North Rhine-Westphalia Most Likely to See Unequal Educational Opportunities as a Problem

Despite the high level of awareness regarding the inequality of opportunity for children from disadvantaged backgrounds, majorities of between 72% (Central-East region) and 55% (Bavaria) are in favor of distributing potential state spending on education equally across all schools. In contrast, only between 28% (Central-East region) and 45% (Bavaria) are in favor of targeted support for schools with a large number of pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds. “These numbers indicate that the population is in favor of measures to provide financial support for disadvantaged schoolchildren. Overall, however, a large proportion of Germans want an increase in education spending that benefits all pupils,” says Dr. Katharina Werner, Deputy Director of the ifo Center for the Economics of Education.

There are striking regional differences in how people view the integration of schoolchildren with an immigration background. More than half of the people (54%) in North Rhine-Westphalia see this as a serious problem, compared to 39% in the Central-East region (Saxony, Thuringia, Saxony-Anhalt). In between are the North-West region (Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein, Bremen, and Lower Saxony) with 52% and the Central-West region (Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate, and Saarland) and Baden-Württemberg with 51% each. In the North-East region (Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Berlin, and Brandenburg), 49% of respondents see the lack of integration of immigrant children in schools as very problematic. In Bavaria, the figure is 46%. Across Germany, 50% of all people believe that the lack of integration of schoolchildren with an immigration background is a serious problem.