Education: Children and Youths in Rural Areas: A German Perspective

Abstract

International studies of school performance – e.g. the PISA study (Program for international students’ assessment), among other things, have shown Germany to be affected by educational disparities more than any other country. These disparities relate to both the participation in education (from daycare facilities for children to universities) and the development of competencies as well as career aspirations and the prospects of their realization. In Germany, the focus of examining educational disparities lies on issues of social strata and migration background. When analyzing educational disparities, regional differences in terms of a comparison between urban and rural areas concerning differential participation in education, divergencies in the acquirement of skills and varying difficulties in entering the world of employment are barely considered. However, even a regional analysis and the application of an urban and rural dimension reveal diverging differences. Young people in rural areas, for instance, remain less involved in the educational process. These gaps in educational participation seem to have been narrowed within the last few years. Nonetheless, differences in career aspirations and the chances of their realization still remain. Consequently, many young people migrate from rural areas to cities every year. The topic of young people with a migration background living in rural areas has barely been approached scientifically, since the majority of young migrants tends to live in urban centers of western Germany.