what requirements they bring with them from home.
Using the 2019 microcensus, the authors examined the influence of the categories of income, parental school qualifications, migration background and single-parent status on the probability of attending high school.
A sample of 50,000 children and young people aged between 10 and 18 was used to provide information about attendance at high school and their family background.
Blatantly unequal educational opportunities in Germany
The result: If both parents do not have a high school diploma, have a migration background and a net household income of less than 2,600 euros, only about every fifth child makes it to a grammar school. If both parents have a high school diploma, a net household income of more than 5,500 euros and no migration background, the probability is over 80 percent.
“The results of the Opportunity Monitor show a striking degree of inequality in educational opportunities in Germany – depending on the family background a child comes from,” is one of the study’s key findings. The co-author of the study, Vera Freundl, specialist in educational economics at the Ifo Institute, warns that there is a risk that the gap between children with good qualifications and children from difficult backgrounds could widen.
Because: “The skills that you learn also have a major impact on what you earn later,” says Freundl. According to the Ifo Institute, people with a high school diploma earn an average monthly net income that is 42 percent higher than people without a high school diploma.
The consequence of poor income and a low level of education threatens to become entrenched from generation to generation. “The differences become apparent very early on and then run through the entire course of education,” warns study author Freundl.
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Kai Gehring (Greens), chairman of the education committee in the Bundestag, considers the results to be “alarming”. “We need every talent in this country and must ensure nationwide that all children have equal access to educational paths, career prospects, social participation and personal development opportunities,” he demands. Above all, early childhood education sets the course for equal opportunities. Family Minister Lisa Paus (Greens) is therefore working to improve daycare quality.
The study also advocates providing targeted support for children from disadvantaged backgrounds at a very early age. However, childcare places for small children are primarily used by socially privileged families – although socially disadvantaged children in particular could benefit greatly from this.
Access to these offers is also difficult because there are not enough places in day care centers. According to calculations by the German Economic Institute, around 266,000 childcare places for children under the age of three were missing at the end of last year.
The way to grammar school: bad chances even with good grades
But even if children from socially disadvantaged families manage to get the same grades as their classmates at school, the path to grammar school is still often more difficult for them. “Gymnasium recommendations are more likely to be given if the family background is better, even if the school performance is the same,” says Freundl.
The effects of the corona crisis are not yet included in the microcensus figures. The pandemic could have led to a further deterioration in educational opportunities for children from socially disadvantaged families. At the beginning of the year, Education Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger warned of “severe learning deficits” that primarily affect children from socially disadvantaged families.
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