German Student Academic Self-Concept and Neighborhood Effects Panel Study

A collection of analysis files for replicating a study on academic self-concept formation using the German National Educational Panel Study (NEPS), Starting Cohort 3. The study analyzes data from a representative sample of fifth-grade students in Germany from the 2010/11 school year, with a follow-up wave in 2014/15 when students were in ninth grade. It incorporates individual student data, classroom-level aggregates, and fine-grained neighborhood characteristics at the 8-digit postal code level.

Use Cases

• Analyze the relationship between academic self-concept and standardized achievement scores across different classroom compositions.
• Model neighborhood effects on student outcomes using social status, income, and employment data at the PLZ8 level.
• Investigate the Big-Fish-Little-Pond Effect by comparing individual student achievement to classroom-level achievement aggregates.
• Examine how socioeconomic background variables interact with neighborhood conditions over time from 5th to 9th grade.

Strengths

• Data is from the NEPS, a longitudinal multi-cohort study designed to be representative of fifth-grade students in Germany for the 2010/11 school year.
• Integrates data at three levels: individual students, classroom learning environments, and fine-grained neighborhood conditions.
• Uses neighborhood characteristics at the 8-digit postal code (PLZ8) level, providing more granular spatial information than the common 5-digit level in Germany.

Limitations

• The underlying NEPS data enriched with neighborhood information is not publicly downloadable; analysis requires on-site access at a specific institute after signing agreements and completing training.
• The dataset consists of analysis scripts (R and Mplus) for replication, not the raw data itself, limiting direct analysis without obtaining the original data.
• The temporal coverage is specific to two waves (2010/11 and 2014/15), which may limit analysis of trends outside this period.

Provenance

Source

German National Educational Panel Study (NEPS), Starting Cohort 3, Release 9.0.0; neighborhood data from microm consumer marketing.

Collection Method

Longitudinal panel study using a multistage sampling procedure: first sampling schools, then selecting all students from two classes per school.

Time Range

Wave 1: 2010/11 (5th Grade); Wave 5: 2014/15 (9th Grade).

Freshness

null

Geography

Germany, with neighborhood data at the 8-digit postal code (PLZ8) level.