YEAR 2020

The 5th International NEPS Conference of the Leibniz Institute for Educational Trajectories (LIfBi) took place on December 7 and 8, 2020. Around 300 participants from 11 different countries met – for the first time in a purely online event format. In her keynote speech, Director of LIfBi and Project Leader of NEPS, Prof. Dr. Cordula Artelt, looked back on the first 10 years of the education panel. Guest speaker was Prof. DPhil Michelle Jackson from Stanford University on the topic "Is Socioeconomic Inequality Fundamental?". In addition, the "NEPS Publication Award" was presented for outstanding papers based on NEPS data.

Two renowned journals, "Soziale Welt" and "Frontiers in Psychology", have announced special issues on the Covid-19 pandemic. In both cases, researchers from the Leibniz Institute for Educational Trajectories (LIfBi) are involved as editors. Abstacts can be submitted for both journals as of now.

The number of scientists registered for using data from the National Educational Panel Study (NEPS) has exceeded the threshold of 2,500 users in July 2020. Over the past year and a half, on average almost 25 data users per month have been added.

Recommendations for a crisis-resistant education system: During the Covid-19 pandemic, day-care centers and schools were only able to fulfil their educational mission to a very limited extent. In their current statement, the members of a working group of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina have given recommendations on how to make the education system more flexible so that the right to education can be fulfilled even under the conditions of the current pandemic. One of the authors is Professor Cordula Artelt, Director of the Leibniz Institute for Educational Trajectories (LIfBi).

Due to the still uncertain situation regarding the corona pandemic, it will be possible to participate virtually in the 5th International NEPS Conference hosted by the Leibniz Institute for Educational Trajectories (LIfBi, Bamberg) on 7 and 8 December 2020. You can now register online for participation in the event.

On Thursday, July 23, 2020, the Innovation Circle of the Leibniz Institute for Educational Trajectories (LIfBi) started its work. This internal working group composed of LIfBi staff is to develop innovative ideas for improving work processes. The Innovation Circle will initially deal with the topic of sustainability; however in the future, it will also work on other topics. The proposals drawn up by the Innovation Circle serve as a basis for decision-making, which may lead, for example, to the formulation of guidelines for the Institute.

The National Educational Panel Study invites all interested researchers to submit proposals for new survey modules in all NEPS starting cohorts. With the first "Call for Modules", the NEPS now opens its survey program to external content. The deadline for sending in a short outline is 30 September 2020.

On July 15, 2020, the Senate of the Leibniz Association issued its statement on the first evaluation of the Leibniz Institute for Educational Trajectories (LIfBi) in Bamberg. In this statement, the Senate confirms the supra-regional importance of LIfBi and endorses the positive report by the independent evaluation group. The statement also serves as a recommendation to the Joint Science Conference (Gemeinsame Wissenschaftskonferenz, GWK) on the continuation of joint Federal and State funding.

For 15 years, the pairfam study has been offering a unique potential to analyze how relationships of couples and generations develop in different stages of their lives. Prof. Dr. Sabine Walper—Vice Director of the German Youth Institute, co-initiator, and co-PI (Principal Investigator) of pairfam—introduced the design and the various possibilities of the panel during her LIfBi Lecture. In her presentation, she also gave an account of the recent additional survey in response to the corona pandemic, which—like the additional survey in the National Education Panel Study (NEPS)—assesses the burden on families and changes in the family climate.

The third quarter of 2020 will see the start of the study “Teachers in Adult Education–A Panel Study“ (TAEPS), which is jointly led by the Leibniz Institute for Educational Trajectories (LIfBi) and the German Institute for Adult Education–Leibniz Centre for Lifelong Learning (DIE). Over a period of six years, information on professionalization and on promoting the development of competencies of teachers in adult and further education will be gathered using standardized surveys and randomized field experiments. The project receives funding from the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung, BMBF).

The Swiss TREE study “Transitions from Education to Employment”—one of the models of the National Education Panel Study (NEPS)—has been in existence for almost 20 years now. As part of LIfBi Lectures, the two project heads Prof. Dr. Ben Jann and Dr. Thomas Meyer from the Institute of Sociology at the University of Bern reported on panel progress and some results.

The Leibniz Institute for Educational Trajectories (LIfBi) announces a personnel change in management. Dr. Robert Polgar is leaving his position as Executive Director of Administration and member of the Board of Directors after six years.

The Joint Science Conference of the Federal Government and the Länder (Gemeinsame Wissenschaftskonferenz, GWK) has today decided to provide funding for the Consortium for the Social, Behavioural, Educational, and Economic Sciences (KonsortSWD), one of nine founding consortiums of the National Research Data Infrastructure (NFDI).

In cooperation with the Leibniz Institute for Research and Information in Education (DIPF), the German Youth Institute (DJI), the Centre for Higher Education and Science Studies (DZHW), the Sociological Research Institute at the University of Göttingen (SOFI), the German Institute for Adult Education (DIE) and the statistical agencies of the Federal Government and the States (Destatis, StaLä), the Leibniz Institute for Educational Trajectories (LIfBi) has completed the 8th National Report on Education in Germany “Bildung in Deutschland 2020“, which was presented on June 23, 2020. A particular concern in the education report is the presentation of trajectories, risk factors, and conditions for success in education, thus providing insights into educational outcomes and returns. The current report increasingly uses longitudinal data from the National Education Panel Study (NEPS), which is based at LIfBi and has been conducted by a nationwide network for around ten years. The following seven results are examples of NEPS findings in the current Education Report.

Ann-Christin Bächmann, LIfBi employee, has been nominated for this year’s Körber Foundation Study Award. In her dissertation entitled “Berufliche Geschlechtersegregation und Geschlechterungleichheiten auf dem deutschen Arbeitsmarkt [Occupational Gender Segregation and Gender Inequality in the German Labor Market]” at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, she examines the unequal distribution of occupational patterns among women and men in Germany and their effects. Her objective: to identify starting points for creating more gender equality in the business world.

Prof. Dr. Cordula Artelt, Director of the Leibniz Institute for Educational Trajectories (LIfBi) and Chair of Longitudinal Educational Research at the University of Bamberg, represents the field of educational research in the new Commission for Pandemic Research of the German Research Foundation (DFG). The aim of the commission, whose inaugural meeting took place on June 15, is to support and connect evidence-driven research in all subjects relevant to the pandemic and to accompany research projects.

On Wikipedia and other knowledge-generating communities, even non-experts can provide information that is not inferior in quality to classic encyclopedias. But what individual and systemic prerequisites are required for this collaborative work? And under what circumstances can knowledge platforms become echo chambers of ideological or even extremist positions? In her guest lecture at LIfBi Lectures, Prof. Dr. Ulrike Cress gave exciting insights into the current research of the Leibniz-Institut für Wissensmedien (IWM) in Tübingen. 

On Wikipedia and other knowledge-generating communities, even non-experts can provide information that is not inferior in quality to classic encyclopedias. But what individual and systemic prerequisites are required for this collaborative work? And under what circumstances can knowledge platforms become echo chambers of ideological or even extremist positions? In her guest lecture at LIfBi Lectures, Prof. Dr. Ulrike Cress gave exciting insights into the current research of the Leibniz-Institut für Wissensmedien (IWM) in Tübingen. 

As part of the National Educational Panel Study (NEPS)—the largest long-term study on education in Germany—all participants are currently being surveyed concerning the corona pandemic. In the current and all upcoming surveys, the effects of the corona pandemic on everyday school, work, and family life will be examined. As a result, we will be able to research not only retrospective differences in dealing with the crisis but also long-term consequences for educational biographies in Germany.

Prof. Dr. Cordula Artelt, Director of the Leibniz Institute for Educational Trajectories (LIfBi), congratulates Prof. Dr. Kai Fischbach on his election as new President of the University of Bamberg.