Schoolchildren Study 1990

Comparison of living conditions and attitudes of schoolchildren from
GDR and FRG in advance of German-German unification
(supplemental form for teachers).
Topics:
Version A and B:
class and school attended;
attitude to the pace of German unification;
expectations of a united Germany;
assessment of the measures of the government in their effects on youth;
areas for additional youth support;
expectations of social development in united Germany
regarding economy, environment, nuclear weapons, unemployment, democracy;
preferred political grouping;
personal identity (scale);
motives for solidarity with native country (scale);
trip to FRG or GDR since border opening;
main impressions of the other country;
attitude to contact opportunities with young people
from the other part of Germany (scale);
personal impact within circle of friends and school from the wave of emigration;
new circle of friends after moving;
agreement of personal and parental opinion on unification;
future expectations for personal life and for society;
personal time frame for future expectations;
moral orientations;
characterization of life feeling;
contact with concerns and needs;
persons with model function and influence on decisions in daily life (scale);
attitudes to the generation problem (scale);
school achievements in comparison to classmates;
school and educational level sought;
desired occupation;
marriage age desired;
age desired at birth of first child;
composition of family;
personal room;
school and vocational certificate of father and mother;
preference for styles in clothing and external public image
for oneself and for friends of the other sex (scale);
Version A on family and school:
characteristic of domestic atmosphere (scale);
domestic duties;
satisfaction with home and family relations;
general contentment with life;
father and mother as adviser in concrete questions (scale);
assessment of the upbringing methods of parents and personal concepts;
acceptance of personal conduct by parents (scale);
attitude to school;
learning motivation;
personal and parental attitude to school achievement;
conduct in school regarding discipline,
respect for teachers and school property;
favorite subjects;
pleasant and unpleasant things in school life;
positive and negative changes in school life since the turning point;
Version B on media and culture:
leisure time on an average school day;
organization of leisure time (scale);
frequency of use of various media programs;
regularly reading newspapers and magazines;
frequency of attending leisure events (scale);
athletic activity (scale);
number of books read in the immediate past;
use of electronic equipment (scale);
amount of pocket-money and manner of use (scale);
manner of use of the welcoming money after border opening (scale);
non-conform behavior in leisure time;
responsibility for personal room and structuring;
desired changes in the room;
attitude to certain groups or movements such as
soccer clubs, computer clubs, peace movement, Republicans;
membership in leisure group and organized group;
resignation from youth organizations;
type of construction of the school;
Teacher questionnaire:
changes in the atmosphere in class, among the schoolchildren,
between teachers and schoolchildren;
number of teachers or schoolchildren of the class who have moved;
chance to achieve occupation concepts;
fear of being asked too much by occupation demands;
fear of loss of job;
psychological effects of social changes;
comparison of education systems GDR and FRG;
assessment of achievements, discipline and social climate of the class.