Leseprobe
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Differences of educational Opportunities
2.1 Based on the Education and Income of the parents
2.2 Based on Migration
2.3 Recapitulatory Hypotheses
3. Efforts of the German government to reduce the social inequality within the educational system
4. The Role of General Mental Abilities
5. Conclusion
6. Bibliography
7. Appendix
1. Introduction
Within the 3 years from 2002 to 2005 the gap between rich and poor became bigger. While the average income declined by 4.8%, the income of the rich increased.[1] The poverty report of the Federal Republic of Germany states that good education, starting at the early childhood, is the key to overcome those differences and that the level of a child’s education in Germany is based too much upon the level of its parent’s education.[2]
This brings up the question whether we are still living in a class society where it is predetermined with what degree children end up. Because the social market economy that was arranged after World War II had the equality of opportunities as one of its main goals we have to ask our self whether the social component has failed and whether we therefore live in an unjust society.
Regardless that some people argue that a difference in income is an important factor of a social market economy, no one can claim that inequality in educational opportunities is just and necessary for a social market economy to work properly. Better education for everyone would even lead to more prosperity. The outcome of this is that the inequality in educational opportunities is one of the main factors of social inequality in Germany and holds back the growth of the economy. Therefore I will examine the differences within the educational system and the causes for those.
In order to do so I will first show the statistical differences of educational opportunities and how they rely on a parent’s education or migration. I will then give a short overview how the government is trying to reduce those differences and will examine how the General Mental Abilities (IQ) depend on the parental care and in which phases of childhood they are developed. Based on those results I will show why the efforts made by the federal Governments and states since the seventies could not bring the improvements they hoped for.
2. Differences of educational Opportunities
2.1 Based on the Education and Income of the parents
The report on education in Germany shows that the parental education has a big influence on the education of their children. 53% of the children raised by parents with a degree in the tertiary sector will also get a tertiary sector degree, while 44% reach a diploma that qualifies for university or college of applied science admission and only 3% do not graduate with a diploma within the upper secondary sector. The children of parents with that diploma will be able to graduate with the same diploma with a chance of 65% percent, while 31% will be able to reach a degree in the tertiary sector and 4% do not graduate with a diploma from the upper secondary sector. If neither one of the parents has finished the upper secondary sector the children will only be able to graduate from university with a chance of 24%. 56% will be able to finish the upper secondary sector while 20% are not able to.[3] This shows that the education in Germany is heavily based on the education of the parents.
Other studies show that the income has some influence on the children’s probability to visit the Gymnasium, the highest type of school within the second sector, but the education of the parents has a way bigger effect. The main difference based on the income is between a yearly income of 10,000€ and 20,000€ where the probability of attending the highest school is approximately raised by the factor 1.5 to 2.5, depending on the education of the parents. The difference in probabilities based on the education is way more significant, since the probability for children where the parents have no diploma at all is at 20% and for children of parents with a upper secondary sector diploma is at 60%, both measured at the same parental income of 20,000€ a year.[4] This proofs that the difference is caused mainly by the education of the parents and not by the wealth that might come through the better education the parents received.
2.2 Based on Migration
Besides education the second major influence on the kind of educational opportunities a child gets is the question whether it has a migrational background or not. Close to 50% of the children with a migrational background are visiting the Hauptschule, the school with the lowest level of education.[5] Compared to German students they are about 30% less likely to finish the upper secondary sector.[6] Therefore the migrational background can be stated as a factor that has a negative influence on the educational opportunities a child gets.
Whereas the influence of the parental education and income could seem rather logical, even though they are just as unfair, the influence of the migrational background cannot be explained that easily. Reasons for the statistical disadvantages for children with migrational background might be an authoritative style of education, the prohibition of independency, missing recognition for good school performances, the lack of acknowledgement of the necessity of a regular school visit and the lack of knowledge about the German educational system.[7] Another explanation could be that the financial gain for a trained worker with migrational background compared to an untrained worker is not big enough to be an incentive for better education.[8]
2.3 Recapitulatory Hypotheses
- The level of education is highly effected by the parental education
- The level of education is effected by the income of the parents
- Children with a migrational background have less chances to succeed in the German education system
Another hypothesis not mentioned so far:
- Siblings have a negative effect on the level of education, the more children living in one household the lesser the chances of a good education[9]
Since the average number of children in households with migrational background is slightly higher than in the households without this might be another reason for the disadvantage of children with migrational background.[10]
[...]
[1] Bundesregierung, Lebenslagen in Deutschland, Der 3. Armuts- und Reichtumsbericht der Bundesregierung (2008),retrieved on 11/11/08, http://www.bmas.de/coremedia/generator/26742/property=pdf/dritter__armuts__und__reichtumsbericht.pdf
[2] Autorengruppe Bildungsberichterstattung, Bildung in Deutschland 2008 (2008) retrieved on 11/11/08 http://www.bildungsbericht.de/daten2008/bb_2008.pdf
[3] Autorengruppe Bildungsberichterstattung, Bildung in Deutschland 2008 (2008) retrieved on 11/11/08 http://www.bildungsbericht.de/daten2008/bb_2008.pdf, also illustration 1 in the appendix
[4] Schneider, T.: Der Einfluss des Einkommen der Eltern auf die Schulwahl (2004): Zeitschrift für Soziologie, Heft 6 (Dezember 2004), also illustration 2 in the appendix
[5] Auernheimer, G. (Hrsg.) (2006): Schieflagen im Bildungssystem, Die Benachteiligung der Migrantenkinder (2. Aufl.). Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften p. 24
[6] Auernheimer, G. (Hrsg.) (2006): Schieflagen im Bildungssystem, Die Benachteiligung der Migrantenkinder (2. Aufl.). Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften p. 60
[7] Bender-Szymanski, D. & Hesse, H.-G.(1987): Migrantenforschung: Eine kritische Analyse deutsch-sprachiger empirischer Untersuchungen aus psychologischer Sich. Köln: Böhlau p. 37-41
[8] Diefenbach, H. (2007): Kinder und Jugendliche aus Migrantenfamilien im deutschen Bildungssystem, Erklärung und empirische Befunde. Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften p. 112f
[9] Diefenbach, H. (2007): Kinder und Jugendliche aus Migrantenfamilien im deutschen Bildungssystem, Erklärung und empirische Befunde. Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften S. 103
[10] statista.org, Durchschnittliche Zahl der minderjährigen Kinder je Familie mit Kindern unter 18 Jahren in Deutschland, retrieved on 11/14/08, http://de.statista.org/statistik/daten/studie/1459/umfrage/durchschnittliche-zahl-der-minderjaehrigen-kinder-je-familie/