Germans Want Schools to Cover #MeToo Topics
Three-quarters majorities of both women and men favor that schools cover not only gender equality, but also topics like sexual harassment in their curriculum. That is just one of the wide-ranging results of the ifo Education Survey 2018, a representative opinion survey of over 4,000 adults in Germany on education policy issues. Significant majorities of women and men see no preferential treatment of either gender at schools and universities – unlike in the labor market, where the majority sees preferential treatment of men. Germans are open to numerous measures to promote gender equality. But they clearly oppose separate teaching of girls and boys in math and languages, as well as the expansion of single-sex schools. more...
|
|
|
Do Youths Hold Different Views on Education Policy Than Adults?
For the first time, the ifo Education Survey 2018 also surveyed over 1,000 youths aged between 14 and 17 years, uncovering interesting similarities and differences between the opinions of youths and adults. For instance, 60 percent of adults support the introduction of an all-day school system, whereas 64 percent of youths oppose it. In contrast to adults, youths also prefer purchasing new instructional materials over class-size reductions. On the other hand, majorities of both youths and adults support the introduction of nationwide standardized school exit exams and national comparative tests in several school grades, but oppose the abolition of school grades. Also on topics of gender equality and digitalization, youths and adults show similarly open opinions. more...
|
|
|
External Comparative Testing Improves Student Achievement
The introduction of external comparative standardized testing improves student achievement in math, science, and reading, according to new work by Annika Bergbauer and Ludger Woessmann of the ifo Center for the Economics of Education and ifo research professor Eric Hanushek of Stanford University. Their study investigates reforms in assessment systems in 59 countries between 2000 and 2015 using PISA micro data on over two million students. In contrast to external testing, internal testing and teacher inspectorates without external comparisons do not systematically lead to improvements in student achievement. more...
|
|
|
A Successful Reform for High-Track Dropouts
In the post-war era, dropouts from upper-secondary school (Gymnasium) in Germany did not receive any formal degree. In 1965, the gathering of education ministers of the German states decided that all high-track students should automatically receive an interim degree upon successful completion of grade 9. To evaluate the effects of this reform with data from the National Educational Panel Study (NEPS), Natalie Obergruber and Larissa Zierow of the ifo Center for the Economics of Education use its staggered introduction across West German states from 1965 in Baden-Wuerttemberg to 1982 in Bavaria. The reform not only reduced switching between school tracks, but also increased successful high-track completion, university entrance rates, and later income. The authors attribute these positive effects to the reduced risk of attending high-track schools due to the option of falling back on the interim degree. more...
|
|
|
Inequality of Opportunity and Education Policy Preferences
Do people’s preferences for equity-oriented education policies change when they receive information on the actual extent of educational inequality? A new study by Philipp Lergetporer, Katharina Werner, and Ludger Woessmann of the ifo Center for the Economics of Education addresses this question using a survey experiment implemented in the ifo Education Survey. The share of the population who view inequality for children from different social backgrounds in the German education system as a serious problem rises from 55 to 68 percent if participants are informed about the size of achievement differences. By contrast, the information hardly affects the already high support for various equity-oriented education policies. The only exception is a significant increase in support for compulsory preschool. more...
|
|
|
Teacher Subject Knowledge and Student Performance in Sub-Saharan Africa
Teachers’ subject knowledge has a modest impact on students’ performance in math and reading in Sub-Saharan Africa. This is the result of a paper recently published in the Journal of Human Resources by Jan Bietenbeck (Lund University), Marc Piopiunik (ifo Center for the Economics of Education), and ifo research professor Simon Wiederhold (University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt). For their analysis, the authors use performance differences that exist between the two subjects for each student, as well as the corresponding performance differences of their teachers, in a test conducted in 13 countries in Southern and Eastern Africa. The estimated effects are restricted to the more developed among the African countries. more...
|
|
|
Why Did Protestants Have Higher Suicide Rates?
Using Prussian data from the 19th century, ifo research professor Sascha Becker of the University of Warwick and Ludger Woessmann of the ifo Center for the Economics of Education show that Protestants had substantially higher suicide rates than Catholics. In their study recently published in the Review of Economics and Statistics, one of the world’s leading economics journals, they model two alternative explanatory mechanisms. On the one hand, the religious individualism of Protestantism may have hampered social cohesion, as Émile Durkheim already suggested in his 1897 classic “Le Suicide”. On the other hand, Protestant doctrine also emphasized less that suicide as a deadly sin prevented access to paradise. Ultimately, additional analyses drawing on historical church attendance statistics and modern suicide data tend to confirm the sociological rather than the theological explanation. more...
|
|
|
Rebuilding Germany’s Centuries-old Vocational Program
An article in the MIT Technology Review on apprenticeship training in an era of technological change cites Ludger Woessmann. more...
What is the Real Legacy of the Habsburg Empire in Romania?
The Romanian Business Review cites research by Sascha Becker and Ludger Woessmann on the long-term effects of the Habsburg Empire. more...
|
|
Education Survey: #MeToo Should be Covered in Schools
A broad array of print, online, radio, and TV media again covers the results of the ifo Education Survey this year. Topics such as gender roles, gender equality, and #MeToo were covered for example in Zeit online, SZ.de, Berliner Zeitung, on WDR television, and in radio interviews among others in RBB Inforadio.
Youth Support School Grades and National Exams
The results of the ifo Education Survey about the opinions of youths on education policy issues were covered, among others, by Süddeutsche Zeitung, on welt.de, Forschung und Lehre, NOZ, on MDR aktuell TV, and in a radio interview with Ludger Woessmann on Deutschlandfunk and B5 aktuell.
Our Education System Remains Mediocre
A 30-minute radio interview with Ludger Woessmann on Deutschlandfunk Kultur on the development of Germany’s education system since the PISA shock. more...
Reprimand for Schools – What Is Wrong in the System
The TV documentary ZDFzoom interviews Ludger Woessmann on demand forecasts and teacher shortages. more...
Academics Warn of Ghettoization
An article in the German newspaper Die Welt on a new study by the ifo Center for the Economics of Education about regional concentration hampering the integration of migrant children. more...
Ghettoization Hinders Integration of Migrant Children
The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung also carries a detailed report on ifo’s new study on the integration of migrant children. more...
What Distinguishes Good from Bad Teachers
An article in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung on an ifo study by Eric Hanushek, Marc Piopiunik, and Simon Wiederhold published in the Journal of Human Resources on the importance of teacher competences for student performance. more...
How to Recognize a Good Teacher
Further articles on this study were published in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung, Welt am Sonntag, Frankfurter Rundschau and Forschung & Lehre.
How to Save Germany’s Model for Success
In an article on the future of apprenticeship education, the Welt cites Ludger Woessmann’s view that dual education must enable people to cope with change. more...
Preschool Children Should Learn Competences rather than Facts
An article on BusinessInsider.de on the quality of preschools featuring quotes from Larissa Zierow, Deputy Director of the ifo Center for the Economics of Education. more...
En Route to Free Daycare
The Saarbrücker Zeitung cites Larissa Zierow in an article on fees and care quality in daycare facilities for children. more...
|
|
High-Ranking Birthday Conference for Eric Hanushek
To celebrate the 75th Birthday of Eric Hanushek (Stanford), who is CESifo Area Director for the Economics of Education and ifo research professor, Steven Rivkin (University of Illinois at Chicago) and Ludger Woessmann (ifo Center for the Economics of Education) organized a high-ranking conference in Munich on 30 August 2018. A Nobel Laureate, a former President of the American Economic Association, a former member of the Council of Economic Advisers of the US President, a former Chief Economist of the World Bank, and many other illustrious guests attended the event to honor the achievements of the highly-regarded education economist with exciting presentations. The conference was co-organized by CESifo, the Texas Schools Project at the University of Texas at Dallas, and the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. more...
|
|
|
10th CESifo Area Conference on the Economics of Education
At the subsequent CESifo Area Conference on the Economics of Education on 31 August and 1 September 2018, internationally leading education economists once again gathered in Munich to present and discuss their latest research. The event marked another anniversary: it was the 10th edition of the conference annually organized by Eric Hanushek and Ludger Woessmann. This year’s Jacobs Foundation Lecture was given by Robert Barro, Harvard University. more…
|
|
Keynote “Vocational Education in Times of Change” at the BIBB Congress 2018
The vocational education congress organized by the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB) every four years in Berlin on 7-8 June 2018 was entitled “Learning for the future: VET of tomorrow – experience innovations.” In his concluding talk, Ludger Woessmann focused on “Vocational education in times of change.” His presentation is available online as a video and as a transcript.
|
|
Munich Seminar with Eric Hanushek
ifo research professor Eric Hanushek (Stanford) gave a lecture on “Can the World Develop? The Sustainable Development Goals and the Role of Education” on 25 June 2018 as part of the Munich Seminars series. more...
|
|
|
Kadener Colloquium on Integrating Refugees and Migration
The motto of the 6th Kadener Colloquium organized by the Market Economy Foundation was “Integrating refugees – better managing migration.” Ludger Woessmann was one of the speakers at the event, where he talked about integration through education and qualification. more…
|
|
Staff of ifo Center for Economics of Education Present at Conferences
Three staff members of the ifo Center for the Economics of Education presented their research at the annual conference of the European Economic Association in Cologne, and four staff members each presented at the annual conferences of the European Association of Labour Economists in Lyon and of the German Economic Association in Freiburg.
|
|
Prize for Project on ifo Education Survey
At the ifo Institute’s Annual Meeting on 28 June 2018 in the Great Hall of the Ludwig Maximilians University Munich, a project team from the ifo Center for the Economics of Education was awarded a prize for outstanding achievements in third-party funded research for its successful completion of the project “The political economy of education policy: Insights from an opinion survey” funded by the Leibniz Association as part of the Leibniz competition. more…
|
|
Articles in Refereed Journals
Sascha O. Becker, Ludger Woessmann, “Social Cohesion, Religious Beliefs, and the Effect of Protestantism on Suicide”, Review of Economics and Statistics 100 (3): 377-391, 2018.
Annika B. Bergbauer, Surette van Staden, “Social Interaction Determinants of South African Reading Literacy Achievement: Evidence from prePIRLS 2011”, International Journal of Instruction 11 (2): 555-568, 2018.
Jan Bietenbeck, Marc Piopiunik, Simon Wiederhold, “Africa’s Skill Tragedy: Does Teachers’ Lack of Knowledge Lead to Low Student Performance?” Journal of Human Resources 53 (3): 553-578, 2018.
Oliver Falck, Alfred Lamedi Jens Ruhose, “Cultural Biases in Migration: Estimating Non-Monetary Migration Costs”, Papers in Regional Science 97 (2): 411-438, 2018.
Working Paper
Annika B. Bergbauer, Eric A. Hanushek, Ludger Woessmann, “Testing”, NBER Working Paper 24836 and CESifo Working Paper 7168, July 2018.
Elisabeth Grewenig, Philipp Lergetporer, Lisa Simon, Katharina Werner, Ludger Woessmann, “Can Online Surveys Represent the Entire Population?”, CESifo Working Paper 7222, September 2018.
Philipp Lergetporer, Katharina Werner, Ludger Woessmann, “Educational Inequality and Public Policy Preferences: Evidence from Representative Survey Experiments”, CESifo Working Paper 7192, August 2018.
Natalie Obergruber, Larissa Zierow, “Students’ Behavioral Responses to a Fallback Option: Evidence from Introducing Interim Degrees in German Schools”, IZA Discussion Paper 11732, August 2018.
Other Publications
Ludger Woessmann, „Eigentum und Bildung“ (Interview), in: Rainer Kirchdörfer, Brun-Hagen Hennerkes, Stefan Heidbreder, Nils Goldschmidt (Hrsg.), Eigentum, S. 242-249, Freiburg: Herder, 2018.
Ludger Woessmann, „Berufsbildung in Zeiten des Wandels“, in: Bundesinstitut für Berufsbildung (Hrsg.), Berufsbildung von morgen – Innovationen erleben, S. 46-51, Bonn: BIBB, 2018.
Ludger Woessmann, Philipp Lergetporer, Elisabeth Grewenig, Sarah Kersten, Katharina Werner, „Was denken die Deutschen zu Geschlechterthemen und Gleichstellung in der Bildung? Ergebnisse des ifo Bildungsbarometers 2018“, ifo Schnelldienst 71 (17): 15-30, 2018.
Ludger Woessmann, Philipp Lergetporer, Elisabeth Grewenig, Sarah Kersten, Katharina Werner, „Denken Jugendliche anders über Bildungspolitik als Erwachsene?“, ifo Schnelldienst 71 (17): 31-45, 2018.
|
|
Natalie Obergruber and Katharina Werner successfully defended their Ph.D. theses at the economics faculty of the Ludwig Maximilians University Munich. Congratulations!
Three new staff members joined our team at the ifo Center for the Economics of Education in August and September: Anna Wurm Wurm came from Johannes Keppler University of Linz, Pietro Sancassani from Bocconi University in Milan and Lukas Mergele from Humboldt University in Berlin. A warm welcome!
In winter 2018/2019, Marc Piopuinik will again hold an interim professorship for statistics and econometrics at the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg.
|
|
Dear readers,
We have always treated your data confidentially in the past, only using it for the purpose that you expressly consented to. We would like to continue to send you information on the activities of the ifo Center for the Economics of Education in the future. Your personal data (email address and, in some cases, your first name and surname) are only used for the purpose specified above. We do not share your data with third parties under any circumstances. If you wish to continue receiving information from us, then you do not need to take any further action. Should you wish to restrict or deny us the right to use your personal data in the future, please click here to unsubscribe from this newsletter. You can unsubscribe to the newsletter at any time by clicking on the link above.
Our warmest thanks for your support and your interest in the work of the ifo Center for the Ecomonics of Education!
|
|
|
|
|
|
