Arbeiterkinder und ihre Aufstiegsangst

In modern times, education and training are key factors determining placement of individuals and career opportunities over a lifetime. Hence, how opportunities for education are distributed and the role of social origin are central concepts. This perspective moderates this article about individuals seeking advancement through education and training. It focuses attention on the resources and potentials that facilitate upward social mobility and hence on the questions as to which conditions children, youth and young adults are able to overcome disadvantages relating to their origin and successfully complete an educational career. We shift the focus of social research that has to date has concentrated on identifying deficiencies, risks and deficits. The term „educational advancement“ is used as a core bracket to incorporate those barriers that are placed in the way of children of working-class parents and from disadvantaged migrant families. This outlook reveals that educational advancement is not a snapshot of a young adult but is a process that begins much earlier. Our exploration of the subject covers social backgrounds, empirical insights on life contexts among those seeking an education and who come from a wide range of groups of origin and the sources of anxieties about advancement that are common among those seeking advancement, as well as the societal implications for educational and social policies that can be derived from these insights. This article does not present theories about individuals seeking educational advancement but rather presents the various topics and issues. The selection of topics and participating authors is an attempt to consider the important findings within the disciplines involved in the field and thus to meet the demands for an interdisciplinary perspective.