Educational Achievement and Opportunities among Turkish Migrant Youth in Germany
Taylan AcarUsing data from the German National Educational Panel Study (NEPS), this study provides a quantitative overview of educational achievement and opportunities among Turkish youth in Germany. The findings show that students with a Turkish background are the most disadvantaged group at the fifth and ninth grade level in the fields of German and mathematics. Moreover, proportionally, they are the least-represented group among academic high school track students; the track provides opportunities for admission to universities and universities of applied sciences. Fifty years after the first migration from Turkey to Germany began, Turkish youth have had problems regarding using German in everyday life, friendship networks, and residential segregation. According to the segmented assimilationist perspective, different immigrant groups experience different levels of accommodation in destination countries. In the German context, data show that other immigrant communities gradually adapt to German society one way or another, whereas the problems of Turkish accommodation are passed on to younger generations.
Almanya’daki Türkiye Asıllı Gençlerin Eğitim Başarısı ve Eğitim Fırsatları
Taylan AcarBu çalışma, Almanya Ulusal Eğitim Paneli Araştırmasıi (UEPA) tarafından 2010-2011 akademik yılından itibaren boylamsal yöntemle yürütülen çalışmalara dayanarak, Almanya özelinde, Türkiye asıllı gençliğin eğitime erişim ve eğitim fırsatları alanlarında yaşadığı eşitsizlikleri nicel olarak incelemektedir. Çalışmanın bulgularına göre Türkiye asıllı genç nüfus, 5. ve 9. sınıf düzeyinde hem Almanca hem de matematik alanlarında en dezavantajlı göçmen grubudur. Ayrıca oransal olarak, üniversite ve meslek yüksek okullarına geçişe fırsat sağlayan akademik lise öğrenciler arasında da Türkiye asıllı öğrenciler en az temsil edilen gruptur. Türkiye’den Almanya’ya göçün ilk başladığı tarihten bu yana 50 yıl geçmiş olmasına rağmen, Türkiye asıllı genç nüfus başta gündelik hayatta Almanca kullanımı, arkadaşlık ağları ve ikamete dayalı etnik tecrit alanlarında olmak üzere büyük sorunlar yaşamaya devam etmektedir. Parçalı asimilasyon kuramı çerçevesinde, farklı göçmen gruplar tarihsel göç koşullarına bağlı olarak gittikleri ülkelerin toplumlarıyla farklı bütünleşme süreçlerinden geçerler. Almanya özelinde, diğer göçmen gruplar zamanla Alman toplumuyla bütünleşirken, Türkiye asıllı göçmen nüfusun bütünleşmesindeki sıkıntılar daha genç nesilleri etkilemeye devam etmektedir.
Recently, the Turkish immigrant population in Europe became a popular topic of discussion because of the political tension between Turkish and European governments during the 2014 presidential election, the 2016 Constitutional referendum, and the 2018 general elections. In July 2018, the conviction of members of the terrorist organization National Socialist Underground (NSU) and the resignation of the Turkish-German football player Mesut Özil from the German National Team highlighted the problems of accommodation and integration of Turkish communities to respective destination societies in Europe. Despite this, the major discussion in Turkish media and politics did not focus on the long-term disadvantages and inequalities the Turkish community experience. A particularly significant issue is that five decades after the first labor migrants arrived in Germany, the Turkish youth still experience dire disadvantages in terms of educational opportunities and labor market participation. Studies show that even among the younger generations, the educational disadvantages of Turkish youth do not disappear as they do for immigrant youth from other countries of origin. Developing a segmented assimilationist framework, this study discusses the educational inequalities that Turkish youth experience and the potential determinants behind them.
Data and Methods
This study uses data from the German National Educational Panel Study (NEPS), which has been conducted every three years by Leibniz Institute for Educational Trajectories (LIfBi) since the 2010–2011 academic year (Blossfeld, Roßbach, and von Maurice, 2011). It relies on nationally representative information collected from SC3-Class 5 and SC-4 Class 9 samples conducted with the paper-and-pencil (PAPI) method. In the fifth class sample, there are 5,102 students, whereas in the ninth class sample, there are 13,793 students. In both samples, the Turkish students compose 6% of the total sample size, which is an accurate reflection of the student-age immigrant population with Turkish background.
Moreover, these surveys provide detailed information about students’ socioeconomic and migration status, their family and household situation, and their expectations for the future. Unlike census data and other available surveys in Germany, the NEPS questionnaire is also able to identify third generation immigrant students, as it asks them not only their parents’ but also their grandparents’ migration background. By examining the inequalities experienced by Turkish youth, the current study develops a comparative approach and examines the educational standing of Turkish students in relation to that of native Germans and immigrant students from other countries of origin. This study introduces a short history of migration to Germany in the second half of the twentieth century and shows how motives for immigration and “the context of arrival” vary among immigrant communities from different countries and regions of origin (Portes and Rumbaut, 2001). The motives for immigration and the social and historical context at the time of arrival shape the opportunity structures that are available for immigrant communities.
Findings and Discussion
The study first presents the existing disadvantages of students with Turkish backgrounds in track placement in secondary education and educational performance in reading and math. In both areas, the Turkish students appear to be the most disadvantaged immigrant group, falling behind all other immigrant groups. In particular, Turkish students have the lowest levels of opportunity to enter universities and universities of applied sciences after high school graduation because they are the least likely group to attend academic high schools (Abitur). Their reading ability is a full standard deviation behind their German peers and at least half a standard behind all other immigrant groups. Relying on a segmented assimilationist perspective, the study then discusses three potential determinants to interpret the existing inequalities the Turkish students face: parental educational attainment and socioeconomic status (SES); use of German and friendship ties; and residential segregation.
The detailed information from both the fifth and ninth grade samples reveal that students from Turkey not only come from families with lowest levels of SES, but also are less likely to be exposed to German when they grow up and less likely to have German friends. According to their own reports, compared to other migrant students, they are also the group who lives in neighborhoods with the highest levels of co-nationals from Turkey. Thus, the level of residential ethnic isolation is highest among students with Turkish origins. To sum, the Turkish community, according to NEPS samples, are not only in a disadvantaged situation within the German social status hierarchy, but also experience the highest levels of isolation from the rest of the German society and are least likely to use the German language. In conclusion, to challenge the existing educational inequalities and the eventual problems related to labor market integration of Turkish youth, policies primarily should promote early exposure to and use of German language among Turkish children. In addition, the existing ethnic isolation of the Turkish community should also be tackled to facilitate the integration of Turkish youth in the long-term.
