The project addresses the impact of family on educational practices (Goltz et al., 2002), the relevance of rural areas for educational choices (Flohr et al., 2020), and educational participation in rural regions (Reißig & Tillmann, 2017). Contrary to previous empirical works (Goltz et al 2002, Reißig & Tillmann 2020, etc.), the starting point is not a deficit-oriented perspective, but rather the focus is on examining the influence of educational practices that have existed in peripheral areas for generations and are or seem to be socioculturally anchored. In parallel with the teaching research project, a third party-funded project is carried out that explores transnational perspectives and, on the one hand, views them against the background of transnational competitive areas and, on the other hand, genuinely focuses on the results from the perspective of young adults rather than in a country-specific manner. The project is dedicated to an under-researched thread of debate in the social sciences that leans towards region-related youth research which has yet to be developed (Brandstetter, 2022; Ludwig, 2022).