1. Home
  2. Studies
  3. The Living Conditions and Competence Development of Primary School Children
Wido Geis-Thöne / Ruth Maria Schüler IW-Trends No. 2 18. June 2019 The Living Conditions and Competence Development of Primary School Children

How children develop is strongly influenced by the circumstances in which they grow up. However, it is not clear which factors play a role in this process. To tackle this question, the present paper looks at a broad range of indicators on family structure and the time parents spend with their children, on children’s socio-economic background and on their leisure activities.

Download PDF
The Living Conditions and Competence Development of Primary School Children
Wido Geis-Thöne / Ruth Maria Schüler IW-Trends No. 2 18. June 2019

The Living Conditions and Competence Development of Primary School Children

IW-Trends

Download PDF

Share this article:

or copy the following link:

The link was added to your clipboard!

German Economic Institute (IW) German Economic Institute (IW)

How children develop is strongly influenced by the circumstances in which they grow up. However, it is not clear which factors play a role in this process. To tackle this question, the present paper looks at a broad range of indicators on family structure and the time parents spend with their children, on children’s socio-economic background and on their leisure activities.

Multivariate analyses are used to determine how these factors correlate with the results of competence tests in mathematics and German and teachers’ assessments of children’s social skills and concentration. The data stem from responses by and on fourth-graders to the National Education Panel Study (NEPS). The results show that sporting and musical activities correlate positively with the children's level of performance in German and mathematics. Similarly, moderate media use with up to two hours of media consumption per day is positively related to social skills and the ability to concentrate. Taking all these different aspects of children's living conditions together, it is clear that compared with leisure activities the influence of other factors, such as family structure, parental employment and migrant background, is secondary. The message for policymakers is that they should work on providing all children with leisure activities which promote their competence development. This means, on the one hand, further expanding the services offered by childcare facilities and all-day schools and, on the other, establishing counselling services aimed specifically at parents.

Download PDF
The Living Conditions and Competence Development of Primary School Children
Wido Geis-Thöne / Ruth Maria Schüler IW-Trends No. 2 18. June 2019

Wido Geis-Thöne / Ruth Maria Schüler: Lebenslagen und Kompetenzentwicklung von Grundschulkindern

IW-Trends

Download PDF

German Economic Institute (IW) German Economic Institute (IW)

Share this article:

or copy the following link:

The link was added to your clipboard!

More on the topic

Read the article
Parental contributions for all-day care for primary school children
Wido Geis-Thöne IW-Report No. 62 25. November 2022

Parental contributions for all-day care for primary school children

The organisation of all-day care for primary school children varies greatly from region to region in Germany. In most of the eastern German states it takes place mainly in after-school care centres, which are part of the child and youth welfare services, ...

IW

Read the article
Wido Geis-Thöne IW-Report No. 30 29. May 2022

Possible effects of the war in Ukraine in the German education system

Against the backdrop of the Russian war of aggression, more and more families in Ukraine are seeking protection in Germany. On 5 May 2022, around 242,000 underaged refugee from Ukraine were registered in Germany and the influx of refugees continues.

IW

Content element with id 8880 Content element with id 9713