The Abtitur class of 2020: From school to university without a prom - alone in front of the pc screen life satisfaction decreases

Abstract

"Measures to contain the Covid 19 pandemic led to school closures shortly before and during the Abitur exams in Germany. Therefore, students from the final high school grade had to revisit their learning arrangements, i.e. shifting from onsite final exam preparation to home schooling and often from teacher guided learning to self-administrated learning. Simultaneously uncertainty about the timing of the final examinations increased because a public debate about when and whether at all final examinations should take place arose. Based on the BerO study of the Institute for Employment Research this report examines the overall life satisfaction, educational plans and the start in higher education and training programs of the 2020 Abitur cohort. The overall life satisfaction of the first "Corona Abitur" cohort decreased from 7.3 to 6.8 between the fall of 2019 and the fall/winter of 2020. The observed decline in overall life satisfaction is atypical. Normally, such decreases in overall life satisfaction occur after or during dramatic life events like wars (Coupe/Obrizan 2016), widowhood (Infurna et al. 2017), or after severe accidents that lead to disabilities (Oswald/Powdthavee 2008)." (Author's abstract, IAB-Doku) ((en))

Cite article

Anger, S., Bernhard, S., Dietrich, H., Lerche, A., Patzina, A., Sandner, M. & Toussaint, C. (2021): Abiturjahrgang 2020: Ohne Abiball zum Studium - allein am Bildschirm bricht die Lebenszufriedenheit ein. (IAB-Kurzbericht 19/2021), Nürnberg, 8 p.