German National Educational Panel Study Research Articles

The achievement gap in reading competence: the effect of measurement non-invariance across school types

BackgroundAfter elementary school, students in Germany are separated into different school tracks (i.e., school types) with the aim of creating homogeneous student groups in secondary school. Consequently, the development of students’ reading achievement diverges across school types. Findings on this achievement gap have been criticized as depending on the quality of the administered measure. Therefore, the present study examined to what degree differential item functioning affects estimates of the achievement gap in reading competence.MethodsUsing data from the German National Educational Panel Study, reading competence was investigated across three timepoints during secondary school: in grades 5, 7, and 9 (N = 7276). First, using the invariance alignment method, measurement invariance across school types was tested. Then, multilevel structural equation models were used to examine whether a lack of measurement invariance between school types affected the results regarding reading development.ResultsOur analyses revealed some measurement non-invariant items that did not alter the patterns of competence development found among school types in the longitudinal modeling approach. However, misleading conclusions about the development of reading competence in different school types emerged when the hierarchical data structure (i.e., students being nested in schools) was not taken into account.ConclusionsWe assessed the relevance of measurement invariance and accounting for clustering in the context of longitudinal competence measurement. Even though differential item functioning between school types was found for each measurement occasion, taking these differences in item estimates into account did not alter the parallel pattern of reading competence development across German secondary school types. However, ignoring the clustered data structure of students being nested within schools led to an overestimation of the statistical significance of school type effects.

Misconceptions of earnings and their consequences for social stratification in vocational aspirations and attainment

ABSTRACT This paper makes two contributions to the literature on social stratification in vocational attainment. First, we evaluate whether labour market literacy, as measured by knowledge about earnings in different occupations, is socially stratified. Second, we analyse whether differences in expected earnings between high-income and low-income occupations contribute to the social stratification in vocational aspirations and attainment using serial mediation based on data from the German National Educational Panel Study. We find that students are well informed about earnings, on average, but substantially underestimate earnings in some occupations. Students from low socio-economic status (SES) families underestimate earnings more than those from high SES families, particularly earnings in high-status occupations. Therefore, low SES students expect smaller earning differences between high-income and low-income occupations than high-SES students. In turn, small expected differences between high-income and low-income occupations are associated with lower vocational aspirations as well as attainments. Differences in expected earnings of high-income and low-income occupations mediate 4% of the differences in vocational aspirations by parental SES and 2% of the differences in vocational attainment.

Mismatched, but Not Aware of It? How Subjective and Objective Skill Mismatch Affects Employee Job Satisfaction

Several studies suggest that skill mismatch reduces job satisfaction. To date, research has primarily investigated the impact of subjective skill mismatch; the impact of objective skill mismatch has less commonly been analysed and has generally only focused on mismatches in single skills. The present study addresses the question of whether both subjective and objective skill mismatch reduces employee job satisfaction. This article contributes to previous research by disentangling the effects of objective and subjective skill mismatch on job satisfaction based on a multidimensional measure of objective skill mismatch among employees in Germany. Based on the 2018 wave of the German National Educational Panel Study (NEPS) Adult Cohort, multiple linear regression models are herein estimated in order to investigate how subjective and objective skill mismatches affect people’s job satisfaction. The findings indicate that subjectively skill mismatched employees are less satisfied with their job than matched employees to a statistically significant degree, even when controlling for the objective mismatch. However, objectively skill mismatched employees do not show statistically significant lower job satisfaction compared to matched employees. Although there is considerable dissonance between objective mismatches and the subjective perception of being mismatched, the findings suggest that skill mismatch only reduces job satisfaction when employees perceive themselves to be mismatched.

Matthew or compensatory effects? Factors that influence the math literacy of primary-school children in Germany.

This study focuses on individual differences in the math competencies of primary-school children in Germany. It considers whether or not there are Matthew or compensatory effects in math literacy and which factors and background characteristics of primary-school children can affect competence development. Despite the abundant research on this topic, the findings are often ambiguous, and studies in the German context are sparse. We used the Starting Cohort 2 of the German National Educational PanelStudy and a weighted multilevel mixed-effects panel regression for our analyses (N = 4,982). Our results revealed compensatory effects for low-achieving students in math literacy. There were also small gender differences, but lower achieving girls can close the gap with boys during primary school. With respect to the educational background of the parents, almost no longitudinal effects were observed. The results indicated that the joint primary-school period has a compensatory effect on lower performing students. However, higher achieving students retained their lead, implying that social inequalities persist to some extent.

Determinants of profiles of competence development in mathematics and reading in upper secondary education in Germany.

The registered report was targeted at identifying latent profiles of competence development in reading and mathematics among N = 15,012 German students in upper secondary education sampled in a multi-stage stratified cluster design across German schools. These students were initially assessed in grade 9 and provided competence assessments on three measurement occasions across six years using tests especially developed for the German National Educational Panel Study (NEPS). Using Latent Growth Mixture Models, Using Latent Growth Mixture Models, we aimed at identifying multiple profiles of competence development. Specifically, we expected to find at least one generalized (i.e., reading and mathematical competence develop similarly) and two specialized profiles (i.e., one of the domains develops faster) of competence development and that these profiles are explained by the specialization of interest and of vocational education of students. Contrary to our expectations, we did not find multiple latent profiles of competence development. The model describing our data best was a single-group latent growth model confirming a competence development profile, which can be described as specializing in mathematical competences, indicating a higher increase in mathematical competences as compared to reading competences in upper secondary school. Since only one latent profile was identified, potential predictors (specialization of vocational education and interest) for different profiles of competence development were not examined.

Relative educational poverty: conceptual and empirical issues

This paper’s goal is to discuss implications for the empirical study of low educational status arising from the use of the concept of educational poverty in research. It has two related conceptual foci: (1) the relationship of educational poverty with material poverty and to what extent useful parallels exist, and (2) the distinction of absolute and relative (educational) poverty and whether the notion of absolute (educational) poverty is a sensible one. For the concept of educational poverty to be analytically fruitful, clear conceptualisation and operationalisation of the relevant issues are required. The paper contributes to the aim of providing these by building on existing work on educational poverty and by drawing on relevant work on material poverty as well as discussing some conceptual challenges and some of the challenges arising from the operationalisation of the concepts. Some of these challenges are illustrated using examples based on data from the German National Educational Panel Study (NEPS). In a further step, factors which may lead to a greater risk of being in relative educational poverty are analysed, employing the method multi-value Qualitative Comparative Analysis. The empirical findings highlight the relative nature of educational qualifications: the usefulness of a basic school leaving qualification has changed over time, and it has not been the same for different groups. Thus, a conceptualisation of low educational status as educational poverty has been shown to be useful, and it has been demonstrated that the relative nature of educational poverty ought to be taken into account by researchers.

Cultural Education: Panacea or Amplifier of Existing Inequalities in Political Engagement?

Cultural education has recently been particularly emphasized as key for the promotion of equal opportunities, social cohesion and political engagement. While the relationship between political engagement and formal education has been extensively discussed, little research has been conducted on non‐formal types of education, such as non‐formal cultural education (NCE) in particular. However, the share of NCE programmes is becoming increasingly important as more and more formal institutions are reducing their cultural education programmes. This article examines, firstly, whether NCE actually promotes political engagement and, secondly, who effectively participates in NCE programmes. Using data from the eighth wave (2016–2017) of the German National Educational Panel Study, we implement a mediation analysis within ordered logistic regression models to disentangle the mechanisms at play. Our results indicate that NCE exerts a small but significant effect on political engagement directly and indirectly via political discussions and political interest. However, participation in NCE is strongly influenced by social strata. The advantages of NCE are therefore not evenly distributed across the German population.

Parents’ Perceptions of School Support During COVID-19: What Satisfies Parents?

During the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, face-to-face schooling could not be performed continuously, and alternative ways of learning had to be organized. Parents had to act as their children’s home schooling tutors while working from home, and schools had to deal with various alternatives to distance education. Since parents are by all means both important school users and partners, their perceptions of schools can be considered a central indicator for assessing school quality. In this respect, during school lockdown, parents’ school satisfaction may reflect schools’ ability to adjust and react to fast social changes with almost no time for preparation. To date, there is nearly no knowledge about school satisfaction or school support during this challenging situation. Using data from the COVID-19 survey of the German National Educational Panel Study, we identified central predictors of parents’ perceptions of school support during the national lockdown in Germany in spring 2020. All students (N= 1,587;Mage= 14.20;SD= 0.36; 53% girls) and their parents (Mage= 47.36;SD= 4.99; 91% women) have participated in the longitudinal survey for at least 8 years. The results of the structural equation model indicate that the perceived support and abilities of teachers have been especially relevant for parents’ school satisfaction during the time of the school lockdown. In contrast, factors relating to parents’ and children’s backgrounds seem to be less important.

Differentiation and Grouping Practices as a Response to Heterogeneity - Teachers' Implementation of Inclusive Teaching Approaches in Regular, Inclusive and Special Classrooms.

Addressing students’ individual needs is a crucial component of inclusive teaching. However, empirical evidence comparing practices such as differentiation and grouping strategies within inclusive, regular and special classes is still lacking. The present study contrasts these settings using data from the German National Educational Panel Study (NEPS). Data from 1034 teachers (755 regular, 89 inclusive, 190 special teachers) teaching the subject German in secondary school (grade 5 to grade 8) were used. Results show the highest use of differentiation in special school classes. Teachers’ use the majority of grouping practices to a similar extent when comparing the three educational settings. Class size and the number of students with migration background were predictors for teachers’ use of differentiation, whereas patterns of grouping strategies were predicted by students’ gender and teachers’ experience.

Exploring Academic Self-Concepts Depending on Acculturation Profile. Investigation of a Possible Factor for Immigrant Students’ School Success

Academic achievement and academic self-concepts are reciprocally related; hence, investigating academic self-concepts should offer a potential approach for gaining a better understanding of immigrant students’ (lack of) school success. Proposing that immigrant students’ acculturation orientations need to be taken into account, in this study, we empirically investigate whether immigrant students’ general and domain-specific academic self-concept facets differ from those of non-immigrant students depending on their acculturation profile. Based on data from the German National Educational Panel Study (NEPS), we find initial indications that immigrant students’ academic self-concept facets are subject to their acculturation profile. The idea that acculturation may influence the known comparisons relevant for self-concept development will be discussed.

How Trust Makes a Difference: The Impact of the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Life Satisfaction in Germany

The extraordinary COVID-19 pandemic is one of the most severe disruptions of human life since the end of World War II, even in rich and industrialized countries like Germany. The introduction of a rather comprehensive “lockdown” and the restriction of multiple basic civil rights have affected the population in many areas of life, like employment, economic prosperity, health and trust in public institutions. The question arises how life satisfaction is influenced by these measures in detail and whether there are interactions between institutional trust, life satisfaction and time of crisis. Fixed-effect regression analyses using German National Educational Panel Study (NEPS) data demonstrate that life satisfaction has fallen sharply after the onset of the crisis and that interaction effects with institutional trust are present. Individuals with low levels of pre-crisis trust in institutions like the government, courts or the media report a stronger decrease of satisfaction than individuals with higher levels of trust. We believe that these results are relevant to explain the role of institutions in times of crisis and might serve as foundations for interventions to strengthen trust and increase overall satisfaction.

Marriage, the Risk of Overeducation, and Selection into Both: Evidence from Germany

AbstractTwo competing theories of social support and role specialization have been invoked to explain how marital status affects labour market outcomes. Whereas evidence of beneficial labour market outcomes among married men and employed married women favours a social support perspective, evidence of married women’s reduced labour market participation corresponds to a role specialization perspective. We make two contributions to this literature. First, we apply both theories to first jobs in positions for which the employee is overeducated (educational attainment exceeding job requirements). Second, we employ preference theory to show how selection into marriage shapes its association with being in a position of overeducation. To account for potential selection, we model the probability of being married and the risk of starting a career in overeducation simultaneously based on retrospective data from the German National Educational Panel Study. In line with the theory of role specialization, married women seem to be more likely to start in overeducation than unmarried women. However, adjusting for selection into marriage yields lower risks of overeducation for married women and men in comparison to their unmarried counterparts. This supports the social support perspective on overqualification and highlights how selection into marriage shapes its association with labour market outcomes.

Two Forms of Social Inequality in Students' Socio-Emotional Skills: Do the Levels of Big Five Personality Traits and Their Associations With Academic Achievement Depend on Parental Socioeconomic Status?

Some researchers and policymakers advocate a stronger focus on fostering socio-emotional skills in the hope of helping students to succeed academically, especially those who are socially disadvantaged. Others have cautioned that this might increase, rather than reduce, social inequality because personality traits conducive to achievement are themselves unevenly distributed in disfavor of socially disadvantaged students. Our paper contributes to this debate. Analyzing representative, large-scale data on 9,300 ninth graders from the German National Educational Panel Study (NEPS) and using the Big Five personality traits as a measure of socio-emotional skills, we cast light on two related yet distinct aspects of social inequality in socio-emotional skills: First, do levels of personality traits conducive to achievement vary as a function of students' parental socioeconomic status (pSES)? Second, do the returns to personality traits in terms of trait–achievement relations vary as function of pSES? Results showed that differences in Big Five traits between students with different pSES were small (0.04 ≤ |r| ≤ 0.09), especially when compared with pSES-related differences in cognitive skills (fluid intelligence) and sex-related differences in personality. The returns to Conscientiousness—the personality trait most relevant to achievement—in terms of its relations to academic achievement were higher in higher- vs. lower-SES students. Trait–achievement relations did not vary as a function of pSES for the other Big Five traits. Overall, both types of inequality were limited in magnitude. We discuss the implications of these findings for policy and practice and delineate directions for further research.

Diversion or Inclusion? Alternative Routes to Higher Education Eligibility and Inequality in Educational Attainment in Germany

AbstractIn the 1960s, educational reforms have been initiated in Germany to make the rigid stratified school system more permeable. While maintaining between-school tracking in secondary education, several second-chance options have been introduced that established alternative routes to higher education. This study aims to evaluate whether these alternative routes were successful in reducing the levels of social inequality in both higher education eligibility and higher education attainment. We draw on life-course data from the German National Educational Panel Study and conduct simulation analyses. We conclude that it is very unlikely that the reforms had any substantive influence on the level of inequality in both outcome variables.

Individual Achievement, Person-Major Fit, or Social Expectations: Why Do Students Switch Majors in German Higher Education?

While a large body of research addresses both subject choice and student dropout in higher education, much less is known about switching the initially chosen major. Therefore, we ask why students switch their major in higher education and analyse this for the case of Germany, taking the timing and the degree of such switches (within and across subject groups) into account. Based on the extended rational choice framework, we identify three aspects that might explain switching majors: individual achievement in secondary education, a (mis)match between individual occupational interests and the content of studies and parental and peer judgement regarding the initial subject choice. We test the derived hypotheses by applying logistic regression models to representative data from the German National Educational Panel Study (NEPS), Starting Cohort 5. Our results indicate that the analysed aspects of individual achievement, person-major fit and social expectations affect switching majors, but their influence varies according to the degree and timing of the switch. While high-achieving students are more likely to switch majors, especially across disciplines and at a later stage in their studies, a mismatch in occupational interests mainly affects switching majors across broad subject groups. Finally, disapproval of the initial subject choice by parents and peers matters most for switches during the first two semesters and across academic disciplines.

Resources, norms, and dropout intentions of migrant students in Germany: the role of social networks and social capital

ABSTRACT This study focuses exclusively on migrant students in German higher education and examines the relationship between their social networks, social capital, and dropout intention. We identify two different forms of social capital – resources and norms – that students derive from their networks, and are related to their educational outcomes. These two forms of social capital also correspond with the two well-established arguments for explaining immigrants’ educational outcomes: (1) immigration optimism and (2) social background disadvantages. Using data from the German National Education Panel Study, we use Lin (2001) concepts of ‘capital deficit’ and ‘return deficit’ to examine the differences in access and utilization of social capital between native and migrant students, further differentiated by whether one or both parents were born abroad. Using linear and logistic regressions we find that the networks of migrant students are characterized by high norms and aspirations, which have a shielding role for dropout. Further, students with both parents born abroad are at a higher risk of dropout than mixed background students. We specifically focus on factors that are unique to migrant students going beyond the well-established social background explanations for migration-related disadvantages.

Geographical mobility and children’s non‐completion of upper secondary education in Finland and Germany: Do parental resources matter?

It is often assumed that families migrate to improve their economic and social prospects, and that these additional resources can benefit the whole family. However, existing research suggests that many children who have experienced (internal) migration underperform compared to their non‐migrating peers in terms of different socioeconomic outcomes. In this article, we study the effects of geographical mobility on children’s non‐completion of upper secondary education in Finland and Germany using Finnish register data and the German National Educational Panel Study. Our findings indicate that moving during childhood is associated with the risk of not attaining any secondary degree in both countries. In Finland, this is mostly explained by negative selection into moving (i.e. those who move are more likely to be disadvantaged). In Germany, however, an independent association between moving and educational attainment remains after taking into account various reasons why families move. Furthermore, for both Germany and Finland, any labour force status or earning gains parents make after a move do not seem to compensate for the negative influence of internal migration on children’s educational dropout. Overall, we conclude that geographically mobile children may be a vulnerable subgroup in the inter‐generational transmission of inequality, therefore schools have an important role to play in integrating internal migrants—as well as international migrants—into the social networks of the schools they arrive in.

Gender Attitudes and Occupational Aspirations in Germany: Are Young Men Prepared for the Jobs of the Future?

The increasing rate of post-industrialisation in advanced economies has dramatically impacted on the availability of jobs in male-dominated occupations. Consequently, men with traditional gender attitudes may experience difficulties in finding employment that aligns with their conception of masculinity. Attitudes to gender roles develop during childhood as part of the process of socialisation; thus, family background, and in particular parental education and occupation, may influence the occupational aspirations of young people. To examine the associations between family background, a child’s attitudes to gender roles and a child’s occupational aspirations, analysis of the German National Education Panel Study (NEPS) Starting Cohort 4 data was conducted. The findings suggest that family background continues to be associated with attitudes to gender roles and occupational aspirations.

Receptive vocabulary of preschool children with migration backgrounds: the effect of home literacy activities

ABSTRACT Notwithstanding their relevance to children’s cognitive development, home literacy activities of preschool children with migration backgrounds have only been partly explored. Therefore, the current understanding of this topic, particularly in a German setting remains incomplete. This study aimed to evaluate the differences between preschool children with and without migration backgrounds with respect to both the exposure rate of home literacy activities and the connection between home literacy activities and receptive vocabulary. The study used data from the German National Educational Panel Study, Starting Cohort Newborns. Using a structural equation model, this study confirms that children with migration backgrounds were less exposed to informal literacy activities compared to German children. Interestingly, the opposite result was found for formal literacy activities. Furthermore, the results of the multigroup analysis suggests that the inferiority of children with migration in receptive vocabulary is attributed to their low exposure to informal literacy activities .

Academic track mismatch and the temporal development of well-being and competences in German secondary education

Formal education is one of the most influential predictors of professional success. As parents in Germany are aware of the importance of education, they often try to enable their children to enrol in the prestigious academic schooling track (Gymnasium). This explains why the transition recommendation made by the teacher after the fourth grade is sometimes ignored if the desired track was not recommended for a particular student. How the mismatch between the teacher’s recommendation and the parents’ choice of schooling for their child affects the child’s development is not sufficiently known. It is very likely that such a mismatch can have consequences for the child’s well-being, competences and overall academic success. Based on five consecutive panel waves of German National Educational Panel Study (NEPS) data (waves 1 to 5, collected between 2010 and 2016) (n = 2;790 in wave 1), our analyses demonstrate that social background and the probability of ignoring a teacher’s recommendation are associated, and that highly educated parents are more likely to overrule the teacher’s recommendation. Panel regression models show that pupils who pursued the academic track (Gymnasium) despite the absence of a teacher’s recommendation were more likely to drop out of the academic schooling track, and were not able to catch up with their peers with respect to both objective and subjective academic competences over the entire observation window. However, the models also show that academic track mismatch did not seem to negatively influence the health and well-being of these pupils.