Measuring racial inequalities in education in Germany – Practices, challenges, and approaches in the context of anti-discrimination data

In Germany, there is currently no recognized measurement concept that reveals racial ascriptions in statistical data. Consequently, only a limited number of quantitative studies have examined the extent to which racism contributes to educational inequalities. Most of the existing research on this topic relates to „ethnic“ inequalities. In this context, racism and migration-related mechanisms and manifestations are considered together, often with an operationalization based on „migration background“. However, it should be noted that different mechanisms apply to these social boundaries, and the groups of people affected by racism and (family) migration only partially overlap. A conceptual and empirical differentiation between racism and migration therefore contributes to the theoretical development of this field.

My dissertation explores the research question of how social research can capture racial experiences using statistical data in the field of education. In four multi-method sub-studies, I examine the complexity of the empirical operationalization of racial categorizations, and analyze the measurement concept of „reflected racial ascriptions“ as a potential solution.

Empirical analysis of racial inequalities requires a category of persons that enables the identification of racially marked individuals in data. However, racial ascriptions are inherently dynamic and multidimensional, and therefore not objective. Furthermore, statistical measurement concepts can (re-)produce and legitimize racial categorizations within society. One proposed solution is the survey of „reflected racial ascriptions“ in Germany. A corresponding measurement concept was developed as part of the National Education Panel Study, which captures the subjective perception of ascriptions as „(non-)-
German“. The research results indicate that the perception of such external ascriptions is associated with differences in school performance – in addition to the well-researched social and migration-related inequalities. These findings demonstrate the value of “reflected racial ascriptions” as a new empirical measurement concept for analyzing educational inequalities in Germany. In conclusion, it should be noted that social boundaries must be constantly evaluated and rethought in the context of research on social inequalities – especially in an increasingly pluralistic, post-migrant society such as Germany.