How can schools be supported in order to give children from disadvantaged families better educational opportunities? Current debates on education policy focus on the approach of providing more funds specifically to those schools that need them most, rather than treating all schools equally. But does this type of resource allocation really lead to greater educational equality? A recent supplement to the magazine “Die Deutsche Schule” examines various funding models, analyzes previous experiences, and formulates recommendations.
Teacher shortages, lack of language skills, or learning deficits among students—the challenges facing German schools are manifold, but vary in severity. The fact that social background and educational success are still closely linked is one of the most pressing problems and is at the core of numerous reform efforts. In a needs-based resource management system, schools with a high proportion of children and young people from disadvantaged families, for example, should receive additional funds or support to better assist their students: in the form of school budgets, more staff, or further training.
Cooperation as a prerequisite for success
Previous findings on needs-based resource management have now been summarized in a supplement to the journal “Die Deutsche Schule.” “Needs-based resource management is a complex reform approach—its successful implementation depends on schools, politicians, administrators, civil society, and academia all pulling in the same direction,” says Dr. Norbert Sendzik, education researcher at the Leibniz Institute for Educational Trajectories (LIfBi) and co-editor. “Our supplement brings together different perspectives and uses interviews, empirical findings, and experiences to show what such cooperation can look like in practice.” In 12 articles, researchers, as well as representatives of educational administrations and educational foundations, examine needs-based resource allocation from different perspectives. The focus is on different models at the state and local levels, as well as fundamental questions: What specific support do schools need? How can schools with higher support needs be identified? And: How can an effective and targeted implementation be achieved?
Reasons, implementations and expected effects
Interviews with experts explore questions such as whether it is legally problematic to provide varying levels of support to schools, what challenges needs-based resource management poses for municipal education planning, and what role foundations play as civil society actors in the education system. Other articles present scientific findings on previous approaches to needs-based resource allocation, such as the Berlin Bonus Program or the North Rhine-Westphalia Social Index, or use examples to explore the possibilities of small-scale municipal education monitoring. The discussion also covers what types of resources schools consider necessary and the role played by school social work in particular. A concluding essay takes a critical look at the conditions necessary for educational inequalities to be truly reduced through changes in resource management.
Research project “ABBAUBAR” highlights need for action due to insufficient data
The supplement also includes findings from the ABBAUBAR project (Breaking Down Educational Barriers through Needs-Based Resource Management). In this joint project, researchers from LIfBi and Ruhr University Bochum investigated which models of needs-based resource management already exist in Germany, how they are implemented, and what effects can be expected. The project revealed the major challenges researchers face when analyzing impact: particularly in states and municipalities with a long tradition of needs-based resource allocation, it is difficult to determine which schools have received which additional funds from which programs, which have sometimes been introduced in parallel. In retrospect, this makes it almost impossible to analyze individual measures. The data available at the individual school level is also generally insufficient, making it difficult to measure impact.
Researchers expect the scientific evaluation of the Startchancen program, which is also highlighted in the supplement, to provide a better predictive data basis for assessing needs-based resource management. This is a joint project of the federal and state governments: Starting in the 2024/2025 school year, 4,000 schools across Germany with a high proportion of socially disadvantaged students will receive an additional €20 billion in funding over a period of 10 years. LIfBi is involved in the long-term evaluation of the Startchancen program as a project partner.
To the supplement (free download)
Bibliographic information:
Sendzik, N., Helbig, M., Demski, D., Bellenberg, G., Eiden, S., Edelstein, B., & Hugo, J. (Hrsg.). (2025). Ungleich fördern – gerecht steuern. Begründungen, Umsetzungen und Wirkungserwartungen einer bedarfsorientierten Ressourcensteuerung im Bildungssystem (DDS – Die Deutsche Schule, 20. Beiheft). Münster: Waxmann https://doi.org/10.31244/9783830999812
Background
The ABBAUBAR project was funded by the Federal Ministry of Education, Family, Seniors, Women, and Youth (BMBFSFJ, formerly BMBF) and was based at LIfBi from April 2022 to July 2025.
To the project page ABBAUBAR
The Startchancen program will be evaluated over the next five years by the Institute for Applied Social Sciences (infas), the Hector Institute for Empirical Educational Research at the University of Tübingen, the Leibniz Institute for Educational Trajectories (LIfBi), the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) Hamburg, the University of Potsdam, the Federal Institute for Population Research (BiB), and the Institute for Quality Assurance in Education (IQB). The Startchancen program and its evaluation are funded by the Federal Ministry of Education, Family, Seniors, Women, and Youth (BMBFSFJ).
Go to the project page Evaluation of Starting Opportunities