The Principal Investigator of the NEPS, Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Hans-Peter Blossfeld, emphasized the uniqueness of this longitudinal study during his presentation. According to him, “the NEPS is an internationally unique pioneer study.”.” In the presence of several NEPSprofessors and research assistants , Prof. Blossfeld explained the current status of the project  and announced the first data release in August this year. Dr. Wolfgang Heubisch pointed out how delighted he was for Bamberg and its University as a center of educational research and conformed that he  will make every endeavor to support the NEPS. The Minister said thatit is important for politicians to receive facts about the education in Germany due to this study. The President of the University, Prof. Dr. Dr. habil. Godehard Ruppert; the Chancellor of the Otto-Friedrich-University, Dr. Dagmar Steuer-Flieser and Prof. Blossfeld used the opportunity to thank the Minister for Scientific Affairs on behalf of the Federal State of Bavaria for the great support, it would have been difficult  without. The journalists in attendance used the following discussion to ask detailed questions about the NEPS.

The National Educational Panel Study is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research and is the largest educational study in Germany so far.  The project has been set up in 2009 to find out more about competence development over the life course and how educational processes develop throughout the entire life span. About 190 scientists from different disciplines work together and form a cooperation network throughout Germany headed by Prof. Blossfeld from the University of Bamberg.

The special aspect of the National Educational Panel Study is the documentation and also theory based analysis of educational careers throughout the entire life span. There are five central research perspectives, which are related to all relevant transitions in the educational system: (1) Competence Development in the Life Course, (2) Education Processes in Learning Environments, (3) Social Inequality and Educational Decisions in the Life Course, (4) Education  Acquisiton of  Persons with Migration Background and (5) Returns to Education in the Life Course.

 

According to this framework, longitudinal data on the development of competencies, educational processes, educational decisions, and returns to education in formal, nonformal, and informal contexts throughout the life span of about 60,000 persons of different age groupsliving in Germany will be collected within this project. This will provide a rich source of potential analyses for the various disciplines concerned with educational and training processes, and it will provide the basis for major improvements in educational reporting and the provision of expert advice for policymakers in Germany.