The Impact of Socio-Cognitive Childhood Characteristics on Private and Professional Outcomes in Later Life : a Follow-up of 40 Years, Based on the Luxembourgish MAGRIP Study from 1968 - MAGRIP-R

Coordinating Institution: Université du Luxembourg
Contracting Partner(s): CEPS/INSTEAD
Other Partner(s): Columbia University, New York (USA)
From: 01/10/2007
To: 30/06/2010
Budget: 380,000.00€
Contact(s): Brunner Martin , Martin Romain

Summary

MAGRIP is a large-scale, longitudinal study that addresses the overarching research question “Does school prepare for life?” Specifically, we will examine how the educational career and its interactions with family characteristics and childhood mental abilities affect four key life-outcomes in middle adulthood: (1) social mobility (e.g., success on the job), (2) subjective well-being, (3) successful cognitive aging, and (4) health.

The first wave of data collection started in 1968 when a randomly selected half of over 2,800 Luxembourgish sixth-graders provided detailed information on their mental abilities, personality traits, schooling history, and family background. In 2008 we conducted a large follow-up study of a representative random subsample of 738 participants who participated in 1968 and now age around 52 years. About half of these adults also completed the same intelligence test as in 1968. The wealth and quality of the longitudinal information from 1968 to 2009, especially the exceptionally detailed data on family background and scores from a validated test of mental abilities, offer a significant improvement over most other studies in this field– a field where informative long-term studies are crucial but rare.

Since the beginning of the project in October 2007, we have thoroughly reviewed the literature and developed research instruments for the follow-up data collection on this basis. The data collection had started in November 2008 and was finished in August 2009. We expect to present first results at the end of June 2010. In order to inform the public on our research endeavor and to encourage the former students to participate in the current follow-up study, information on the MAGRIP study was provided on national TV programs (RTL Luxembourg), in national newspapers (Luxemburger Wort, Le Jeudi, Le Voix, L’essentiel, Journal, Tageblatt, Le Quotidien), and on the radio (Radio 100,7). MAGRIP will give empirically-based answers to the research question how school prepares for life, and thus contributes significantly to the understanding of the long-term consequences of the Luxembourgish school system. This in turn may inform policies that aim at enhancing the current educational system.

Publications

  • Information on MAGRIP-R was published on national TV (RTL Luxembourg), in national newspapers (Luxemburger Wort, Le Jeudi, Le Voix, L’essentiel, Journal, Tageblatt, Le Quotidien), and on the radio (Radio 100,7).
Project Website:

Figure: The picture shows the safe in which the MAGRIP data from 1968/1969 are kept.