Dr. Jan Skopek

This project combines traditional retrospective models with more recent prospective models into an integrative model of educational reproduction. Our model considers the social reproduction of education as a social attribute and the demographic reproduction of populations carrying this attribute. We examine the role of various demographic pathways: union formation and homogamy, union (in)stability and repartering, fertility timing and quantum. To combine retrospective and prospective approaches, we introduce a method that substantially reduces the data requirements of prospective models. The method allows estimating prospective models based on retrospective data commonly available in surveys. It addresses two key issues - retrospective sampling bias and the problem of identifying representative cohorts. The method also allows disentangling social and demographic pathways of reproduction. The proposed research will leverage this method to examine educational reproduction prospectively using national and cross-nationally comparative data (GGS, SHARE, ISSP, ESS, SOEP, FFS). Our research - organized in two work packages - will enrich theoretical, methodological and empirical knowledge of educational reproduction and provide novel insight into the renewal of populations and their inequality structures. In doing so, the project will advance our understanding of social inequality and its reproduction in families. Moreover, the method that we introduce and further develop in this project will facilitate future prospective research on social stratification. The project is funded by the German Research Foundation and is collaboratively lead by Thomas Leopold, Gordey Yastrebov (both University of Cologne, Germany) and Jan Skopek (Trinity College Dublin, Ireland).

As GenAI is one of the fastest adopted technologies in recent history(1), one of the key questions raised is how this technology is impacting educational opportunities. Education tends to reduce social inequalities relative to context when schooling is absent(2). However, schools distribute unequal access to critical resources and structure socio-economic outcomes and life chances of students(3). Thus, understanding how GenAI is impacting students from various socio-economic backgrounds is vital to understanding how this new technology, which may allow for personalized strategic learning, may be impacting diverse types of students in various dimensions. While research has shown AI to be beneficial to students' learning achievements(4"6), there is little research on the impact of GenAI"s on educational opportunities. What is the likely impact of GenAI tools (like ChatGTP) on educational inequality, especially inequality by socioeconomic status or gender? GenAI may mitigate disadvantage by providing personalized learning for each student, yet it can also induce or reinforce `Matthew-effects"(7) that amplify educational (dis-)advantage if such AI tools remain concentrated in well-resourced contexts. CLASS-AI will be one of the first projects to investigates the role of GenAI in the process of social reproduction in school-level education. The project treats AI in education as a sociotechnical system that is shaped by discursive frames and professional narratives, teachers" and parents" institutional practices, parents" resources, as well as imaginaries of developers of AI tools. Based on a multi-layer model, CLASS-AI employs an innovative mixed methods setup that combines big-data approaches with interview studies in Irish schools and AI expert interviews to understand how social class inequalities become embedded, mediated, or potentially mitigated in young students increasingly AI-driven learning environments. By revealing how GenAI could either amplify or reduce educational inequalities, CLASS-AI will offer new insights for educators, policymakers, and technology developers.

The project ISOTIS - Inclusive Education and Social Support to Tackle Inequalities in Society - funded by the European Commission (H2020) is a research consortium of 17 partner institutions across Europe collaboratively studying educational inequality between social and ethnic groups within European countries. ISOTIS will inform best practice in strategies for inclusive education. Jan Skopek is leading Working Package 1 "Inequality in various stages of the educational career: patterns and mechanisms". Major research activities involve (1) a comparative assessment of social and ethnic inequality in educational opportunity across European countries, (2) a longitudinal assessment of the roots and development of skill gaps among children in selected European countries, and (3) the effectiveness of institutional reforms aiming to reduce achievement gaps among children.

In today's increasingly diverse societies one of the key questions is how to foster the structural integration of immigrants. Education is one of the main prerequisites for social and economic integration. It is a critical resource for economic and societal progress and a crucial factor structuring socio-economic outcomes and life chances of individuals. Thus, endowing children with a migration background with equal chances to succeed in school will facilitate their integration into broader society. Research shows that migrant educational underachievement is a serious issue. Yet, relatively little is known about when, how and why migrant gaps develop in children's educational careers. Studies that investigate these questions using longitudinal data are scarce, particularly in the European context. Moreover, while some studies have tentatively suggested that early inclusion in the educational system might be beneficial for children with a migrant background, there are no studies systematically examining the effects of preschool attendance on the performance of immigrant children over time. The current research sets out to answer these questions. More specifically, the central goal of the project is to better understand, from a longitudinal perspective, when and how migrant gaps in educational outcomes arise during the early life course and what role preschool education plays in this. In particular, the projects sets out to establish whether preschool attendance can work as an equalizer for children with a migration background. To this end, longitudinal data on child development from the Republic of Ireland will be exploited. PhD: Stefanie Sprong.

This project proposes a comprehensive longitudinal investigation of the division of labor in older couples. It addresses a major gap of knowledge, as previous research has focused almost exclusively on how younger couples negotiate their division of market and domestic work throughout earlier periods of married life. Extending the analytical scope to older couples is particularly worthwhile, as both theory and empirical evidence suggest that the division of labor - and the associated gender inequalities - might shift substantially in later life. Most importantly, two critical life transitions of this period - grandparenthood and retirement - represent turning points that may instigate processes of adaptation and renegotiation of the previous division of labor in older couples. Consequently, the proposed research will trace older couples over extended periods of time to explore how, why, and under which conditions grandparenthood and retirement affect their arrangements of market and domestic work. The analyses will draw on comprehensive longitudinal data from the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP), the German Aging Survey (DEAS), the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), and the Panel Analysis of Intimate Relationships and Family Dynamics (pairfam). The investigation will be informed by life course, solidarity, and social network perspectives as well as established theories of the division of labor. In tying these frameworks together and extending them to the study of later life and older couples, the project will yield important contributions both at the theoretical and at the empirical level. The project is hosted at the Institute of Family Research at the University of Bamberg (Germany). Funding generously granted by the German Research Foundation amounts to 178,300 Euro.