About the Consortium
What is the German-Israeli Research Consortium «Migration and Societal Integration»?
The German-Israeli Research Consortium «Migration and Societal Integration» is composed of five interdisciplinary research groups working in partnership to study and analyze acculturation and its consequences for the psychosocial adjustment of migrants in Israel and Germany.
Who are the members?
The Consortium is headed by Prof. Dr. Rainer K. Silbereisen at the University of Jena and involves researchers in the fields of Psychology, Sociology, Criminology and Linguistics from universities in Germany (Berlin, Bielefeld, Bremen, Chemnitz, Jena, Leipzig, Mannheim) and in Israel (Bar-Ilan, Haifa, Jerusalem, Tel Aviv).
What is the focus of the Consortium?
The study examines biographic transitions from childhood to early adulthood, i.e., the transition from home to day care, to elementary school, and to higher education; entry to the labor market; and first romantic relationships and the transition to marriage, and compares these transitions between various migrant, ethnic minority and native groups in Israel and Germany. The study focuses on positive development, e.g. competencies and well-being, and factors that promote successful acculturation. Principal research questions include:
- What linguistic and psychosocial conditions are most likely to achieve social integration of language minority children?
- What resources help to overcome barriers in the educational system and facilitate the entry to the labor market among young migrants?
- What psychosocial resources promote successful biographic transitions, e.g. school entry, marriage?
- How does migration affect adolescents’ identity development with regard to values like tradition, achievement, and self-direction?
- What precursors lead adolescent immigrants into violence and delinquency after migrating to the receiving context? What protective factors can buffer migration-related stressors?
What is the approach and timeline?
In 2006 the Research Consortium «Migration and Societal Integration» started its research activities with three German-Israeli research groups funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). One year later, in Spring 2007, two more projects joined the consortium. Until 2009 the research program will undertake the collection of multiple data sets, the comprehensive analysis of the data, and publication of first results.
Why a consortium?
Multiple, small studies often result in a mixed bag of findings that cannot be harmonized. The Consortium has been created to avoid this problem by constituting a coordinated, comprehensive study that helps shape the successful acculturation of migrants. The Consortium further intends to stimulate knowledge and exchange among researchers and practitioners by organizing workshops and seminars on latest concepts, methods and results in the area of migration.