LIfBi research areas

Our research areas

What makes education successful? Can education compensate for social disadvantages? What is the impact of digitisation on education? These are the questions that the Leibniz Institute for Educational Trajectories addresses. It focuses on the conditions, processes and effects of education, as well as on methodological aspects of educational research. An insight into the five research areas of LIfBi.

Structures and conditions for educational success

How (successfully) a person's education turns out depends on various factors. In the first years after birth, it is shaped primarily by family, but also by early childhood education institutions. Later, schools and further education institutions are important. The structures and conditions for educational success vary depending on regional characteristics, structural conditions and the quality of the educational institutions. The immediate class and learning context also influences educational success. LIfBi examines these structures and conditions for educational success from many perspectives. For example, it analyses how support in the early stages of education affects acquired skills (e.g. language) but also socio-emotional development. Subgroups, such as refugees or pupils with special educational needs, are a recurring focus of LIfBi research.

Social disparities

From the moment of our birth, our social background, gender and ethnicity influence the paths that individuals take and the position that they occupy in society. However, how and why do social inequalities exist and what role does education play in this? This question is at the centre of research on social disparities. For example, it is about what guides people in their educational decisions and how social inequalities are thereby reinforced or reduced.
The research conducted by LIfBi also shows what influence social disadvantages can have on language development, social behaviour, school performance and cognitive skills. And it analyses whether and how social and educational inequalities increase over the course of a lifetime and how they can be balanced out. In doing so, it also sheds light on the historical changes in relation to social disparities.

Objective dimensions of education

Education should contribute to personal development, provide a solid foundation of subject-specific and transferable skills, produce well-educated specialists for the labour market and keep the economy competitive. The expectations associated with education at different stages of life are manifold. Objective dimensions also serve to measure the success of education. For example, the LIfBi examines the skills that school students have in mathematics, German and science, how these develop over the further course of their lives and what returns are associated with them. The research interest also focuses on interdisciplinary skills, such as the ability to use digital technologies or artificial intelligence and to handle digital media and data confidently.
In addition, there are studies on self-control and self-regulation as well as on the development of socio-emotional skills. The LIfBi also looks at educational certificates, labour market returns and income as objective dimensions of education – as well as aspects such as well-being and health, social integration and volunteering. In the next few years, research will increasingly focus on knowledge and attitudes towards politics and political participation.

Education in a digital world

Digitalisation and a digital culture are changing the field of education. Digital media and tools are becoming increasingly important in the classroom and at school. And the requirements in many professions have also changed. One educational goal is therefore to be able to use digital media and AI systems confidently. The NEPS has already expanded its competence portfolio with the longitudinal survey of digital competences. For the first time, digital competences were recorded in sixth-grade students.
This expansion also includes questions on the digitalisation of learning and the necessary prerequisites for this, such as self-regulatory skills. Digital skills and digital learning are also to be examined more closely in NEPS surveys of adults.
With the Data Literacy project, LIfBi has introduced a long-term monitoring of digital and data-related skills in the German population. In the future, LIfBi will also be involved in the evaluation and design of digital training and further education programmes for teachers.

Survey methods

Survey methodology research forms the basis for the excellence of the data collected at the LIfBi. This research is conducted across departments and incorporates the various areas of expertise. Research in the area of survey methodology encompasses all phases of a study – that is, design, development of instruments and methods, preparation and data collection in the field, as well as preparation, provision, documentation and use of the data. For example, instruments for measuring competence and conducting surveys are developed and validated. Or research is conducted into evaluation methods that allow adequate consideration of missing values when analysing the data.
The potential of digital and online survey methods must also be exploited and used to address target groups in an even more appropriate way.
Another aim of survey methodology research is to ensure the quality of ongoing studies. For example, when there is a change in the data collection mode, it is ensured that the willingness to participate remains and that the quality of the data collected is maintained. LIfBi conducts numerous development and pilot studies. It also develops its own software components, which are used to significantly expand the control of the surveys and the digital delivery of the survey content.

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