Educational careers and outcomes of young refugees (Outcome-Study EduRef)
Objective
With the study “Educational careers and outcomes of young refugees (Outcome-Study EduRef)” various goals are to be achieved:
- Collection and supply of high-quality data on the long-term integration of young refugees into the German education and vocational system, or rather labor market, as well as on various educational outcomes
- Analysis of the collected data with regard to select research questions, and publication of the results in professional journals
- Highlight the findings’ relevance to science, politics, and practice.
Background
The BMBF and BMBFSFJ-funded refugee studies ReGES and BWF, conducted by LIfBi, have succeeded in drawing a unique sample of children with their parents, as well as adolescents. These participants have been interviewed and accompanied over a total of nine measurement points. A stable study panel has been established, which forms the starting point of the EduRef study.
Approach
The study panel consists of two cohorts:
(1) a cohort of adolescents who were sampled as kindergarten-age children and have since been monitored throughout their educational careers. At the start of the Outcome-Study EduRef, these participants will be 13 years old on average, the majority of whom will be in lower secondary education.
(2) a cohort of young adults who were sampled between the ages of 14 and 16 and have been monitored since. These individuals will be between 23 and 25 years old at the first measurement point of the new Outcome-Study EduRef.
Data Collection and Preparation
The EduRef study conducts online interviews annually. These focus on current education and employment periods as well as other educational outcomes such as linguistic integration, health, satisfaction, intentions to remain in the country, and social and political participation. In addition, each wave will include a small section of variable questions that address, for example, current events or age-specific issues.