Project “Integration of Children with Migration Background in Baden-Wuerttemberg and California”

Abstract

The point of departure for the scientific study of the integration of children with migration backgrounds in the two areas chosen for comparison, Baden-Wuerttemberg and California, is the following problem: Children between nine and fourteen years of age, our project’s target group, are seldom considered in both integration research and integration practice. During this stage, children face important developmental and psychological tasks, which will determine their future orientation in various areas of life. In this specific period of development children go through important processes of integration – both those with and without migration backgrounds [1] . For these reasons we argue that the study of children’s integration-experiences is of great scientific and societal relevance. Thus our research is based on a practical problem which at the same time marks a gap in current research literature. Practical problems are complex; in order to appropriately grasp and represent them, a variety of methods, both quantitative and qualitative, is needed.