Access to the First Labour Market after Educational Success: Model Minority Myth Under Pressure

The project primary focuses on the labor market access. It examines the conditions under which the decision was made and how the further professional career unfolds after educational success. In general, the attained level of education and qualification determines the professional and social position (Baumert & Maaz, 2012). According to the meritocratic principle, educational success people should be employed at a higher professional. However, the acquired high educational capital does not necessarily lead to a significantly higher professional position, accompanied by a higher income that promises a higher social position. Certain exclusion mechanisms that young adults with a migration background experienced in their further careers, have not been sufficiently studied for the German context for the Viet-germans (2. generation) - taking into account their previous educational success (Schmiz, 2011). However, studies for the German context have pointed structural disadvantages in the labor market, which is an integral part of institutional practices (DeZIM, 2022, 43). In particular, studies have repeatedly shown that young people despite they growing up in Germany, have a lower chance of being invited to a job interview if their name sounds Turkish (e.g. SVR Integration & Migration, 2014). The state of research from United States indicates, that the access to the primary labor market is equally associated with greater challenges by the 2. generation from Vietnamese family houshold, who have been successful in the education system – is called as “bamboo ceiling”, equivalent to glass ceiling by women (e.g. Tran et al., 2019).

The primary study group includes adult children of the second generations (Vietnamese and Turkish) who are between 25 and 35 years old. As a survey instrument in the qualitative research setting, narrative interviews (Schütz, 1983) are conducted, which enable the exploration of experiences and life realities, as well as collective orientation frameworks (Bohnsack, 2012).