Herkunft und Bildungserfolg beim Übergang vom Kindergarten in die Grundschule

In Germany, age and readiness for school are still the main criteria for school entry decisions. As a result some children start school earlier or later than scheduled. Since the 1970s it is well known that school entries not according to the cut-off date are coupled with the social and ethnic family background of these children and result in differential school careers. Thus an early or delayed school entry may be seen as the starting point of cumulative educational inequalities. New results from three series of interviews with parents, Kindergarten teachers, and school headmasters being part of the longitudinal study BiKS (“Bildungsprozesse, Kompetenzentwicklung und Selektionsentscheidungen im Vor- und Grundschulalter”, educational processes, competence development and selection decisions in pre- and primary school age) now reveal how these decisions develop. One of these qualitative studies is dedicated to school entry decisions in families with Turkish migration background. It is concluded that especially two measures can reduce these early inequalities: (1) better information for the parents and (2) early preventive support for all children making delayed school entries no more necessary.     

Soziale Ungleichheiten beim Übergang von der Grundschule in die Sekundarstufe I: Theorie,Forschungsstand, Interventions- und Fördermöglichkeiten

Based on a theoretical model, which distinguishes between primary and secondary effects following Boudon, the present paper summarizes empirical evidence regarding the impact of family background on the transition from elementary into secondary school. In doing so, three types of secondary effects are distinguished: secondary effects of school grades, teacher recommendations, and the transition itself. The empirical literature suggests that both primary and secondary effects exist in the German school system: In addition to having lower achievement, children from disadvantaged backgrounds receive lower grades and fewer recommendations for higher tracks and are less likely to attend a high track even when controlling for their achievement. The paper closes by presenting findings from studies analyzing the relative importance of primary and secondary effects and a discussion on how effects of family background on the transition into secondary school can be reduced.     

Von der Hauptschule in die Sekundarstufe II ein aufstiegsbedingter Abstieg

Efforts to break the link between the school type attended and the qualification awarded are seen as an important step towards more permeability and upward mobility of Germany’s tracked secondary school system. Results from a biographical longitudinal study, which explored the transition from the low-ability school type Hauptschule to upper secondary education in general and vocational Gymnasium (grammar schools) yet show that from the students’ perspective, it is very challenging to take on the transition from lower-level ability to upper-level secondary school types , even though this may be institutionally possible, and desirable from an educational political perspective. For the students, this transition brings along the experience of severe degradation     

Bildung und Übergangsrisiken beim Einstieg in den Beruf

Anhand vergleichender empirischer Analysen untersucht der Beitrag institutionelle und strukturelle Determinanten arbeitsmarktad?quater Bildungsabschlüsse. Auf der Basis statisticher Mehrebenenmodelle und Daten des Europ?ischen Labour Force Surveys der Jahre 1992–1997 für zw?lf L?nder der Europ?ischen Union zeigt der Beitrag, dass ein h?heres Bildungsniveau und berufliche Spezialisierung dazu beitragen, Arbeitslosigkeit und geringqualifizierte Besch?ftigung zu vermeiden. Im Vergleich variieren vor allem die Muster beruflicher Allokation zwischen beruflich strukturierten und flexiblen übergangssystemen, im Hinblick auf die Arbeitslosigkeit weichen vor allem die südeurop?ischen L?nder vom allgemeinen Muster ab. Das duale Ausbildungssystem in der Bundesrepublik schneidet insbesondere im Hinblick auf die Vermeidung von Arbeitslosigkeit vortelhaft ab. Es zeigt sich aber auch, dass die Vorteile beruflicher Spezialisierung vor allem in den ersten Berufsjahren zum Tragen kommen, und sich im Zeitverlauf weitgehend nivellieren. Zudem zeigen die Analysen, dass der Arbeitsmarktwert des individuellen Bildungsabschlusses bei hohem Konkurrenzdruck und anhaltend hoher Arbeitslosigkeit steigt.     

Wer geht auf die Hauptschule? Primäre und sekundäre Effekte der sozialen Herkunft beim Übergang nach der Grundschule

It can be especially controversial when pupils are transferred to the “Hauptschule”, which is the lowest of three tracks in the German secondary school system. The acceptance of this type of school is very low for both parents and pupils. By contrast with the transfers of pupils to the high ability grammar school (“Gymnasium”), there are no recent studies on transfers to the “Hauptschule”. Analyses using data from the Bavarian partial sample in the KOALA-S study show that the discrepancy between the aspirations of parents and pupils on the one hand and the school type recommended by teachers and the pupil registrations on the other hand is particularly large when pupils are transferred to the “Hauptschule”. Discrepancies concerning transfers to the “Realschule” (intermediate track; commercial/technical secondary school) or “Gymnasium” are less severe. Unwanted attendance at the “Hauptschule” most frequently affects children from families with lower social or educational status. Analyses with an elaborated simulation procedure (counterfactual calculations) show that attendance at the “Hauptschule” mainly results from poor school achievements, whereas social selectivity due to parents decision making or transition regulations is far less important.     

Frühübergang in ein grundständiges Gymnasium – Übergang in ein privilegiertes Entwicklungsmilieu?

This article examines whether students’ learning gains in reading and mathematics depend on the time of their transition from elementary school to the academic track of secondary schooling. Drawing on data from the ELEMENT study, the learning gains of fifth and sixth graders in elementary schools (N?=?3167) and academic-track schools with various curricular profiles (N?=?1758) in Berlin were modelled by regression and propensity score matching (PSM) analyses. When baseline differences between the school types were controlled, analyses for reading did not reveal statistically significant differences at all. Findings for mathematics were inconsistent depending on the method of analysis. Regression analysis showed statistically significant results of small effect size in favour of the academic-track schools. However, this finding could not be replicated by means of PSM. The study does not provide evidence for a generally positive effect of early transition to the academic track of secondary schooling with respect to mathematics and reading performance. Theoretical and methodological implications and limitations of the study are discussed.     

Elterliche Bildungsaspiration und Migrationshintergrund als Prädiktoren für Schulformwechsel in der Sekundarstufe I: Ergebnisse einer Längsschnittstudie

The present study investigates the extent to which changing school forms in secondary school is dependent not only on a student’s school grades, but also on the migration status and educational aspirations of their parents. Based on a cohort (N?=?4219) of school students from one school year in Luxemburg, we were able to show that throughout the lower secondary school, the grade average played a decisive role in the move to a different school form. Furthermore, students with a migration background were shown to have similar chances as students from Luxemburg of moving upwards to a higher school form, yet were less likely to move downwards. However, this phenomenon could essentially be explained by the fact that students with a migration background are not as highly represented in the higher school forms as are students from Luxemburg. Independent of migration status and school grades, parental educational aspirations played a decisive role change between school forms. High educational aspirations facilitated the move to a higher school form, while low educational aspirations correlated with moving to a lower school form.     

Entwicklung und erste Validierung eines Tests zur Erfassung technologischer und informationsbezogener Literacy (TILT) für Jugendliche am Ende der Sekundarstufe I

The objective of this study was to develop a reliable and valid test to ascertain ICT literacy 0 = Information and Communication Technologies Literacy). It was designed as a paper-and-pencil test to ensure that it can be used flexibly. The results of two studies (pilot study: N = 308; validation sample of the final form of the test: N = 263) showed satisfactory item and scale values and indicated the one-dimensional nature of the construct. Tests of the test instruments for convergence and discrimination validity showed the expected links with computer-related pupil characteristics. To supplement this, expert reviews indicated a satisfactory content validity. Analyses of the construct validity showed that ICT literacy was clearly distinguishable from general cognitive abilities and, at the same time, possessed incremental validity in addition to other measures of computer literacy. The findings are discussed in relation to open questions about the construct validity of the test instrument.     

Subjektive Theorien von Lehrkräften über ungünstige Faktoren in der Bildungsbiografie von Schülerinnen und Schülern – Wie konstruieren Lehrkräfte den Übergang von der Schule in die Berufsausbildung?

The transition from school to apprenticeship marks a turning point in the life of teenagers because it can affect the course of their professional careers. Currently, this transition appears to be difficult for many older teenagers. Science deals with factors and conditions which contribute to the complication of this transition process. Teachers and their beliefs play an important role in this process but are largely neglected in the literature. Research has shown that there is a dialectic and dynamic interaction between knowledge and action (i.?e. knowledge is the basis for action). Thus, it is important to investigate the knowledge and beliefs of teachers about the transition from school to apprenticeship. It is documented that beliefs of professionals are underdeveloped in some areas in comparison to the epistemic truth status of scientific knowledge. A certain type of teacher develops an independent and creative professional-action strategy based on his/her beliefs.     

Soziale Ungleichheit beim Zugang in eine Berufsausbildung: Welche Bedeutung haben die Institutionen?

The corporatistic governance model of nonacademic vocational training, which is predominant in Germany, has produced heterogeneous and complex conditions for the access to vocational training. Which training programs are offered and the selection of applicants is largely determined by the training companies themselves. Adolescents interested in vocational training are thus confronted with diverse admission requirements. Which resources they can and have to use in order to receive a training position is significantly determined by the respective admission requirements. The present paper elucidates key institutional conditions of the access to vocational training which can serve as explanations for the (re-)production of social inequalities in the transition process from school to vocational training. In particular, the inequalities with respect the admission to vocation training along the lines of educational degrees, gender, as well as regional, social, and ethnic backgrounds are investigated.     

Chancengleichheit und Leistung im sozialen Wandel. Primäre und sekundäre Effekte der sozialen Herkunft am Gymnasialübergang in Hessen 1969 und 2007

The positive impact of families’ higher social origin on the transition into more demanding secondary school forms can be split up into two effects: the primary effect, which is conditioned by higher achievements of children from privileged social origin, and the secondary effect, which is independent of achievement differences and can be explained by the fact that higher school curricula are less costly and promise more benefits for parents of higher social status than for parents of lower social status. It is examined how the relative size of both effects has changed in Germany between 1969 and 2007 using two comparable studies in the federal state Hesse, which measure students’ achievement and their social origin in very similar ways. The transition to the Gymnasium, the most prestigious track of the German tripartite secondary school, is investigated applying the method by Karlson et al. (2012). The primary effect has increased, specifically because of an increasing impact of achievement; and the secondary effect decreased such that school has gained more impact compared to the child’s parental home.     

Erfassung und Struktur berufswahlrelevanter Faktoren für die Lehrerausbildung und den Lehrerberuf in Deutschland, Österreich und der Schweiz

The career choice motivations of potential teachers, their interests and other factors relevant to their choice of career are studied in order to achieve the best possible recruitment of new entrants to the teaching profession. However, the research and findings which are already available in this field are inadequate. The article is the first study which aims to analyse the structure and applicability of the internationally accessible FIT-Choice instrument to detect the relevant factors for teaching as a career choice in Germany, Austria and Switzerland on the basis of representative samples (n = 6,601) in order to create a data basis which will enable the previously unconnected research initiatives in German-speaking countries to be combined. In addition, teaching experience is taken into account and used to check how valid the career choice motives stated by the students are. The overall objective is to explore the extent to which measurements of career choice motives and teaching experience and analysis of two areas can be generalised across different institutions and countries and can go beyond the limited significance of the previously available findings, and eventually to formulate generalisable assumptions about the ideas which influence teaching as a career choice, and especially the motivation which leads to this career choice.     

Welche Rolle spielt neben Merkmalen des Instruktionsdesigns die fachspezifische und aufgabenspezifische Motivation beim Lernen mit Multimedia im naturwissenschaftlichen Unterricht?

The present paper reports on an empirical study which investigated learning with text and animations in the science classroom. In a 2?×?2 design the presence of multimedia learning material instruction (text only vs. text + animations) as well as the modality of the explanatory text (spoken vs. written) were tested. Prior to learning, students’ motivation to learn was assessed as a continuous factor. Recall and transfer were assessed immediately after learning. The results show better recall of information for learners with multimedia materials, providing the animations were accompanied by spoken text. However, in contrast to the positive effects of domain-specific motivation this multimedia effect was not evident for transfer. The effects of multimedia design were independent of motivation. Implications for future studies are discussed.     

Empirische Bildungsforschung in der Kritik – ein Überblick über Themen und Kontroversen

This article overviews the criticism which has been published since about 2001 concerning educational research and the related debates. Discussion contributions are classified into six different topics, four of which are expatiated on in this issue: the topic of (1) education theory, (2) discipline policy, (3) governance theory, and (4) teaching theory. To all these four topics the course of debate is shortly presented regarding criticism and counter criticism, in order to give a view to more articles of this issue. Thus a continuous controversial, partly even polemical discussion is described, which will be proceeded in this issue factually and argumentative.