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What is the role of families and schools in the creation of educational inequalities? Are schools a “great equalizer” (Mann, 1848), providing opportunities for children from socioeconomically disadvantaged families? Or, conversely, do schools amplify not opportunity but inequality, because children from socioeconomically disadvantaged families attend disadvantaged schools in terms of facilities, teachers, and peers, while children from better-off families attend high-quality schools?

Mapineq – Mapping inequalities through the life course – is a 3-year research project (2022 – 2025) funded by the European Commission through the “Horizon Europe” program. A collaborative effort of eight leading European universities and research institutes, Mapineq addresses timely questions about the trends and drivers of intergenerational, educational, labor market, and health inequalities from childhood to retirement. A major goal of the project is to map and explain spatial patterns of inequalities at the national, regional, and local levels.

In my doctoral project, I am investigating changes in young people's career aspirations since the year 2000. Firstly, I will explore trends in the occupations that young people aspire to in the 9th grade. Secondly, I will analyse whether youths' occupational aspirations are influenced by social and economic changes, such as the expansion of upper secondary schools or changes in occupational structure.

The project ‘Supporting the expansion and further development of the quality of childcare and all-day care for primary school children, as well as other measures in the field of child and youth policy’ supports the political and legal measures of the Federal Ministry for Education, Family, Seniors, Women and Youth (BMBFSFJ) during the current legislative period, together with its cooperation partners Prognos AG and fischerAppelt. The project focuses on the needs-based expansion and quality development of daycare services, the introduction of a legal entitlement to full-day care for primary school children, as well as the recruitment and retention of educational professionals.