Youth – Identity – Belonging – Democracy

The DMS gGmbH has commissioned the Research Institute for the Economics of Education and Social Economy to conduct a qualitative survey with young people in Berlin to capture their experiences, thoughts and desires in relation to strengthening positive feelings of belonging, especially in the school context. As part of the survey, two focus groups were conducted in April 2024 with young people aged 15 to 22.
The aim of the focus groups was to collect data to answer the following research questions:
- What do young people living in a society shaped by migration in Berlin identify with today? How do they see themselves and how do they perceive their social/school environment? Which groups do they feel they belong to? In which processes do feelings of belonging develop? What strengthens and what weakens feelings of belonging?
Which identities are ascribed to young people in society? How do young people with a migration background perceive social attributions by other people? How are young people labelled by others? What role expectations do they perceive?
What dissonances arise between their self-perception and the ascriptions others make of them? What conflicts can arise from this?
What role do feelings of belonging play for young people? Do young people experience certain self-perceptions or ascriptions of others as burdensome? If so, what can be done about it?
What can be done in general to help young people feel a sense of belonging in the society in which they live? What can be done at different levels (at the individual, school and political-social level)? What opportunities does the democratic system offer and which should it offer?

The results of the survey were qualitatively evaluated, written up and discussed at a specialist dialogue organised by DMS gGmbH on 19 September 2024.

Download des FiBS Forschungsberichts 

The complete publication ‘Conflicts and Identity in Democracy Education’ by Dialog macht Schule gGmbH can be found hier