Educational (Failure): What Does a “Migrant Background” Have to Do With It?

Research Findings and Measures for a Fair German Education System

When? Wednesday, September 2, 2026 | 6:00 p.m. 

Where? DeZIM_Saal, Mauerstrasse 76, 10117 Berlin

In Germany, educational success is often linked to students’ immigrant backgrounds. This lecture presents current research findings on this connection and analyzes them from a critical perspective on discrimination within the context of the structural conditions of the German school system. 

In his lecture, Prof. Dr. Karim Fereidooni examines the validity of placement recommendations as a central aspect of educational decisions and educational trajectories. Finally, reform measures for a more equitable educational system will be discussed.  

  • Lecture: Prof. Dr. Karim Fereidooni is a professor of didactics in social science education at Ruhr University Bochum. His research focuses on critiquing racism in educational institutions, school research and political education in a society of migration, and diversity-sensitive teacher education.
  • Moderator: Dr. Anna Aleksandra Wojciechowicz, Research Associate at NaDiRa.
  • Commentary: Prof. Dr. Aileen Edele, Professor of Empirical Teaching and Learning Research in Contexts of Migration-Related Heterogeneity / Director of the Berlin Institute for Empirical Integration and Migration Research (BIM) / Head of the Department of Education and Integration.

 

NaDiRa Lecture Series

The NaDiRa Lecture Series is a public forum with rotating themes designed to foster discussion of fundamental and current contributions to racism research. With an eye toward the upcoming research focus of the National Discrimination and Racism Monitor (NaDiRa), this year’s series brings together renowned scholars in the fields of education research critical of discrimination and the sociology of education. Education is a central arena for social participation—and at the same time a space where racist inequalities and discrimination can manifest and be reproduced. The series, initially planned as three lectures, is dedicated to current findings on educational inequalities, the institutional conditions under which inequality is produced, and anti-racist perspectives on schools, teaching, and educational materials.  

Upcoming dates for the 2026 lecture series:

Tuesday, October 20, 2026 | 6:00 p.m.
Who Belongs? On the Representation of Migration, Diversity, and Belonging in Textbooks
With Prof. Dr. Riem Spielhaus

Wednesday, November 25, 2026 | 6:00 p
.m. Ethnic Educational Inequalities Over the Course of a Student’s Educational Journey
With Prof. Dr. Claudia Diehl

 

 

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