Inclusion, educational equality and equal participation in the labour market remain key challenges for young people with a migrant background in Germany. There is a considerable need for action, especially in rural regions. Intersectional disadvantages, for example due to gender, origin, socio-economic status or uncertainty regarding residence status, accumulate in many ways. This leads to structural exclusion, particularly at the transitions in the education system - for example between school and vocational training.
Educationally disadvantaged girls with a migration background are particularly affected by these mechanisms. Many attend vocational preparation classes in the transition system in order to fulfil their compulsory schooling, as they have so far been denied access to regular vocational training.

Research approach of PowerMii: Participatory biography work as empowerment
The PowerMii research project aims to systematically develop the potential of participatory and empowering educational biography work for vocational schools in rural areas. The focus is on girls with a migrant background who find themselves in precarious educational contexts and are often affected by institutional exclusion.
In specially designed empowerment research groups, the participants acquire a reflective and critical-analytical attitude towards their own educational biographies. The methodological basis is formed by narrative interviews, self-reflection and the collective exchange of experiences with educational barriers and institutional discrimination. Through this process, the young people also qualify as role models.
"We do not assume that the girls are not empowered. Rather, we want to work with them to find out what empowerment means for them. We are interested in what they need in order to move confidently in our society," says Dr Lena Ludwig, PowerMii project coordinator.

Knowledge transfer and structural anchoring
The perspectives and experiences developed in the research process are passed on in workshop formats. In these, the participants act as multipliers and work in other educational institutions as well as with educational professionals and peers. The aim is to initiate a transfer of experience and knowledge that provides new impetus for diversity-sensitive educational practice.
In order to sustainably anchor and structurally pass on the empowerment programme, the knowledge gained is systematically evaluated and prepared in a practice-oriented handbook for educational stakeholders. This handbook is intended to serve as the basis for a broader application of participatory empowerment approaches in the educational context.

Academic management and institutional links
The PowerMii project is based at the Department of Social and Educational Sciences at Potsdam University of Applied Sciences and is led by Prof. Dr Stefan Thomas, Professor of Empirical Social Research and Social Work, and Dr Lena Ludwig, research assistant specialising in exclusion and flight/migration. Co-operation partners are:

• IB Berlin-Brandenburg gGmbH for education and social services
• University of Siegen
• Catholic youth organisation F?rderband Siegen-Wittgenstein e.V.

Funding:
The project is funded by the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR)
as part of the Integration through Education funding line and by the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+). The project will run for three years, from November 2024 to October 2027.