A total of seven surveys were conducted up to the summer of 2020 with parents and their children who came to Germany as refugees, primarily in the mid-2010s. ReGES used different survey methods for this purpose. The core of the study consisted of three face-to-face interviews in the households of the refugees. In the group of younger participants (children aged 4 and older), the interviews took place with the parents, and in the group of older refugees (aged 14 and older), the interviews took place primarily with the adolescents themselves; the interviews with the adolescents were supplemented by interviews with their parents only in the first wave. The face-to-face interviews with parents and adolescents were supplemented by a telephone survey and three online surveys.

In the surveys, the participants provided information on personal and flight-specific characteristics as well as on their life and educational experiences in Germany. They also had the opportunity to report on their educational goals and future aspirations. In addition, characteristics of the family learning environment and social capital were recorded, which are also relevant for educational processes. The first and last personal interview also included a test of the children's and adolescents‘ language competence.

With the third SUF publication, LIfBi expands its data offer on ReGES and makes the processed and documented data available free of charge on the website www.reges-data.de for registered data users. Prerequisites for data access are the conclusion of a data use contract and the affiliation of the data user(s) to a scientific institution. Further information on the study design, the implementation of the surveys, and the instruments and evaluation projects in which the data have been used to date can also be found on the website.

The sample of the ReGES project, which was completed at the end of 2021, is the starting point for the study "Educational Trajectories of Refugee Children and Adolescents“ (Bildungswege von geflüchteten Kindern und Jugendlichen), which is also funded by the BMBF. As part of this study, participants were surveyed again in 2022. A further data collection is planned for 2024. With the help of these surveys, the further educational and career trajectories of the children or adolescents are to be recorded. In this way, the medium- and long-term integration of the refugee families can also be examined. The data collected in the new project will be integrated into the ReGES dataset and also made available to the scientific community.

Click here for the ReGES data offer (external link)