Article in Journal

Mentoring Improves the School-to-work Transition of Disadvantaged Adolescents

Sven Resnjanskij, Jens Ruhose, Katharina Wedel, Simon Wiederhold, Ludger Woessmann
CESifo, Munich, 2024

EconPol Forum 25 (1), 25-28
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  • 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

 

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