The underrepresentation of male youth with a migration background in higher education in Germany

Why are male youth with a migration background underrepresented in higher education in Germany? The answer is not simple and there are certain limitations when developing possible solutions for this problem. This book tries to provide an answer to this question by interviewing male migrant youth and focusing on the already practiced strategies, beliefs and tendencies of those youth who have been successful. The premise is that actual proof is more useful than theoretical proof, is easier to apply and might provide inspiration for other youth. One goal of this book was to give male youth with a migration background a “voice”. Six youth from different educational levels are introduced. Each person’s family situation, how they grew up and how they deal with difficulties is depicted, including insights on their thoughts and attitudes. These interviews provide helpful clues on how and why male migrant youth might succeed or fail in school. As a juxtaposition, three quantitative research results are also analyzed in detail, which altogether present the youth from another perspective and thus portray the youth differently. These statistics give us clues on reasons for their failure in school, and at the same time provide suggestions of how male youth could (theoretically) be successful.