Accordingly, the parents were asked in several survey waves about their social background and educational experiences, their situation in the country of origin before fleeing, and their situation in Germany. The survey also included questions on values (e.g., educational aspirations, attitudes toward education, parenting styles and practices). In addition, parents were comprehensively asked about their children. Besides the detailed recording of the childcare history (and, from the transition to elementary school, the school history), attention was also paid to the children's health, assessed German language skills, and the social contacts of the children.
Next to the family learning environment, the institutional learning environment had to be covered as thoroughly as possible. If the children were in institutional care, the pedagogical staff of these institutions were interviewed about the group of the respective child, the institution and the pedagogical program. Furthermore, the pedagogues were asked to give an assessment about each target child. This included information about the child's behavior, its German language skills, and questions about language support. This feedback is an important supplement to the data provided by the parents.
Another group of respondents, from whom information on the regional context of the participating families was collected (e.g., ethnic composition, infrastructural conditions), consisted of the staff responsible for the integration of refugees in the respective municipalities and the staff of the relevant collective accommodations.