Mentoring Improves the School-to-work Transition of Disadvantaged Adolescents
ECONOMIC POLICY AND ITS IMPACT
Key Messages
- Mentoring programs can strongly improve the transition from school to work for disadvantaged adolescents
- Results from our field experiment indicate that a German mentoring program markedly boosts school achievement, patience, and labor-market orientation of students from highly disadvantaged backgrounds
- The effects on math grades and labor-market orientation extend beyond the end of the program
- Three years after program start, the mentoring program substantially increases the share of disadvantaged adolescents who start an apprenticeship, a vital step for success in the German labor market
- The results show that substituting a lack of family support with other adults can help disadvantaged children in adolescence
Abstract
This article evaluates the effectiveness of one of the largest mentoring programs for disadvantaged adolescents in Germany. The aim of the program “Rock Your Life!” is the successful transition of adolescents from lower secondary school to an apprenticeship or upper secondary school. Mentoring programs can strongly improve the transition from school to work for disadvantaged adolescents. The results show that substituting a lack of family support with other adults can help disadvantaged children in adolescence.
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Citation
Sven Resnjanskij, Jens Ruhose, Katharina Wedel, Simon Wiederhold and Ludger Woessmann: “Mentoring Improves the School-to-work Transition of Disadvantaged Adolescents,” EconPol Forum 25 (1), CESifo, Munich, 2024.