No. 112/2021

28 HUMBOLDT KOSMOS 112/2021 FORSCHUNG HAUTNAH CUS O ERMA Y S ad but true: equality for everyone, that core ele- ment of any society that considers itself demo- cratic, is just an empty promise. The continu- ously widening gap between poor and wealthy social classes paints a clear picture. This same gulf between aspirations and reality is particularly character- istic of the promise of equal opportunities held out by educational policy. In theory, educational institutions – from kindergarten to university – are supposed to help eliminate social differences. In truth, however, they tend to replicate them. You can discover what form this takes in the case of my own country, Germany, in the recent edited volume “Vom Arbeiterkind zur Professur. Sozialer Aufstieg in der Wis- senschaft” (From working-class child to professorship. Upward social mobility in academia). The book is an exam- ple of memoirs in which people report on their own EQUALITY FOR EVERYONE IS JUST AN EMPTY PROMISE.” Working-class children who reach the top in academia – that’s the exception in Germany. The experiences of one who managed. Text UWE SCHÜTTE MAKING THE CLIMB HARD “