Veränderungen in der gruppenspezifischen Nutzung von ganztägigen Schulangeboten - Längsschnittanalysen für den Primarbereich

Since the launch of the public investment program ‘Future Education and Care’ (IZBB) in 2003 the share of primary school aged children participating in all-day schooling in Germany has more than quadrupled. Against this backdrop, this study analyzes, the demographic and socioeconomic characteristics which are possibly related to a higher probability of attendance. Moreover, it analyzes changes in the composition of students participating in all-day schooling. Has there been rather a convergence or a divergence in the characteristics of participants and non-participants over time? Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP) and the additional survey “Families in Germany” (FiD), our results show that in West Germany all-day school participants have become more similar according to their socioeconomic characteristics (in particular income), hence supporting the convergence hypothesis. In East Germany our findings also provide evidence for convergence. In contrast to West Germany, however, convergence applies to characteristics related to the household structure. Overall, there is no indication for divergence over time.