Educational systems considerably influence educational opportunities and the resulting social inequalities. Contrasting institutional regulations of both structures and contents, the authors present a typology of educational system types in Germany to analyze their effects on social inequality in eastern Germany after unification. After 1990, the comprehensive secondary school was replaced by three types of differentiated secondary schooling. In this unique field experiment of model transfer and institutional change in a federal country, reforms in these state educational systems—all originally of a uniform socialist type—led to participation rates rising to western enrollment levels, yet with substantial state-level differences. These are attributable to the divergence of educational systems reformed according to contrasting western German models. These types substantially and differentially generate intergenerational inequalities. The authors chart the sharp and significant effects of education policy reforms and societal transformation following German unification.
AllmendingerJutta. 1989. “Educational Systems and Labor Market Outcomes.”European Sociological Review5:231–50.
2.
BakerDavid P.EsmerYilmazLenhardtGeroMeyerJohn W.1985. “Effects of Immigrant Workers on Educational Stratification in Germany.” Sociology of Education58:213–27.
3.
BakerDavid P.LeTendreGerald K.2005. National Differences, Global Similarities: World Culture and the Future of Schooling. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
4.
BaskeSiegfried. 1990. “Die erweiterte Oberschule in der DDR.” Pp. 210–17 in Vergleich von Bildung und Erziehung in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland und in der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik, edited by BeziehungenBundesministerium für innerdeutsche. Cologne, Germany: Verlag Wissenschaft und Politik.
5.
BelowSusanne von. 1999. “Bildungschancen von Jugendlichen in Ost- und Westdeutschland.” Pp. 271–99 in Sozialstrukturanalysen mit dem Mikrozensus, vol. 6, ZUMA Nachrichten Spezial, edited by LüttingerP.Mannheim, Germany: ZUMA.
6.
BelowSusanne von. 2000. “Angleichung durch Ungleichheit? Zur Entwicklung der Bildungschancen in den neuen Bundesländern.” Pp. 175–97 in Vom Zusammenwachsen einer Gesellschaft. Analysen zur Angleichung der Lebensverhältnisse in Deutschland, vol. 21, edited by NollH.-H.HabichR.Frankfurt/Main, Germany: Campus.
7.
BelowSusanne von. 2002. Bildungssysteme und soziale Ungleichheit: Das Beispiel der neuen Bundesländer. Opladen, Germany: Leske + Budrich.
8.
BelowSusanne vonRobertsLance W.2006. “Bildungsziele, Institutionen, Chancengleichheit.” kursiv—Journal für politische Bildung10(3):22–32.
9.
BenavotAaronChaYun-KyungKamensDavidMeyerJohn W.WongSuk-Ying. 1991. “Knowledge for the Masses: World Models and National Curricula, 1920–1986.” American Sociological Review56:85–100.
10.
BennerDietrich. 1990. Wilhelm von Humboldts Bildungstheorie. Weinheim, Germany: Juventa.
11.
BlankertzHerwig. 1982. Die Geschichte der Pädagogik. Wetzlar, Germany: Büchse der Pandora.
12.
BlossfeldHans-Peter. 1993. “Changes in Educational Opportunities in the FRG.” Pp. 51–74 in Persistent Inequality, edited by ShavitY.BlossfeldH.-P.Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
13.
BoldtEdward D.RobertsLance W.1979. “Structural Tightness and Social Conformity. A Methodological Note with Theoretical Implications.” Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology10:221–30.
14.
BuchmannClaudiaDaltonBen. 2002. “Interpersonal Influences and Educational Aspirations in 12 Countries: The Importance of the Institutional Context.” Sociology of Education75:99–122.
15.
CoserLewis A. 1974. Greedy Institutions. Patterns of Undivided Commitment. New York: Free Press.
Deutsches PISA-Konsortium. 2002. Pisa 2000—Die Länder der Bundesrepublik Deutschland im Vergleich. Opladen, Germany: Leske + Budrich.
18.
EriksonRobertJonssonJan O.1996. “Explaining Class Inequality in Education.” Pp. 1–63 in Can Education Be Equalized? edited by EriksonR.JonssonJ. O.Boulder, CO: Westview Press.
19.
FischerAndreas. 1992. Das Bildungssystem der DDR. Entwicklung, Umbruch und Neugestaltung seit 1989. Darmstadt, Germany: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft.
20.
FreitagMarkusSchlichtRaphaela. 2009. “Educational Federalism in Germany: Foundations of Social Inequality in Education.” Governance22:47–72.
21.
GamoranAdam. 1996. “Curriculum Standardization and Equality of Opportunity in Scottish Secondary Education: 1984–90.” Sociology of Education69:1–21.
22.
GamoranAdamMareRobert D.1989. “Secondary School Tracking and Educational Inequality: Compensation, Reinforcement, or Neutrality?” American Journal of Sociology94:1146–83.
23.
GeißlerRainer. 1983. “Bildungschancen und Statusvererbung in der DDR.” Kölner Zeitschrift für Soziologie und Sozialpsychologie35:735–54.
24.
GerberTheodore P. 2000. “Educational Stratification in Contemporary Russia.” Sociology of Education47:219–46.
25.
HenzUrsulaMaasIneke. 1995. “Chancengleichheit durch die Bildungsexpansion?” Kölner Zeitschrift für Soziologie und Sozialpsychologie47:605–33.
26.
HopperEarl. 1967. “A Typology for the Classification of Educational Systems.” Sociology1:29–45.
27.
HumphreysMacartanWeinsteinJeremy M.2009. “Field Experiments and the Political Economy of Development.” Annual Review of Political Science12:367–78.
28.
KerckhoffAlan C. 1995. “Institutional Arrangements and Stratification Processes in Industrial Societies.” Annual Review of Sociology21:323–47.
29.
KerckhoffAlan C. 2001. “Education and Social Stratification Processes in Comparative Perspective.” Sociology of Education74:3–18.
30.
KöhlerHelmut. 1992. Bildungsbeteiligung und Sozialstruktur in der Bundesrepublik. Berlin, Germany: Max-Planck-Institut für Bildungsforschung.
31.
LazarsfeldPaul F. 1993. “Some Remarks on Typological Procedures in Social Research.” Pp. 158–171 in On Social Research and its Language, edited by LazarsfeldP.F.Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
32.
LeschinskyAchimMayerKarl Ulrich. 1999. “Comprehensive Schools and Inequality of Opportunity in the Federal Republic of Germany.” Pp. 13–39 in The Comprehensive School Experiment Revisited, edited by LeschinskyA.MayerK. U.Frankfurt/Main, Germany: Lang.
33.
LongJ. Scott. 1997. Regression Models for Categorical and Limited Dependent Variables. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
34.
LucasSamuel R. 2001. “Effectively Maintained Inequality: Education Transitions, Track Mobility, and Social Background Effects.” American Journal of Sociology106:1642–90.
35.
LucasSamuel R.BerendsMark. 2002. “Sociodemographic Diversity, Correlated Achievement, and De Facto Tracking.” Sociology of Education75:328–48.
36.
MayerKarl Ulrich. 2001. “The Paradox of Global Social Change and National Path Dependencies.” Pp. 89–110 in Inclusions and Exclusions in European Societies, edited by WoodwardA. E.KohliM.London, England: Routledge.
37.
MeghirCostasPalmeMårten. 2005. “Educational Reform, Ability, and Family Background.” American Economic Review95:414–24.
38.
MeyerJohn W. 1977. “The Effects of Education as an Institution.” American Journal of Sociology83:55–77.
39.
MüllerWalterHaunDietmar. 1994. “Bildungsungleichheit im sozialen Wandel.” Kölner Zeitschrift für Soziologie und Sozialpsychologie46:1–43.
40.
Müller-HartmannIrene. 1996. “Auswertungen aus der Volkszählung der DDR 1981 zur Ungleichheit der Bildung und der Bildungschancen.” Unpublished manuscript, Berlin, Germany.
41.
Müller-HartmannIreneHennebergerSabine. 1995. “Regionale Bildungsdisparitäten in Ostdeutschland.” Pp. 295–332 in Kinder in Deutschland, edited by NauckB.BertramH.Opladen, Germany: Leske + Budrich.
42.
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. 2011. “Germany: Once Weak International Standing Prompts Strong Nationwide Reforms for Rapid Improvement.” Pp. 201–20 in Strong Performers and Successful Reformers in Education. Paris: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
43.
OswaldHansBakerDavid P.StevensonDavid Lee. 1988. “School Charter and Parental Management in West Germany.” Sociology of Education61:255–65.
44.
PeisertHansgert. 1967. Soziale Lage und Bildungschancen in Deutschland. Munich, Germany: Piper.
45.
PekkarinenTuomasUusitaloRoopeKerrSari. 2009. “School Tracking and Development of Cognitive Skills.” IZA Discussion Paper No. 4058. Bonn, Germany: IZA.
46.
PfefferFabian T. 2008. “Persistent Inequality in Educational Attainment and Its Institutional Context.” European Sociological Review24:543–65.
47.
PhillipsDavid. 2011. The German Example. London, England: Continuum.
48.
PowellJustin J. W. 2009. “To Segregate or to Separate? The Institutionalization of Special Education in the United States and Germany.” Comparative Education Review53:161–87.
49.
PowellJustin J. W.BernhardNadineGrafLukas. 2012. “The Emergent European Model in Skill Formation.” Sociology of Education85:240–58.
50.
PowellJustin J. W.SolgaHeike. 2011. “Why Are Higher Education Participation Rates in Germany So Low? Institutional Barriers to Higher Education Expansion.” Journal of Education and Work24:49–68.
51.
RijkenSusanne. 1999. Educational Expansion and Status Attainment. A Cross-national and Over-time Comparison. Amsterdam, the Netherlands: Thesis.
52.
Schimpl-NeimannsBernhard. 2000. “Soziale Herkunft und Bildungsbeteiligung. Empirische Analysen zu herkunftsspezifischen Bildungsungleichheiten zwischen 1950 und 1989.” Kölner Zeitschrift für Soziologie und Sozialpsychologie52:636–69.
53.
SchnitzerKlausIsserstedtWolfgangMüßig-TrappPeterSchreiberJochen. 1998. Das soziale Bild der Studentenschaft in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland. Bonn, Germany: BMBF.
SolgaHeike. 1995. Auf dem Weg in eine klassenlose Gesellschaft? Klassenlagen und Mobilität zwischen Generationen in der DDR. Berlin, Germany: Akademie Verlag.
56.
SolgaHeike. 2008. “Lack of Training—The Employment Opportunities of Low-skilled Persons from a Sociological and Micro-economic Perspective.” Pp. 173–204 in Skill Formation, edited by MayerK. U.SolgaH.New York: Cambridge University Press.
57.
StevensonDavid LeeBakerDavid P.1991. “State Control of the Curriculum and Classroom Instruction.” Sociology of Education64:1–10.
58.
TurnerRalph H. 1960. “Sponsored and Contest Mobility and the School System.” American Sociological Review25:855–67.
59.
van der WerfhorstHerman G.MijsJonathan J. B.2010. “Achievement Inequality and the Institutional Structure of Educational Systems: A Comparative Perspective.” Annual Review of Sociology36:407–28.
