Different career paths for young men

The research project, carried out by Bielefeld University and Fulda University of Applied Sciences, is investigating over a two-year period how the personal desire for recognition and the exclusion experienced in everyday life influence the way people live their lives.

The research team is managing existing data on youth crime, religious radicalisation and community life in neighbourhoods, and re-analysing it. The focus is on men who, on the one hand, want to be socially successful but, on the other, frequently experience devaluation. Despite this tension, some seek a path to success through education or creative lifestyles, whilst others turn to criminal or extremist groups.

A key question for the researchers is: What experiences and social dynamics lead to these different career paths? How do societal notions of education, success and belonging interact with the experiences of those affected?

Decisions throughout the curriculum vitae

“We want to understand at which points in life these paths diverge and what role the environment plays in this,” says the study’s co-initiator, sociologist Denis van de Wetering from the Institute for Interdisciplinary Conflict and Violence Research at Bielefeld University. The researchers aim to develop a model of different life trajectories based on these findings.

The research is based, amongst other things, on interviews conducted in the run-up to the study. Many respondents see education as the key to social participation. One respondent sums it up as follows: “Receiving training is like having gold in your pocket.” At the same time, many feel that their views are not taken seriously – for example, when a lecturer in a seminar dismisses a respondent’s comment: “You can believe in church; here, you just know.” Such experiences can have a sustainable negative impact on their relationship with educational institutions. Additional interviews will be conducted as the project progression continues.

The total budget for the project is around 200,000 euros. Of this, the Ministry of Culture and Research of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia is providing 180,000 euros, with the remainder being provided by Bielefeld University. The project will run for 24 months. The project manager is Denis van de Wetering (University of Bielefeld) and Dr Felix Roßmeißl (Fulda University of Applied Sciences). The research project is entitled “Ambivalence and Career Paths: An empirical study on how young men navigate biographical crises between the path to success and the ‘street jihadi’ spectrum”.

Contact:
Denis van de Wetering, Bielefeld University
Institute for Interdisciplinary Conflict and Violence Research
Telephone: +49 521 106-3150
Email: dvan_de_wetering@uni-bielefeld.de<mailto:dvan_de_wetering@uni-bielefeld.de>