Focus 2022

There are various terms used to describe students from non-academic households, such as First Generation Students, first-time academics, or working-class children. The group of First Generation Students can be defined in different ways: People of whom one or two parents have a university degree; less frequently, master's degrees, for example, are also included. In the current academic discussion, the distinction between children from non-academic households with parents who do not have a university degree and children from academic households in which at least one parent has an academic degree is well established¹.

On average, about half of all students in Germany are the first in their family to study.

¹ El-Mafaalani 2021, p. 66

The high level of educational inequality in Germany, even by European standards, has long been the subject of social and scientific debate and has not been reduced since the 2001 PISA study¹. Three levels are cited to illustrate the influence of social origin on education:

1. Educational funnel: social selection according to levels of the educational system.
2. Transition from upper secondary school to tertiary education
3. Composition of the total population compared to the group of first-year students

Education funnel

The education funnel (Figure 1) represents how many out of 100 children from non-academic or academic households reach the next educational level from elementary school to doctorate. Out of 100 children from academic households, 79 start university, while 27 children from non-academic households start university. In addition, the transition rate between the two levels can be seen: 82 percent of those who start a course of study and thus 64 out of 100 children from academic households acquire a bachelor's degree, while the transition rate for first-generation students is 76 percent and thus 20 bachelor's graduates. Doctoral degrees are completed by 6 out of 100 children from academic vs. 2 out of 100 children from non-academic households.

¹ Kracke et al. 2016, p. 2

The education funnel already shows a considerable difference between people from academic and non-academic households between elementary school and taking up studies. The inequality persists at university or is further reinforced: students from academic households drop out more often and are less likely to take up a master's degree.  

Transition from school to university

Figure 2 shows the transition rate from attending a gymnasium upper secondary school to a university according to the educational attainment of the parents. Of 100 children from non-academic households attending a gymnasiale Oberstufe¹ , 47 percent enter university, compared with 87 percent of children from academic households.

¹ The gymnasiale Oberstufe here includes general secondary schools, comprehensive schools, specialized secondary schools (Kracke et al. 2016, p. 4).

Proportion of children from (non-) academic households: Total population and first-year students

Figure 3 shows the total population compared to the group of first-year students in Germany in 2016. The educational inequality seen in the education funnel and school-university transition leads to a significant underrepresentation of first-time academics: While 72 percent of all children grew up in non-academic households, the share of first-generation students is 47 percent.

Covid 19

The full impact of the pandemic will not be seen for years to come, but it is likely to increase educational inequality in Germany. In the 2021 discussion paper "Chancengerechte Bildung. From working-class child to doctor" states:

"The COVID-19 pandemic threatens to reverse the small successes of recent years. Non-academic children are more affected by inadequate digital infrastructure, reduced learning time, and increasing funding difficulties. "¹

The lack of interaction with other students and faculty, as well as financial insecurity, are particularly challenging for first-time academics*.

For more, listen to the interview with Lena Zimmer (Hochschulforum Digitalisierung).

¹ Stifterverband 2021, p. 5

Students' experiences at university are not uniform and first-generation students face different challenges. Through studies on the situation of students from non-academic households, we learn about the study conditions of First Generation Students. The findings do not apply equally to everyone; they reveal inequalities at a structural level.

Hannah Rindler, state coordinator of ArbeiterKind.de describes in an interview with the FU Berlin different hurdles for first generation students such as lack of academic role models (family/university), financial resources, the academic habitus or the distance to teachers. The video can be found in the Toolbox Gender and Diversity in Teaching at the FU Berlin.

In the Hans Böckler Foundation's impulse "Workers' Children at University: Hurdle Race to Academics," the results of a study on the influence of social background on university studies¹ are described as follows: "Workers' children perform just as well in their studies as their fellow students. But they have a much harder time of it. They receive less support from home, have to earn money more often and are also less likely to receive support from their professors"².

Some of the findings on barriers for first-time academics³ are summarized here:
 

• Students from non-academic households often perceive taking up their studies as a risk rather than a matter of course; they experience less support from their parents than children of academics due to a lack of experience or understanding.
• First Generation Students are much less likely to be able to rely on financial support from their parents. BAföG only compensates for this inequality to a limited extent; for students from non-academic households, balancing studies and work is a challenge. At the same time, first-time academics are less likely to be supported by scholarships. 
• Due to a higher level of uncertainty in the university environment, First Generation Students may be more reserved in discussions and the equally good achievements as those of students from academic households are less conspicuous.
• Social inequality continues to affect career-relevant steps taken during college; for example, first-generation students* are less likely to work as student assistants⁴ and less likely to take up study abroad⁵.

¹ Bargel & Bargel 2010
² Böckler Impulse 07/2010
³ ibid.
⁴ ibid.
⁵ Netz 2018, p. 1