This contribution explores the educational achievements of immigrants who migrated to Germany as minors during the large influx that began in 1987. Differences in education levels between the following two immigrant groups are the analytical focus of this analysis: ethnic German resettlers ("Aussiedler") and other first-generation immigrants who used different legal channels to enter German territory. What accounts for the fact that "Aussiedler" youth have higher chances of reaching a medium-level school certificate, whereas the majority of their immigrant peers finish their general education with no more than the low-level "Hauptschul" certificate? Analyses of the third DJI Youth Survey, conducted in 2003, demonstrate that this educational gap between groups can only partially be explained by factors central to educational opportunities, such as their social background. The "Aussiedler" immigrant status exerts an additional positive impact on educational achievement due to particular immigration and integration policies as well as (mainly linguistic) incorporation processes specific to this immigrant group.

Ethnic German resettlers immigrants School-leaving certificates Educational inequality Germany Immigrant policy

[No Keywords available]