Category / Education / Labor market
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![Kinder in Klassenraum schauen zur Tafel mit dem Rücken zur Kamera.]()
Unemployment: long-lasting effect on children
Parental unemployment represents a major financial, social, and psychological burden for the entire family. In fact, it is remarkable how long and how strongly children are affected by unemployment. An analysis of study data shows that if, for example, the father of children between the ages of 6 and 9 is unemployed, they are 30 percent less likely to finish school later with a (technical) high school diploma. They are also less likely to graduate from university.
Despite the large time gap between primary school age and the last school-leaving certificate, the children’s educational path is strongly influenced by their parents’ unemployment. “It therefore stands to reason that the intergenerational consequences of unemployment are long-lasting, intensify over the years, and thus persist into adulthood,” says Prof. Dr. Felix Weinhardt from DIW Berlin, “Children must receive more support in order to avoid the long-term effects of parental unemployment.” Currently, however, children’s educational success still depends highly on their parental home.
Further information
Image by Taylor Flowe from Unsplash …
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![Junge beim Lernen in einer Klasse]()
Parents’ German language skills help determine children’s success at school
If parents in foreign-language families lack good German language skills, the children have significant disadvantages at school. As the “Living in Germany” study shows, only 15.5 percent of 13- to 15-year-olds from such families attended a high school in 2019. If, on the other hand, the parents have a good knowledge of German, the likelihood of their children attending a high school between the ages of 13 and 15 is almost the same as in families without an immigrant background. This is shown by an analysis of data from the “Living in Germany” study conducted by Wido Geis-Thöne of IW Cologne. He recommends that children be introduced to the German language in early childhood and preschool.
Further information
Geis-Thöne, Wido. 2022. Kinder mit nicht deutschsprechenden Eltern. Eine Analyse auf Basis des Sozio-oekonomischen Panels (SOEP). In: IW-Trends, 49 (1). 111-132.
Foto von CDC auf Unsplash … -
![Woman with toddler]()
Parental leave increases children’s well-being over the long term
In early May 1986, the East German government introduced a policy reform that some people are still benefiting from today. Both mothers and fathers were allowed to take twelve months of paid parental leave from the date of their child’s birth. Previously, most parents had to return to work when their children were five months old, which meant that the children were placed in daycare.
According to a study by researchers at the ifo institute based on data from the study “Living in Germany”, the effects of the reform are evident in the children, who are now in their early to mid-thirties. the effects of the reform are evident in the children, who are now in their early to mid-thirties.
Children who spent their first year of life exclusively in the care of their own parents are eight percentage points more satisfied today than those who were sent to daycare at the age of five months.
Further information
ifo Dresden: Longer paid parental leave makes children happier later on
Photo by Andriyko Podilnyk on Unsplash…
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![Educator sits in hallway of a daycare center]()
Overworked and undervalued
Pre-school educators are essential, not just for families but for society as a whole, as almost everyone would agree. Nevertheless, pre-school educators still contend with difficult working conditions.
According to a new study based on data from “Living in Germany”, 80 percent of pre-school educators feel they are underpaid. But it’s not just this feeling that creates stress: About 75 percent also report high time pressures and a heavy workload. Many also rate their chances of promotion as poor. In addition, around 70 percent complain about a lack of recognition from their superiors.
“During the Corona pandemic, the stresses on educators have increased even further,” says DIW education expert Katharina Spieß, who conducted the study together with her colleague Ludovica Gambaro. Given that increasing numbers of parents were able to place their children in emergency daycare over the course of the pandemic, pre-school educators were responsible for approximately the same number of children during the pandemic as they were under normal conditions. Simultaneously, educators had the added burden of following hygiene regulations. The stress was compounded by worries about their own health.
Further information
RND (RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland): 80 Prozent der Erzieherinnen finden ihr Gehalt zu gering
