Leibniz Institute for Educational Trajectories

Abstract To date, it is unclear in which skills mismatches are most relevant for individuals’ wages, and whether surpluses or deficits in one domain can offset those in another. This study addresses these gaps by examining how mismatches in five key skill domains (ICT, reading, mathematics, science, and reasoning) are linked to individuals’ wages. Utilizing data from the 2016 wave of the German National Educational Panel Study (NEPS) Adult Cohort, our findings reveal that skill deficits consistently result in lower wages, whereas surpluses do not pay off in each domain. Notably, mismatches in ICT skills are most significant for individuals’ wages: ICT deficits not only reduce wages, but can also negate wage benefits from surpluses in other skills. Conversely, ICT surpluses can compensate for wage penalties associated with deficits in other domains. These findings underscore the importance of digital skills for productivity and wage potential in the modern labour market.

Zusammenfassung Bislang lagen aus Schulleistungsstudien kaum Daten zu längsschnittlichen Kompetenzzuwächsen von Schüler:innen mit sonderpädagogischen Unterstützungsbedarfen (SPU) im gemeinsamen Unterricht der Sekundarstufe I in Deutschland vor. In diesem Beitrag stellen wir das Design der längsschnittlichen Kompetenzmessungen in den Domänen Lesen und Mathematik der INSIDE-Studie (Inklusion in und nach der Sekundarstufe I in Deutschland) vor und berichten Veränderungen der Kompetenzen von Schüler:innen mit SPU in den Bereichen Lernen oder Sprache (einschließlich Schüler:innen mit einer Lese-Rechtschreibstörung [LRS]) zwischen den Jahrgangsstufen 6 und 7 im Vergleich zu Schüler:innen ohne sonderpädagogischen Unterstützungsbedarf. Die Ergebnisse zeigen geringere Kompetenzzuwächse in der Gruppe der Schüler:innen mit SPU im Bereich Lernen im Vergleich zu Schüler:innen mit SPU im Bereich Sprache (einschließlich LRS). Insgesamt verdeutlichen die längsschnittlichen Ergebnisse der INSIDE-Studie die Relevanz umfassender und valider Messungen von Kompetenzveränderungen von Schüler:innen in inklusiven Schulklassen der Sekundarstufe I. Die hier dokumentierten Ergebnisse spiegeln die aktuelle schulische Leistungsheterogenität wider.

Zusammenfassung Individuelle Sozialkompetenzen sind zentral für schulischen und privaten Erfolg. Sie entwickeln sich im sozialen Austausch und sind situations- sowie zeitabhängig. Weil sich Kinder und Jugendliche in der Schule stetig mit Gleichaltrigen austauschen, ist die Schulzeit besonders relevant für die Entwicklung individueller Sozialkompetenzen. Gleichaltrige nehmen dabei einen besonderen Stellenwert ein und können u. a. aufgrund von Peereinflusseffekten individuelle Sozialkompetenzen positiv oder negativ beeinflussen. In einem inklusiven Lernsetting stehen Schüler*innen mit den unterschiedlichsten Bedarfen, Fähigkeiten und Verhaltensweisen in sozialem Austausch miteinander. Denkbar ist daher, dass ein inklusiver Lernkontext ein besonderer Rahmen u. a. für Peereinflusseffekte sein könnte und wiederum die Begegnung mit Schüler*innen mit sonderpädagogischen Förderbedarfen (SPF) bedeutsam für die Entwicklung der Sozialkompetenzen von Schüler*innen ohne SPF sein könnte. Der bisherige Forschungsstand liefert Argumente, die sowohl positive als auch negative Entwicklungsverläufe annehmen lassen. Um die heterogene Befundlage zu klären, wird der Forschungsfrage nachgegangen, wie sich einzelne Dimensionen der Sozialkompetenzen von Schüler*innen ohne SPF in inklusiven Klassen im Vergleich zu Gleichaltrigen ohne SPF in nicht-inklusiven Klassen über die Sekundarstufe I hinweg entwickeln und welchen Stellenwert die in den Klassen herrschenden Beziehungen haben. Zur Beantwortung wird die Entwicklung zweier Dimensionen von Sozialkompetenzen von n = 1.176 Schüler*innen ohne SPF zwischen der 6. und 9. Klassenstufe betrachtet. Die Ergebnisse einer Fixed-Effects-Modellierung zeigen, dass sowohl der Besuch eines inklusiven Settings generell als auch der Anteil an inkludierten Schüler*innen mit SPF keinen nachhaltigen Einfluss auf die betrachteten Dimensionen der Sozialkompetenzen von Schüler*innen ohne SPF haben. Die Ergebnisse werden vor dem Hintergrund aktueller Forschung diskutiert.

Well-being at school is central to successful learning and dealing with challenges at school. While previous research mostly explored general student well-being, less attention has been paid to the specific challenges faced by refugee students, who enter the school system as lateral entrants and represent a particularly vulnerable group. Building on an established multilevel theoretical framework, we examine the interplay between individual factors (e.g., academic performance), social factors (e.g., peer relationships), and structural factors (e.g., school type). In addition to general factors, we particularly focus on refugee-specific factors (such as PTSD, asylum procedure uncertainties, and integration policies), which we integrate into the analytical model using the Cultural Stress Theory. Our analyses utilise data from the study ‘ReGES—Refugees in the German Educational System’. The sample comprises 2415 refugee adolescents who arrived in Germany between 2014 and 2018 and attend lower secondary school. Results from our multivariate analyses reveal that refugee-specific factors are significantly related to well-being beyond common predictors. An uncertain residence status, perceived discrimination, and cultural problems are negatively related to well-being at school, while teachers’ support for refugees shows positive associations. These results have important implications for educational policy and practice in supporting refugee student integration.

• The German population has favorable attitudes toward artificial intelligence (AI). • AI applications in healthcare are rated more positive than AI in the workplace. • Cognitive evaluations of AI are more positive than emotional appraisals. • Prior experiences with AI in Germany are limited. • Demographic differences are generally small. Artificial intelligence (AI) increasingly affects individuals’ private and professional lives. Importantly, both the acceptance and adoption of new AI technologies in society is heavily impacted by the attitudes that people hold; yet, there is currently limited information on how people perceive and intend to use AI at the national and demographic levels. Therefore, this study examined a random sample of 1,098 German adults to assess their attitudes, experiences, and usage intentions regarding AI in work, healthcare, and education. The findings indicated that respondents generally held favorable attitudes towards AI, with AI applications in healthcare receiving more positive evaluations than AI in the context of work. Moreover, cognitive evaluations of AI were more positive than emotional or behavioral appraisals. Prior experiences with AI were, however, limited, particularly in healthcare and education. Demographic differences were generally small. Taken together, these findings demonstrate that, in Germany, AI is currently widely accepted in different domains, although most people have little first-hand experience with it. These insights can inform policymakers and stakeholders who care about the proliferation of AI in society.

Although the successful labor market integration of immigrants can promote their prosperity and that of their organization, immigrant newcomers often face a difficult socialization process that can jeopardize their well-being. Considering the rising political polarization in many societies, as well as the dynamic nature of the newcomer socialization process, we develop a dynamic and multilevel model of immigrant employees’ socialization experiences over time, which is shaped by far-right voter support in the region where their organization is located. Building on and extending the relational demography literature, we argue that immigrants’ trajectories of social undermining—whether increasing or decreasing—are strongly influenced by levels of regional far-right support. Immigrants’ social undermining trajectories signal to them the feasibility of achieving a high-status identity at work, thereby impacting their well-being. We find support for our model in a unique dataset matching apprentices in Germany (tracked from day one of their apprenticeship over 13 weeks) with German election data. Specifically, we find that immigrants perceive increasing (decreasing) social undermining by their coworkers over time when employed in a region with higher (lower) far-right political support. Perceptions of increasing (decreasing) negative treatment, in turn, negatively (positively) affect employees’ emotional exhaustion and job satisfaction.

Chronic stress is an important predictor of mental and physical health, but little is known about its association with cognitive abilities and education during the lifespan. We hypothesized that chronic stress would be negatively correlated with cognitive abilities, particularly crystallized intelligence, and that this association would be stronger among individuals with lower educational attainment due to limited stress-coping resources. We used cross-sectional data from the German National Educational Panel Study (NEPS SC6), comprising 10,416 adults aged 29 to 71 years (50.80% female; 49.20% male). Fluid and crystallized intelligence were assessed with a reasoning test and a vocabulary test, respectively; chronic stress was assessed with a questionnaire on social stress and anxiety. The tests and the questionnaire were conceptualized for a heterogeneous and large-scale sample. Our results show small negative associations between chronic stress and both fluid and crystallized cognitive abilities, which persist after controlling for demographic variables. However, there were no significant differences between educational groups. Although the study does not address longitudinal patterns, it highlights the complex interaction between stress and cognition, and it underscores the need for further research to explore how educational resources may mitigate the impact of chronic stress on cognitive health.

Sprachsensibler Unterricht ist ein integrativer Ansatz, der fachliches und sprachliches Lernen miteinander verbindet. Dadurch sollen einerseits unmittelbare Verständnishürden bei Schüler:innen überwunden und andererseits längerfristig durchgängige Sprachbildung und mehr Bildungsgerechtigkeit innerhalb des Schulsystems gewährleistet werden. Damit Lehrkräfte entsprechend professionell handeln können, brauchen sie neben fachdidaktischen auch sprachanalytische und spracherwerbsunterstützende Kompetenzen. Dieser Beitrag befasst sich mit dem Themenmodul Sprache im Unterricht, das im Rahmen der Bildungslabore ein entsprechendes Ausbildungsangebot bereitstellt. Anhand von quantitativen und qualitativen Auswertungen wird veranschaulicht, inwiefern diese Lehr- und Lerngelegenheiten einen Mehrwert für angehende Lehrer:innen in Bezug auf sprachsensiblen Unterricht bieten. (DIPF/Orig.)

Children with an immigrant background are often regarded as a risk group for poor educational outcomes due to their on average lower levels of German language skills. However, the heterogeneity within this group is often neglected when only averages are considered. We address this heterogeneity by analyzing patterns of German vocabulary development in early childhood among children with and without immigrant background with an explorative approach. Using the data from the newborn cohort of the National Educational Panel Study (NEPS), we examine children’s German vocabulary trajectories from age three to nine by applying Growth Mixture Modeling. Our results show that a large share of children with an immigrant background exhibit an average or even above-average vocabulary trajectory. However, almost a fifth can be considered as having a “risk profile” since they show very below-average vocabulary levels at all measurement points. Such a risk profile also exists in the sample of non-immigrant children, but the share is smaller. The number of books in the family, the family language and children’s early cognitive skills are the strongest predictors for being in this risk profile.

Numerous studies in recent decades have shown a significant association between familiar socioeconomic status (SES) and child development. Less is known about the cumulative effects of socioeconomic risk factors, which may have a greater impact on child outcomes than single factors, especially in the first years of life. The study utilized latent mixture models to investigate the effects of socioeconomic risk factors on earlier infant temperament, a key predictor of later child development. Data from N = 271 families living in socially and culturally disadvantaged neighborhoods in the city of Bremen and participating in the BRISE (Bremen Initiative to Foster Early Childhood Development) study were analyzed. The considered risk factors included parental education, household income, parental employment status, immigrant background and single parenthood. Infant temperament was measured using four items from the Infant Behavior Questionnaire to assess negative affectivity. The latent mixture models showed three different groups of families: (1) families with high cumulative socioeconomic risk, (2) families with low cumulative socioeconomic risk, and (3) a mixed group of families. As hypothesized, infants from families in the group with increased risk factors exhibited significantly higher levels of negative affectivity compared to those in the lower risk group.