As part of the Leibniz Institute for Educational Trajectories’ (LIfBi) involvement in the National Report on Education 2018, Dr. Oliver Winkler (Martin-Luther-University of Halle-Wittenberg) was invited for a guest lecture as an expert on downward and upward mobility during the school career. On April 7, 2017, he gave a presentation on the topic of “Second chance education during the life course. A sequence pattern analysis of intermediate secondary school graduates making up for Abitur.”
Dr. Oliver Winkler gave a talk about the possibilities of moving up within the German school system.
In his presentation, Winkler provided information about typical career patterns of graduates from Realschule [intermediate secondary school] and how these patterns develop after obtaining the Abitur [higher education entrance qualification]. For the analysis, data of Starting Cohort 6 of the National Educational Panel Study (NEPS) were used. The results show that, although the transition from Realschule to Gymnasium [type of school leading to upper secondary education and Abitur] does occur, it plays a lesser role in comparison to the predominant “normal” educational trajectories (vocational training or direct entry into employment). Whether or not graduates from Realschule choose a path toward university or toward a “normal” educational career also depends significantly on social change or on the economic situation.