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Several factors usually affect student’s Grade Point Average (GPA), including family support, associate friends and learning intensity. This study aims to determine whether there is an indirect effect of family and friends support associating with the cumulative achievement index of students through the excitement of learning as an intervening variable. This type of research is ex-post facto with a population of 278 students of the 2015-2017 Mathematics Tadris Study Program. We used a Proportionate Stratified Random Sampling technique to select a sample of 164 students. We obtained data through questionnaires and documentation and then analyzed using path analysis. The results showed that there was an indirect influence of family and friends support associating with student GPA through the intensity of learning as an intervening variable. Abstrak: Indeks Prestasi Kumulatif (IPK) mahasiswa biasanya dipengaruhi oleh beberapa faktor, diantaranya adalah dukungan keluarga, teman bergaul dan intensitas belajar. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui apakah ada pengaruh tidak langsung dukungan keluarga dan teman bergaul terhadap indeks prestasi komulatif mahasiswa melalui intensitas belajar sebagai variabel intervening. Jenis penelitian ini adalah ex-post facto dengan p opulasi sebanyak 278 mahasiswa Program Studi Tadris Matematika angkatan 2015-2017. Pengambilan sampel sebanyak 164 mahasiswa dilakukan dengan teknik Probability Sampling tipe Proportionate Stratified Random Sampling . Data diperoleh melalui kuisioner dan dokumentasi kemudian dianalisis menggunakan analisis jalur . Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa ada pengaruh tidak langsung dukungan keluarga dan teman bergaul terhadap IPK mahasiswa melalui intensitas belajar sebagai variabel interverning.

This dissertation estimates returns to education in terms of skills and health as important aspects of human capital given their importance in determining economic outcomes. The dissertation is based on three independent empirical research articles which constitute the three main chapters 2, 3, and 4, and a comprehensive introduction in Chapter 1 and conclusion in Chapter 5. The analyses exploit several exogenous variations in German educational policies and apply state-of-the art microeconometric techniques for causal inference. The chapters complement each other in three dimensions: First, each chapter looks at different aspects of education, together considering both qualitative measures - including the curriculum, learning intensity, and timing - as well as quantitative factors - like years of schooling. Second, while all chapters estimate non-monetary effects of education, each investigates a specific dimension of human capital, overall addressing cognitive skills, non-cognitive skills, and health. Third, to complement each other from a life-course perspective, different age groups are analyzed including seventeen-year old adolescents still enrolled in secondary education, young adults at the time of graduating from high school, and adults between the ages 50 and 85, long after the completion of secondary education. Chapter 2 investigates the short-term effects of a reduction in the length of high school on students' personality traits using a school reform carried out at the state level in Germany as a quasi-natural experiment. Starting in 2001, academic-track high school education was reduced by one year in most of Germany's federal states, with the overall curriculum left unchanged. This enabled students to obtain their university entrance qualification after only 12 rather than 13 years of schooling, but it increased learning intensity through an increase in weekly class hours. Exploiting the variation in the length of high school over time and across states, the effect of learning intensity on students' Big Five personality traits and on their locus of control is identified. Using representative data on adolescents and young adults from the German Socio- Economic Panel (SOEP) study, the estimates show that shortening high school caused students to be less emotionally stable. Furthermore, the results point to important heterogeneous effects. In addition to regional and gender differences, students not living with both parents and students with migration background showed stronger personality changes following the reform: they became more open and extroverted, and more open and conscientious, respectively. Thus, the chapter concludes that the educational system plays an important role in shaping adolescents' personality traits. Chapter 3 focuses on cognitive skills and investigates two mechanisms through which they may be affected by education. I rely on the same reform analyzed in Chapter 2 for causal identification but conduct two separate analyses based on different datasets: First, I exploit the variation over time and across states to identify the effect of an increase in class hours on same-aged students' intelligence scores, using SOEP data on seventeen year-olds. Second, I investigate the influence of earlier instruction at younger ages, using data from the German National Educational Panel Study (NEPS) on high school graduates' competences. The results suggest that overall, secondary education impacts students' crystallized cognitive skills in adolescence especially through instructional time rather than through age-distinct timing of instruction. However, they also reveal that increasing instructional time aggravates gender differences in numeracy. Chapter 4 analyzes whether education has a protective effect on mental health. To estimate causal effects, an instrumental variable (IV) technique is implemented with two different instruments to estimate local average treatment effects (LATE) at different parts of the educational distribution: (i) a reform extending compulsory schooling by one year implemented in West German federal states between 1949 and 1969 and (ii) the individual availability of higher education measured by the spatial distance to the nearest university at age 19. The analyses are based on rich individual SOEP data on adults aged 50 to 85, augmented by detailed information on universities from the German Rectors' Conference. Analyses on the Mental Component Summary (MCS) score as a generic measure of overall mental health are complemented by disorder-specific diagnoses. Results support existing evidence on a positive relationship between completed years of secondary schooling and mental health in standard Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) estimations. However, the IV estimations reveal no such causal protective effect. If any, the estimates point towards a negative effect among the lower educated. These results are confirmed when explicitly modeling effect heterogeneity through marginal treatment effects., Diese Dissertation untersucht den kausalen Einfluss von Bildung auf individuelle Fähigkeiten und Gesundheit. Diese beiden Bildungserträge stellen wichtige Elemente des Humankapitals dar und sind somit von herausragender Bedeutung in Bezug auf den Arbeitsmarkt, sowohl für den individuellen Erfolg als auch für die gesamtwirtschaftliche Analyse. Die Dissertation setzt sich dabei aus drei empirischen Forschungsartikeln zusammen, welche in den drei Hauptkapiteln 2, 3, und 4 behandelt werden, sowie aus einer ausführlichen Einleitung in Kapitel 1 und einer Schlussfolgerung in Kapitel 5. Die Identifikation kausaler Effekte von Bildung auf die individuellen Fähigkeiten sowie die Gesundheit erfolgt mittels räumlicher und zeitlicher Variation infolge verschiedener Reformen in der deutschen Bildungspolitik. Zur Schätzung der Effekte werden aktuelle mikroökonometrische Methoden verwendet. Die einzelnen Kapitel ergänzen sich in dreifacher Hinsicht: Erstens beleuchtet jedes Kapitel unterschiedliche Aspekte von Bildung. Hierbei werden sowohl qualitative Aspekte, wie das Curriculum, die Lernintensität und die zeitliche Abstimmung des Lehrplans, als auch quantitative Aspekte, wie die Anzahl an Schuljahren, berücksichtigt. Zweitens analysiert jedes Kapitel eine separate Dimension des Humankapitals. Während alle Kapitel nicht-monetäre Bildungserträge untersuchen, liegt der spezifische Fokus der verschiedenen Kapitel jeweils auf kognitiven Fähigkeiten, nicht-kognitiven Fähigkeiten und mentaler Gesundheit. Drittens werden sowohl siebzehnjährige Jugendliche, die noch die Schule besuchen, junge Erwachsene im Abiturienten-Alter und Erwachsene im Alter zwischen 50 und 85 Jahren, deren Schulausbildung schon lange zurück liegt, betrachtet. Durch diese parallele Analyse verschiedener Altersgruppen sind verschiedene Phasen des Lebensverlaufs abgebildet. Kapitel 2 analysiert kurzfristige Effekte einer Reduzierung der Gesamtschulzeit auf Persönlichkeitseigenschaften. Hierzu wird die sogenannte G8-Reform verwendet, die die Gymnasialzeit von neun auf acht Jahre verkürzte. Da die Reform in verschiedenen Bundesländern zu verschiedenen Zeitpunkten, beginnend im Jahr 2001, durchgeführt worden ist, stellt sie ein quasi-natürliches Experiment dar. Durch die Verkürzung der Schulzeit bei gleichzeitiger Beibehaltung des Umfangs des Unterrichtsstoffs stieg die Anzahl an Wochenstunden und somit die Lernintensität entsprechend an. Mithilfe der zeitlichen und räumlichen Variation in der Gesamtdauer des Gymnasiums kann der Effekt der Lernintensität auf die Persönlichkeitseigenschaften von SchülerInnen identifiziert werden. Die Persönlichkeitseigenschaften werden hierbei mithilfe des Fünf-Faktoren Modells und der internalen Kontrollüberzeugung erfasst. Die Schätzungen auf Basis repräsentativer Daten des Sozio-oekonomischen Panels (SOEP) zu Jugendlichen und jungen Erwachsenen zeigen, dass die gesteigerte Lernintensität eine Verringerung der emotionalen Stabilität der SchülerInnen bewirkt. Außerdem weisen die Ergebnisse wichtige Heterogenitäten auf. Neben regionalen und Geschlechterunterschieden, zeigen sich insbesondere bei SchülerInnen, die nicht bei beiden Eltern aufwachsen, und SchülerInnen mit Migrationshintergrund deutlichere Persönlichkeitsveränderungen infolge der erhöhten Lernintensität: für die erste Gruppe ein höheres Maß an Offenheit und Extrovertiertheit, für die zweite Gruppe ein höheres Maß an Offenheit und Gewissenhaftigkeit. Dieses Kapitel schlussfolgert daher, dass das Bildungssystem eine wichtige Rolle in der Persönlichkeitsbildung Jugendlicher spielt. Kapitel 3 betrachtet zwei Mechanismen um zu untersuchen, wie Bildung kognitive Fähigkeiten beeinflusst. Um kausale Effekte zu identifizieren, beruht die Analyse auf derselben Reform, die bereits in Kapitel 2 als Identifikationsstrategie genutzt wurde. Insbesondere werden in Kapitel 3 zwei separate Analysen durchgeführt: Zum einen wird die Variation über die Zeit und zwischen Bundesländern ausgenutzt, um den Effekt eines Anstiegs in der Anzahl der Unterrichtsstunden zu beurteilen. Dies geschieht auf Basis von Daten des SOEP zu siebzehnjährigen Jugendlichen. Zum anderen wird der Einfluss des Zeitpunkts des Unterrichts im Lebenslauf der SchülerInnen betrachtet. Auf Basis von Daten des Nationalen Bildungspanels (NEPS) zu AbiturientInnen wird untersucht, inwiefern sich die Vermittlung desselben Lernstoffs in einem jüngeren Alter auf kognitive Kompetenzen auswirkt. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass Bildung vor allem durch die Anzahl an Unterrichtsstunden auf kognitive Fähigkeiten wirkt, und weniger durch eine zeitliche Verschiebung des Unterrichts im Hinblick auf das Alter der SchülerInnen. Es zeigt sich auch, dass ein Anstieg an Unterrichtszeit Geschlechterunterschiede, insbesondere im Bereich der numerischen Fähigkeiten, deutlich verschärft. Kapitel 4 untersucht, ob sich Bildung protektiv auf mentale Gesundheit auswirkt. Um kausale Effekte zu identifizieren, wird eine Instrumentvariablen (IV) Schätzung angewandt. Lokale Durchschnittseffekte für verschiedene Bereiche der Bildungsverteilung werden mithilfe zweier unterschiedlicher Instrumentenvariablen geschätzt: Zum einen wird die Variation in der zeitlichen Ausweitung der Schulpflicht um ein Jahr, die zwischen 1949 und 1969 in westdeutschen Bundesländern zu verschiedenen Zeitpunkten durchgeführt wurde, herangezogen. Zum anderen wird die Variation in der Verfügbarkeit höherer Bildungsmöglichkeiten anhand der räumlichen Distanz zur nächstgelegenen Universität oder Fachhochschule im Alter von 19 Jahren genutzt. Die Analysen beruhen auf reichhaltigen Daten des SOEP zu Erwachsenen im Alter zwischen 50 und 85 Jahren, ergänzt durch detaillierte Informationen zu Universitäten und Fachhochschulen der Stiftung zur Förderung der Hochschulrektorenkonferenz. Mentale Gesundheit wird durch den "Mental Component Summary (MCS) Score" abgebildet, der allgemeine mentale Gesundheit auf einer kontinuierlichen Skala beschreibt, und durch Informationen zu medizinischen Diagnosen spezifischer psychischer Krankheiten ergänzt. Die Ergebnisse einer Kleinste-Quadrate-Schätzung bestätigen die bestehende Evidenz zur positiven Korrelation zwischen Bildung und mentaler Gesundheit. Die IV Schätzungen zeigen jedoch, dass diese nicht kausal zu interpretieren ist. Wenn überhaupt, deuten die Ergebnisse eher auf einen negativen Effekt hin, zumindest am unteren Rand der Bildungsverteilung. Dieser Befund wird in "Marginal Treatment Effect"-Analysen bestätigt, die explizit heterogene Effekte entlang der intrinsischen Präferenz für Bildung modellieren.

This paper exploits a unique universal educational policy - implemented in most German states between 2001 and 2008 - that compressed the academic-track high school curriculum into a (one year) shorter time span, thereby increasing time of instruction and share of curriculum taught per grade. Using 2000-2012 PISA data and a quasi-experimental approach, I estimate the impacts of this intensified curriculum on cognitive skills. I find robust evidence that the reform improved, on average, the reading, mathematical, and scientific literacy skills acquired by academic-track ninth graders upon treatment. However, I also provide evidence that the reform widened the gap in student performance with respect to parental migration background and student ability. Finally, although the reform did not affect, on average, high school grade retention, I find that the latter increased for students with parental migration background. Taken together, these findings suggest that moving to a compressed high-school curriculum did not compromise and benefited, on average, students' cognitive skills. However, they also raise equity concerns that policy-makers should be aware of.

I exploit a unique educational policy - implemented in most German states between 2001 and 2007 - that reduced high school duration by one year while keeping its curriculum unaltered to investigate how the resulting increase in learning intensity affected student achievement. Using 2000-2009 PISA data and a difference-in-differences approach, I find robust evidence that the reform significantly improved the reading, mathematics, and science literacy skills acquired by academic-track high school students upon treatment. A more direct estimate of the effects of the increased learning intensity - as measured by the cumulative weekly number of instructional hours delivered in high school grades - corroborates the latter finding. Furthermore, there is some evidence that the effects of the reform differ by gender and grade retention. Finally, I find no evidence of a significant average effect of the reform on high school grade retention, although I do find that the latter increased significantly for boys and for students with a migration background.

Most German states have reformed university preparatory schooling during the last decade by reducing its duration from 13 to 12 years without changing the graduation requirements. In this paper, we use nationwide data on high school graduates and apply a difference-in-differences approach to evaluate the reform effects on post-secondary education decisions. The results show that enrollment in university education in the first year after high school graduation is reduced in all analyzed states, while participation in voluntary service or staying abroad is increased. In some subgroups, depending on state, gender and family background, university enrollment is decreased additionally beyond the first year.

The G8 high school reform to reduce the total number of years spent at Gymnasium (Germany’s academic-track secondary school) has been more controversial than almost any other education reform in recent years. Although there are few reliable empirical findings on the effects of the G8 reform, several federal states are already considering a return to the old system, which required 13 years — rather than 12 under the G8 system — for graduation from Gymnasium. A new study by DIW Berlin examines the different effects of the G8 reform using administrative data on all students who graduated from Gymnasium between 2002 and 2013. The study shows, among other things, that the G8 reform has reduced the age of graduation from Gymnasium by an average of ten months — and not the twelve months Gymnasium schooling was reduced by. One reason for this is that the share of students who repeated a grade during their time at Gymnasium rose by three percentage points — approximately a fifth — as a result of the reform. The sharpest rise in grade repetitions was seen in the final years (Oberstufe), with boys being more strongly affected on average than girls. The share of students who graduated from Gymnasium (thereby earning their university entrance qualification or Abitur), however, was unaffected by the G8 high school reform.

The main goal of secondary school education in developed countries is to prepare students for higher education and the labor market. That demands high investments in study duration and specialized fields to meet rising skill requirements. However, these demands for more education are in opposition to calls for early entry to the labor market, to lengthen working lives to meet the rising costs associated with an aging population and to enable the intergenerational transfer of skills. One way to lengthen working lives is to shorten the duration of secondary school, an option recently implemented in Canada and Germany. The empirical evidence shows mixed effects.

Policy-makers face a trade-off between the provision of higher levels of schooling and earlier labour market entries. A fundamental education reform in Germany tackles this trade-off by reducing high school by one year while leaving the total instructional time unchanged. Employing administrative data on all high school graduates in 2002-2013 in Germany, we exploit both temporal and regional variation in the implementation of the reform and study the overall effectiveness of this reform. We find that compressing the high school track by one year reduces the mean high school graduation age by about 10 months. The probability to repeat a grade level in the course of high school increases by 21 percent (3 percentage points), peaking in the final three years before graduation. However, the high school graduation rate is not affected. The results indicate the reform's success in reducing the graduation age, though it stays behind its potential benefits for labour markets and social security schemes because of higher grade repetition rates.

The G8 high school reform to reduce the total number of years spent at Gymnasium (Germany's academictrack secondary school) has been more controversial than almost any other education reform in recent years. Although there are very few reliable empirical findings on the effects of the G8 reform, several federal states are already considering a return to the old system, which required 13 years—rather than 12 under the G8 system—for graduation from Gymnasium. A new study by DIW Berlin examines the different effects of the G8 reform using administrative data on all students who graduated from Gymnasium between 2002 and 2013. The study shows, among other things, that the G8 reform has reduced the age of graduation from Gymnasium by an average of ten months—and not the twelve months Gymnasium schooling was reduced by. One reason for this is that the share of students who repeated a grade during their time at Gymnasium rose by three percentage points—approximately a fifth—as a result of the reform. The sharpest rise in grade repetitions was seen in the final years (Oberstufe), with boys being more strongly affected on average than girls. The share of students who graduated from Gymnasium (thereby earning their university entrance qualification or Abitur), however, was unaffected by the G8 high school reform. Kaum eine Bildungsreform der vergangenen Jahre ist umstrittener als die G8-Reform zur Verkürzung der Gymnasialschulzeit. Obwohl es bisher nur sehr wenige verlässliche empirische Befunde zur Wirkung der G8-Reform gibt, erwägen mehrere Bundesländer bereits eine Rückkehr von der zwölf- zur 13-jährigen Schulzeit bis zum Abitur. Eine neue Studie des DIW Berlin untersucht verschiedene Auswirkungen der G8-Reform anhand amtlicher Daten über alle Schüler der Abiturjahrgänge 2002 bis 2013. Die Studie zeigt unter anderem, dass die G8-Reform das Alter der Abiturienten am Gymnasium um durchschnittlich zehn Monate reduziert hat – und nicht um zwölf Monate, um die sich die Schulzeit infolge der Reform verkürzt hat. Ein Grund dafür ist, dass der Anteil der Schüler, die während der Gymnasialzeit sitzengeblieben sind, durch die G8-Reform um drei Prozentpunkte – also um etwa ein Fünftel – gestiegen ist. Den stärksten Anstieg bei den Klassenwiederholungen gab es in der Oberstufe; Jungen waren im Mittel stärker betroffen als Mädchen. Der Anteil an Schülern, die ihre Schullaufbahn am Gymnasium mit dem Abitur abschließen, blieb von der G8-Reform jedoch unberührt.

Students of psychology as a minor subject often face the problem that they cannot attend psychology lectures as they coincide with courses in their major field of studies. A solution for these students might be lecture- recordings. In two field experiments, students’ learning outcome in live- lectures and low-effort lecture-recordings did not differ. In experiment 1 students were able to choose whether they attended the live-lecture or watched the lecture-recording. Though fewer students than usually attended the live-lecture, the results show that also students who do not attend class regularly could be reached by the lecture-recording. In experiment 2 students were randomly assigned to the groups. As a result, many students did not behave cooperatively. Taking the comparable learning outcome in a low- effort lecture-recording and the result concerning students’ participation into account, we encourage teachers to use lecture-recordings and, therefore, give their students the chance to choose between live-lecture and recording., Journal of e-Learning and Knowledge Society, Vol 9, No 2 (2013): Focus on: E-learning: requirements of the disciplines

This paper investigates how post-school education decisions are affected by a one-year reduction of secondary school duration with an unchanged curriculum. Until recently, Germany had had a longstanding tradition of 13 years of schooling in preparation for university. During the last decade, however, most states abolished the 13th year. The implementation of the reform in 2003 in the state of Saxony-Anhalt provides a natural experiment for identification. Based on data from the double cohort of graduates, our estimates show significant effects of the reform. Affected female students in particular significantly delay university enrollment by one year, show a slightly lower participation in university education overall and are more likely to start a vocational education course. We can also reveal effect heterogeneity with respect to the fields of study. Due to the reform the probability of affected males studying mathematics or natural sciences is significantly reduced.

Despite the interdependence between cognitive and noncognitive skills, empirical studies have shown a longer period of acquisition in life-time for the latter besides relevance for educational and labor market success. Analyzing returns of investments during different periods of life is therefore economically meaningful. We evaluate the effects of a substantial increase in the amount of curriculum per unit of time (learning intensity) at the end of higher secondary schooling on nine types of these skills. The results show no influence on the acquisition of noncognitive skills, indicating that personality does rather not depend on schooling investments in late adolescence.

Straipsnyje nagrinėjami dabartinių Lietuvos gimnazijų moksleivių mokymosi intensyvumo ir interesų tenkinimo apsektai, motyvacijos. Tyrimo objektas – gimnazijų moksleivių ugdymo ir ugdymosi kryptingumas. Buvo taikomi šie tyrimo metodai: literatūros ir dokumentų analizė, anketinė apklausa,pokalbis ir diskusija, patirties apibendrinimas. Iš viso apklausti 1386 respondentai iš 20 gimnazijų: 860 moksleivių, 350 pedagogų. Tyrimo metu paaiškėjo, kad dalis gimnazistų mokosi tik dėl pažymio, todėl labai menkai gilinasi į mokomuosius dalykus. Mokytis gimnazijose yra gana sunku, o tokių moksleivių, kuriems lengva, yra mažai. Daugiau nei ketvirtadalis moksleivių po pamokų dar 4-5 val. ruošia namų darbus. Ruošimosi pamokoms laiko ilginimas susijęs su ugdymo turima procesu standartais, gabumų trukumu. Gimnazijose nukenčia papildomasis ugdymas –jam nelieka laiko. Rajonų mokyklos neretai lygių mokymosi galimybių, pragyvenimo lygio požiūriais atsilieka nuo miestų, todėl rajonų ir kaimų moksleiviai turi stipresnių mokymosi motyvacijų. The article analyses aspect related with learning intensity and interest satisfaction and motivation of pupils of the present-day gymnasiums. The object of the research is the singleness of teaching and learning of gymnasium pupils. The following research methods were applied: analysis of literature and documents, survey questionnairing, interview, discussion and generalisation of experience. A total of 1386 respondents were surveyed from 20 gymnasiums, of whom 860 were pupils and 350 were pedagogues. The survey revealed that some gymnasium pupils learn only for the sake of marks, therefore, take little interest in the subjects that are taught. To learn in gymnasiums is rather hard, and the number of pupils who consider learning in gymnasiums as easy is small. For more that a quarter of pupils it takes 4-5 hours to prepare homework. Extension of time for homework preparing is related with educational standards and shortage of capacities. Supplementary education in gymnasiums also suffers – there is lack of time for that. District schools often lack behind in terms of equal learning opportunities and living standard from town schools, therefore, district and rural pupils have stronger motivation for learning.