School system in Germany

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The new building of the Willibald high school in Eichstätt . The institution, which was founded in 740 as a cathedral school, is considered the oldest school in Germany.

The school system in Germany includes primary and secondary education , i.e. primary schools (grades 1–4) and secondary schools I and II . In the latter, students of different ability levels are taught either under one roof ( comprehensive school , grades 5–12) or separately ( secondary school , grades 5–9; Realschule , 5–10; grammar school , 5–12 / 13). There are also special types of schools in many federal states . In contrast to the school systems in many other countries, in which all pupils go through the same types of school regardless of their performance, the German school system is structured .

In addition to general education schools , the school system in Germany also includes vocational schools .

In Germany, schooling is compulsory for young people .

General

In the federal states, the school system is regulated in their own school laws. This expresses the will of the respective parliamentary majority and the state government supported by it in the school sector. The Conference of Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs (1949) and the Federal- State Commission (1970) were founded to coordinate the educational activities of the federal states . School attendance is compulsory in Germany (pupils must attend a public or officially recognized school).

history

The first schools on German soil were the medieval Latin schools . The first German-speaking schools emerged in the late Middle Ages. In contrast to the parish schools, the city schools were paid for by the citizens and city authorities. The main subject was Latin, therefore the name, but the teacher's salary differed from place to place depending on the tax income of the place, so some were only allowed to call themselves a community school. The Humboldt educational reforms in Prussia at the beginning of the 19th century had a lasting impact on the German grammar school through their educational theory . In Prussia, general compulsory schooling was introduced in 1810, this was combined with a school fee, so a key was drawn up as to how many free pupils were to be admitted per payer. Often the schools only had one room. Since the schools were supported by the community, they were called "community school". The German Empire added in the late 19th century classical educational ideals within the meaning of Wilhelm von Humboldt by demands for modern education as a result of world trade and new technical achievements. With the constitution of the German Reich in 1924, community schools were renamed “elementary school”.

The elementary school was until the 1960s a type of school in which one to eight years of schooling received the degree. In the Federal Republic of Germany there is in principle the three-tier school system in addition to the special / special school: elementary school (later elementary and secondary school ), secondary school and grammar school with three school-leaving qualifications. In most of the federal states, the elementary school consisted of four years, after which the division into the different school types began; in Berlin (West) there were six years. Since the 1970s, other forms of school have been added in several federal states: the comprehensive school and other partially integrative systems that combine the secondary and secondary schools. In Lower Saxony, orientation levels existed from 1981 to 2004 as a common type of school for grades 5 and 6, only then was the division made.

The vocational schools exist in the upper secondary level alongside the upper secondary level .

The discussion about the equivalence of vocational and general education has existed since the 1980s. This idea had already been taken into account by vocational high schools . With the establishment of and the conversion of vocational schools into vocational colleges ( NRW ), the step was taken for the first time to document this equivalence in the form of school-leaving certificates: Vocational colleges also lead to a general higher education entrance qualification and - depending on the occupational field - have a professional focus in High school diploma .

statistics

schools

In the 2009/10 school year there were a total of 43,577 general and vocational schools, 5,200 of which were private schools in the Federal Republic of Germany. During the same period there were around 11.7 million students and around 945,000 attended private schools. It was observed that the number of state institutions has fallen from 41,886 in 1992 to 38,377 in 2009, while the number of private institutions rose to a total of 5,200 in the same period. In the eastern German states in particular, the number of private schools has increased more than fivefold. The number of private schools increased even further when the total number of all schools was reduced due to the drastic drop in birth rates in the 1990s. Between 2000 and 2009, the number of schools in the east fell by 29.5%, but the number of private schools rose by 74.6% in the same period.

Student numbers

Students in general education schools by type of school
type of school 2001 2005 2010 2011 Change
2001-2011
Primary area 3,251,000 3,212,000 2,877,000 2,832,000 −419,000
Elementary schools 3,211,000 3,176,000 2,838,000 2,790,000 −421,000
other schools 40,000 36,000 39,000 42,000 +2,000
Secondary education 6,083,000 5,784,000 5,454,000 5,393,000 −690,000
Secondary schools 1,114,000 1,024,000 704,000 657,000 −457,000
Realschulen 1,278,000 1,325,000 1,167,000 1,130,000 −148,000
High schools 2,284,000 2,431,000 2,475,000 2,433,000 +149,000
Integrated comprehensive schools 531,000 510,000 571,000 616,000 +85,000
other schools 876,000 494,000 537,000 557,000 −319,000
Special schools 425,000 416,000 378,000 366,000 −59,000
Evening schools and colleges 48,000 62,000 60,000 59,000 +11,000
All in all 9,870,000 9,504,000 8,797,000 8,678,000 −1,192,000

Jurisdiction

According to Article 7 (1) of the Basic Law , the German school system is under the supervision of the state. Irrespective of this, the right to found private schools is granted (para. 4). Special standards are set for the establishment of private elementary schools (Paragraph 5). At some kindergartens there is a preschool-like preparation for a school career.

Due to the cultural sovereignty of the federal states , schools are the responsibility of the individual federal states , so the concrete design of the school system is very different, but common educational standards are increasingly being established. The school system comprises an important part of the education system in Germany .

The education ministries of the federal states are responsible for staff and content-related work at the schools, while the municipal school authorities are responsible for the spatial and material equipment.

Ministry of Culture

The school system of a federal state is usually administered in its own ministry (see Ministry of Culture ). The names and sections of the respective ministries are determined by the respective governing state government. The ministries of education are the highest authorities in a country for the respective school system. School supervision falls under their responsibility. The ministries of education and school administration are responsible for planning and organizing the school system. In addition to the structure of the system, they determine the course content and objectives. There is often a subdivision in school administration in the Federal Republic of Germany: At the top are the respective ministries of education, while the school authorities and district governments or independent secondary school authorities occupy a middle position. At the lower administrative level are the school offices of the local authorities. The federal states usually bear the personnel costs of the school system.

Municipal school authorities

The municipalities or (especially in the case of vocational schools) the districts usually assume the material costs. They are therefore called the school authorities .

  • The spatial equipment includes the entire structural design, maintenance and administration (e.g. caretaker, cleaning staff and possibly cafeteria) of the schools.
  • In addition to furniture, the material equipment also includes equipping schools with teaching aids (e.g. wall maps, school books, lexicons, Duden, atlases) and technical devices (e.g. blackboards, overhead projectors, televisions and computers), collections (physics, chemistry, biology, etc.) .), Musical instruments, etc.

There are schools that are fully supported by a municipality (municipal schools). The municipalities are responsible for drawing up the school development plan .

Organization of the school system

Primary level

The primary sector in Germany includes the elementary school . In most of the federal states, they visit children from the age of six (if a child has started the age of seven before June 30th and is not put on hold). As a rule, the elementary school comprises four school years, in Berlin and Brandenburg six. Here, too, there are some high schools with fifth grade and school trials with so-called high - speed classes . In some federal states, the primary level of elementary school also includes the system of special schools.

With the introduction of the elementary school by the Reich Elementary School Act of April 28, 1920, predominantly four-year elementary schools were established. At the end of the fourth, in some federal states only at the end of the sixth grade, there is an institutional transition from primary to secondary. The primary schools usually make a recommendation for a secondary school type in the last year of primary school.

Typical of the German primary sector is its half-day offer. Due to social changes, however, the primary school is subject to accelerated change today, which is reflected in the form of full half-day school or multi-year classes. The heterogeneity of classes increases.

While a number-free, verbal assessment is still carried out in grades 1 and 2 in all federal states, the federal states already differ in the following years with regard to the introduction of grades. North Rhine-Westphalia and Schleswig-Holstein have the most extensive models here, because they enable the issuing of assessment certificates up to the end of grade 3. The transfer to the next grade is the rule, since learning deficits are compensated by support measures and not by repeating the entire school year should be. In addition, the primary school is the first compulsory socialization instance outside the family. The lessons focus on German and mathematics and are supplemented by other learning areas such as general knowledge , music and religious instruction . The class teacher principle is in the foreground, so that every teacher can teach anything in principle.

Primary school often contributes to innovation in pedagogy . The educational focus is already evident in the training of teachers, as teacher education programs for primary education included a significantly higher proportion than other education teaching positions (except for the special school or special school ). New concepts that are practiced in primary schools are, for example, foreign language teaching at an early stage , the stronger promotion of the development of learning methods compared to specialist knowledge, or new forms of learning such as free work , project teaching or open teaching .

Secondary level I.

The secondary includes all types of schools up to class 10, with the exception of educational programs at vocational schools.

Classical schools of the lower secondary level are the Hauptschule, Realschule and Gymnasium up to grade 10. This includes comprehensive schools (up to grade 10) as well as all newly created school types: regional school (Rhineland-Palatinate, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania), extended secondary school (Saarland), Realschule plus (Rhineland-Palatinate from 2009/10), Middle School (Bavaria), High School (Brandenburg, Bremen, Lower Saxony, Saxony), Regular School (Thuringia), Secondary School (Saxony-Anhalt, North Rhine-Westphalia), District School ( Hamburg), community school (Baden-Württemberg), Werkrealschule (Baden-Württemberg).

The lower secondary level can be left after the 9th school year with the conclusion of Hauptschule class 9, after the 10th school year with differently named qualifications. The qualifications entitle the holder to begin training, to pursue a higher-qualification course at a vocational school or to transition to upper secondary level at a grammar school or a comprehensive school.

Hauptschule / Mittelschule

The secondary school developed from the upper level of the elementary school and was named in 1964 as part of the Hamburg Agreement . It should prepare for vocational training right from the start and is therefore significantly more practice and method-oriented than other secondary schools. The secondary schools, if they still exist in a certain federal state, continue to attach great importance to practical performance. The secondary school, which was intended as a counterbalance to an education that was too “cerebral” and thus allegedly overwhelming for the secondary school clientele and which was supposed to be appropriate for the majority of students and relieve secondary schools and grammar schools, could not do justice to its task. With increasing acceptance by the parents concerned and the receiving economy, critics are now speaking of a “residual school” in which only a few pupils are enrolled, but these often come disproportionately from socially weaker milieus and in some cases do not have German as their mother tongue . It should be noted here, however, that the main school pupil rate in rural regions is significantly higher than in cities and in Bavaria, where the will of parents is not decisive, unlike in other federal states, has a transition rate of around 30%. In northern Germany, the corresponding values ​​are significantly lower, because there the parents decide on which school their children should attend from grade 5 (or in Berlin from grade 7).

After the East German federal states were admitted to the Federal Republic of Germany on October 3, 1990, they decided against establishing the secondary school as an institution. Due to this development, too, the Conference of Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs in 1993 drew the necessary conclusions and also accepted secondary schools with different names, which combine the educational programs of the Hauptschule and Realschule. Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, Berlin, Hesse, Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia currently want to continue the secondary school. The majority of the federal states either did not introduce the Hauptschule in the first place (this concerns the eastern German accession countries) or (this concerns the states of the "old" Federal Republic) combined the Hauptschulen with the Realschulen or decided on this measure (Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein and Rhineland -Pfalz).

Middle school

The Realschule was designed based on the Prussian middle school, as a middle section between the grammar school and elementary school with an "extended general education". At the beginning, the students were mostly recruited from an upwardly mobile middle class .

The type of school is intended to meet the demand for more highly qualified school leavers who are sought for more demanding vocational training and has so far successfully prevailed against being absorbed in other schools. Their success is based on the one hand in the consideration of the increasing change towards a service society in the curriculum and on the other hand in the numerous possibilities offered by a secondary school leaving certificate ( Mittlere Reife ), which many now consider to be the benchmark for a basic school education. This qualification gives access to many apprenticeships, but also to technical colleges with a technical diploma as well as vocational and technical high schools in which the general higher education entrance qualification can be acquired. Overall, the Realschule is in the middle of the educational system - on the one hand it is strongly job-oriented, on the other hand it leaves the path to university studies open. In some federal states, however, it is increasingly possible to see a merging with the secondary school, which as an extended secondary school can meanwhile also lead to secondary school leaving certificate, if it has not already been completely abolished.

high school

Since the Düsseldorf Agreement in 1955, all schools that lead to a general higher education entrance qualification have been referred to as grammar schools . The grammar school includes both secondary areas and continuously checks the performance level of the students, who can be referred to other educational programs if they perform poorly - it is therefore a selective school . Only recently has it been possible to acquire a general higher education entrance qualification outside of grammar schools via the vocational school in Bavaria .

Since 1990, more secondary school students in Germany have been attending grammar school than Realschule or Hauptschule. The high school has the task of providing in-depth general education and a fundamental part of the high school is learning two foreign languages . The grammar school is the quickest route to the Abitur and enables direct access to all types of vocational training, technical college or university studies.

Community school

The community school is the most discussed type of school in Germany. Their concept is based on the demand for more equal opportunities in education and therefore wants to counteract early educational career decisions, the inadequate support of individuals according to their inclinations and interests, the non-needs-based and narrowly defined range of subjects in other school types and the alleged social selection tendencies in the education system. The criticism of the community school opponents mainly relates to the accusation that the pupils in this type of school cannot be supported individually according to their ability, since there high-performing and low-performing students are taught together. The position of the community school opponents that good pupils are "pulled down" by poorer ones contrasts with the fact that in an international comparison countries with comprehensive school systems such as some Scandinavian countries and Finland in particular do particularly well. This could not only be due to the fact that the less able-bodied students may benefit from community schools, but also that the top-performing students in Finland do better than their comparable students in Germany. However, this could also be due to the teacher-student ratio in Finland, which is very good by international standards. It should also be mentioned that the Finnish comprehensive school does not divide its students into different ability groups. The USA also has a comprehensive school system and has achieved little success with it.

In general, comprehensive schools can be divided into two types: On the one hand, the integrated comprehensive schools , which contain all courses of study in one school, and the cooperative comprehensive schools , which combine all courses of study in a school, but differentiate within them.

The first comprehensive school was founded in West Berlin in 1968 as an experimental school. Today there are over 800 integrated comprehensive schools nationwide. Comprehensive schools are welcome in some financially weaker municipalities , as they save money by merging and dissolving other types of schools in favor of a large multi-tier facility. Since comprehensive schools exist in Germany alongside the traditional, structured school system, they are faced with the problem of competing with grammar schools and secondary schools. Above all, the better elementary school leavers (or their parents) prefer Realschulen and Gymnasien to comprehensive schools. This creates a downward distortion of the performance - this is also known as the creaming effect .

criticism

One of the problems at this level is the right time when a student can be assigned to a school type. In numerous studies, attempts have been made to show that dividing pupils into different school types after the fourth grade is developmentally flawed and leads to an uncorrectable disadvantage for later life. Since many pupils show jumps in performance up and down during puberty , this can lead to incorrect assessments. The number of changes between school types and repetitions (“staying seated”) is considerable in Germany. As this is both an educational and a financial problem, the school administration is trying to reduce these numbers and to increase the most accurate possible projections of the school career by teachers.

Secondary level II

The upper secondary level in the general education area traditionally comprises years 11 to 13 ( gymnasiale Oberstufe ) and concludes with the general higher education entrance qualification (Abitur). In the course of the school reform through the accession of the GDR to the Federal Republic after reunification , the general higher education entrance qualification could be obtained in some federal states after twelve years (Saxony, Thuringia, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania until 2001). The Abitur after twelve years (eight-year high school - G8) has been introduced in many federal states, but has also been abolished in some such as Bavaria. The reason given for switching to the G8 was that they wanted to shorten the time at school, which is long by international standards. Many parents' associations vehemently oppose this shortening.

The school part of the technical college entrance qualification can be obtained one year before the general higher education entrance qualification .

In the vocational area, upper secondary level comprises all courses and all types of vocational schools with the exception of technical schools and evening schools . In the vocational field, vocational colleges , technical colleges and vocational colleges also lead to general higher education entrance qualifications.

Upper secondary school

The grammar school upper level begins with the eleventh (in the eight-year grammar school (G8) with the tenth) and comprises three years: a one-year introductory phase and a two-year qualification phase . In Saxony and Thuringia, where the grammar school generally only goes up to grade 12, the upper secondary level only consists of the eleventh and twelfth grade. With the exception of vocational high schools, there is no introductory phase. The upper level of the gymnasium is characterized by a course system in which students can choose their preferred subjects and set priorities, which is intended to prepare them specifically for an academic education. The same provisions apply to the upper level of the comprehensive schools as to other schools with upper secondary level, which lead to the Abitur.

Almost all federal states are currently reforming their upper school system in the direction of stronger basic education and less specialization. German, mathematics and English or a further foreign language often become core and compulsory examination subjects that cannot be canceled.

For some time there have also been approaches to redesign the upper level with a selective focus on skills for professional life and innovations in the didactic and methodological area. This is due, among other things, to the long-standing tendency that high school graduates are increasingly aiming for vocational training or a degree at a university of applied sciences .

The high school graduation rate is very controversial . While Bavaria keeps the number of high school graduates quite small at 34.3% of a year of birth (of which 22.2% general higher education entrance qualification and 12.1% technical college entrance qualification in 2005), other federal states lead to higher education or technical college entrance qualifications over half of a year. North Rhine-Westphalia has now reached the top value with 53.4% ​​(of which 32% general higher education entrance qualification and 21.4% technical college entrance qualification in 2005, figures from the Federal Statistical Office ). Compared with other countries that do not have a structured school system, these values ​​are still low and, in the opinion of some, call into question the future viability of the German economy and society.

Vocational school

In Germany, a distinction is made between nine types of vocational schools, each of which fulfills specific tasks: the vocational preparation year, vocational primary school year, the actual vocational school, vocational school , vocational training school, technical college and vocational high school, as well as collegiate schools.

Due to the compulsory part-time schooling, which existed in Germany until the end of the 18th year, all young people have to attend school by then. For this reason, the so-called basic vocational school year (BGJ) was set up for those pupils who did not begin any training after completing secondary school , in which they can acquire basic qualifications in a professional field. If the secondary school certificate has not been achieved, the vocational qualification can be acquired in the vocational preparation year (BVJ). The classic vocational school is part of the dual training and offers theoretical and general support for training in a recognized training occupation in the training company. There is also the vocational school, in which both dual system training and so-called pure school-based vocational training can be completed. In addition to or after vocational training, the vocational school can be attended to acquire the secondary school leaving certificate, which allows the transition to the technical college (FOS) or to the vocational high school.

Attending the Fachoberschule (FOS) requires an intermediate educational qualification and leads to a technical college entrance qualification after two years of full-time schooling . In some countries it is possible to obtain the subject-specific higher education entrance qualification or the general university entrance qualification by attending FOS13 . Analogous to the FOS, there are also vocational high schools (BOS) in several federal states , which award all types of university entrance qualifications depending on the desired degree and duration of school attendance . Attending the BOS requires the secondary school leaving certificate as well as a completed vocational training, which also defines the focus in the later visit to the BOS. FOS and BOS are combined in Bavaria to form the Bavarian Vocational High School (BOB).

The vocational grammar school has a special position within the vocational schools. This is an upper secondary school with professional priorities according to which the school then as Technical High School , Business School , Nutrition Science High School , Biotechnology High School called. Like all upper secondary levels, this leads to a general higher education entrance qualification.

At vocational colleges or colleges - similar to the upper level of the gymnasium with a vocational focus - vocational training is imparted on an equal footing with general education. Collegiate schools exist for the technical, economic and social areas. Collegiate schools lead to a professional qualification (between skilled worker and technician) and to general university entrance qualification.

Dual education

The system of dual vocational training can only be found in very few countries, although it has proven itself. It is characterized by the division of the training over several learning locations, which are run by the vocational school and the training company , but inter-company learning facilities can also be visited. The vocational school takes on the theoretical and general education. It thus offers lessons in subjects with a specific professional reference, but also in cross-professional subjects or in subjects related to political and general education. The exact range of subjects, however, depends on the respective curriculum , which is issued by the federal states due to cultural federalism. However, this must be based on a framework curriculum that is approved by the Conference of Ministers of Education. On the other hand, there is training in the company or at the workplace, which extends to practical training. This is regulated by the training regulations, which, however, allow the company free choice of time planning, learning location and method. In some cases, however, there are also internal and external additional training offers.

Special areas

In addition to the system of mainstream schools in public (state, communal or joint state / communal) sponsorship, there is a system of other schools and educational institutions that are partly publicly and partly privately (privately) sponsored.

Private schools

Classroom of a Waldorf school

Private schools are less important in the German education system than in other countries. By Art. 7 of the Basic Law, the state has the oversight of the whole education system. This article guarantees the right to found private schools, but subject to conditions for state recognition. If private schools lead to comparable school qualifications, they are recognized as substitute schools , and the costs for teaching staff, maintenance and administration are largely subsidized by the state, so that the special prohibition can be met by charging socially acceptable school fees . Private schools are mostly set up for ideological or educational reasons. Currently, over half a million students are accommodated in 2,500 private general and vocational schools, a large number of which are church- sponsored, including many schools for educational assistance, because these are often affiliated with children's homes . These are followed by Waldorf schools and rural education centers as well as other independent schools, such as Montessori schools , Jenaplan schools, other reform education schools or alternative schools . In spite of their quantitative marginal position in the education system, private schools sometimes have a pioneering role, as they practice new concepts that later moved into the public school system. Reform pedagogical approaches in particular were used in the public school system after they had been successful in private schools.

Second-chance education

In the second educational path, special institutes, evening schools and colleges enable further training for adults and can lead to university entrance qualifications. They offer the opportunity to catch up on missing qualifications, for example, after successfully completing secondary school, to obtain a secondary school qualification in addition to the actual vocational training in order to have further opportunities for advancement later.

Special schools

For pupils who have little chance of success in the general education system due to a disability , there are special schools, which today are called differently depending on the federal state. In Baden-Württemberg they are called special education and advice centers and in Bavaria support centers in order to emphasize the nature of the support and to avoid the stigma of segregation and to point out that in addition to teaching students in their own school, advice from other types of schools is offered . An institution for the deaf and dumb was set up in Leipzig as early as 1778, and around 1900 there were first forerunners of the special needs schools.

In principle, special schools can lead to the same qualifications as the other types of schools. So are z. For example, schools with a focus on vision, physical and motor development and hearing have set up courses at grammar school, secondary school and secondary school. Special schools contradict the idea of inclusion , so that their abolition is being considered.

In Germany there are special needs schools with different specialization focuses, which are not all represented in every federal state and are sometimes called differently:

  • Learning focus - for pupils with learning disabilities ; leads to a special qualification, some of which is not recognized as a secondary school qualification .
  • Special focus on social and emotional development - for students with behavioral problems ; often affiliated to youth welfare institutions and children's homes , usually leads to a secondary school leaving certificate.
  • Mental development focus - for students with intellectual disabilities ; should impart essential skills for the most independent life possible.
  • Support focus on hearing - for hard of hearing or deaf students; aims to promote communication skills and prepare for secondary schools.
  • Special focus on language  - for students with a language development disorder ; The aim is to reintegrate into the mainstream school system.
  • Focus on vision - for blind and visually impaired students; is intended to prepare for secondary schools.
  • Special focus on physical and motor development - for students with physical disabilities ; leads to a degree that depends on the degree of disability.
  • Funding focus on teaching sick students - to keep students in inpatient medical treatment up to date.
  • Vocational special schools - especially for the mentally handicapped, usually trains in auxiliary professions (e.g. kitchen help, gardening assistant and the like).

The special school / special school as such is not without controversy, especially since there have been positive experiences with the integrative schooling of disabled and non-disabled pupils in mainstream schools since the 1970s . Due to these positive experiences, the number of integration schools is steadily increasing. In Baden-Württemberg, the special education and advice centers lead to the qualifications of the mainstream schools, as far as this is possible according to the type of disability. The mainstream schools should accept disabled students if possible.

Substitute schools / supplementary schools

Complementary schools enrich the school system with new courses. In the area of ​​vocational education in particular, there are many supplementary schools for which there are no equivalent in state schools, for example the one-year higher vocational school.

Substitute schools are private schools that want to award recognized qualifications (e.g. high school diploma, secondary school leaving certificate) and / or that are supposed to fulfill compulsory schooling by attending them. Your visit is intended to replace attending a corresponding state school. Substitute schools require their own state recognition and are subject to state controls.

Private tutoring

The tutoring sector includes all extracurricular technical support for learners who are supposed to improve their academic performance. While this is usually done within the family at primary level and especially to prepare for class work, the spread of paid tutoring increases with the achievement of higher grades. The tutoring sector has so far hardly been researched, but Michael Behr found in a study published in 1990 that around half of all pupils took advantage of paid tutoring at least once during their school days. A rising tendency can be observed here, which can be attributed to a shift in motives in taking up tutoring. While in the past tuition was primarily intended to compensate for those performance deficits that acutely endangered the promotion, it is now increasingly given to raise the general grade average.

The area of ​​tutoring is increasingly being developed economically, so there are currently over 3,000 private tutoring institutes that also offer their services to students. In the last few years a further branch of tutoring has emerged, which is tapped with internet support mainly by school book publishers and learning software developers.

Compulsory schooling in Germany

According to the agreement between the federal states of the Federal Republic of Germany for the standardization of the school system (from 1964 in the version of October 14, 1971), compulsory schooling for all children begins on August 1 of the year in which the sixth year of life is up to the 30th June was completed.

criticism

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The German school system is often the subject of political debates, with roughly two directions from which the criticism comes.

On the one hand, these are the critics of the education system itself. They demand the abolition of the too early external differentiation (in Hauptschule, Realschule, Gymnasium and special school) and the integration , up to and including the inclusion of all students in a community school. You argue with the international predominance of this type of school, which also exists in the countries that do best in PISA studies . Furthermore, many calls for more extensive revisions and cuts in curricula until their abolition, more pedagogical freedom for teachers, better pedagogical training in teacher training , a reduction in content and more tolerance with regard to the diversity of students.

The other direction criticizes the school as an institution, holds it responsible for the deficiencies in the education system and the mediocre performance in international comparative studies. On the contrary, these call for greater separation, larger compulsory parts of the curriculum, less pedagogical and more technical training for teachers.

The current development is ambivalent. The general tendency towards more performance requirements is evident in the comparative tests and educational standards . In addition, critics fear that a series of measures (abolition of the freedom to learn aids , abolition of the primary school districts , decoupling of the Gymnasium from Realschule and Hauptschule, introduction of tuition fees , the master’s course as a “new educational threshold” and the massive increase in child poverty in Germany) in some countries educational disadvantage is increased.

quality

When it comes to school performance examinations, Germany often scores only mediocre or even below average in a global comparison, with individual states such as Saxony and Bavaria performing significantly better than the rest of Germany.

The lack of success in imparting knowledge is often criticized. According to the PISA researchers of a special study, 40% of the students in the ninth grade make no measurable progress in the natural sciences and mathematics after one year.

The German brain researcher Gerald Hüther is of the opinion that schools in Germany are deliberately so bad that they produce as minor voters as possible and thus the needs of as many people as possible are disregarded, whereby they seek as many substitute satisfactions as possible, “so that we have enough customers for the garbage that we want to sell them here ”.

Inconsistent quality standards in the federal states

The German school system is often criticized for the fact that there is no nationwide central Abitur . Instead, the Abitur is different depending on the federal state, which, in the opinion of the German University Association and many educational researchers, makes it difficult to compare performance . Eisenmann calls for a central high school diploma to ensure that university places are allocated more fairly .

stagnation

Ex-headmaster Oliver Hauschke accuses the school system in Germany that it is "neither didactically nor organizationally up to date". Specifically, he criticizes that there is “far too much stagnation to be observed” and that German schools “do not allow themselves to be reformed and that the necessary changes are approaching much too slowly”. He also criticizes the fact that the majority of schoolchildren to this day primarily study for exams at short notice ( bulimia learning ), that “scientific findings [...] are steadfastly ignored in schools” and “each federal state is allowed to make its own decisions on educational policy ". In his book "Abolish school: Why our school system does not educate our children and has to be radically changed!" He calls for fundamental educational reforms and an abolition of the current school system.

Social justice

On the basis of empirical studies, the German school system is accused of being socially selective and of starting selection very early (after primary school). The results of the PISA studies and the education report of the UN commissioner Vernor Muñoz confirm this allegation. According to the IGLU study , far higher percentages of children from the upper classes attend grammar school than children from working-class families.

The causes are varied. Gomolla / Radtke prove that, at least for children of migrants, the school system is discriminatory in terms of performance. However, Gomolla / Radtke's findings can be extended to include the socially disadvantaged.

The German astrophysicist Harald Lesch criticizes the German school system for the fact that the division into the different school types is done too early. In general, the time compression through the Abitur in eight years in the German school system is nonsensical. As an argument, he argues that, due to medical advances , people will work longer and longer and should have more time to develop in their younger years instead of having to study unsettled and clueless or have to go into the professional world. He is also of the opinion that there are too many exams and too little interdisciplinary learning in the German school system. The current learning in schools according to subjects between which there is no connection, ensures that something arises in the minds of the students that does not correspond to the world. Students should also be told how what they learn in school might be relevant to their lives so that they understand what they are learning for.

According to a social report in Germany, educational opportunities for poor children are lower than for wealthy children .

According to an OECD report, the educational opportunities for children whose parents have a lower school leaving certificate are lower in Germany than for children whose parents have a higher school leaving certificate. It is specifically criticized that there is a social separation of students often already in elementary school. This would ensure that "46 percent of students with social and economic disadvantage attend schools that bring together many disadvantaged students."

School trials / model projects

School trials or model projects are instruments of innovation and have the task of qualitatively further developing the school system in a federal state. They serve to try out new educational and organizational ideas, such as changes in the structure and structure of the school system and additions to the timetables and curricula (framework guidelines). As a rule, school trials are scientifically accompanied. School trials in Germany can be financed from state and / or federal funds.

School equipment

In a teacher survey in North Rhine-Westphalia in 2014, 83% of the educators stated that computers were only available as single copies in the school administration's office or in separate computer rooms. One percent of schools had tablet computers for all classes. 70% of schools have high-speed internet, while it was 59% in primary schools. 90% of the respondents stated that they had acquired their IT skills privately.

staff

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Teaching staff

School teacher

In today's Germany, all teachers have to complete a scientific, didactic-methodical and practical training at a scientific university. Up until the 1960s, primary school teacher training was assigned to so-called “specialist pedagogical institutes” and was more practice-oriented. The pedagogical universities that grew out of them were increasingly scientifically oriented and in 1972 they became scientific universities , which today have the same status as universities through the granting of the unrestricted right to doctorate and postdoctoral qualifications. They were either incorporated into the local universities or (as in Baden-Württemberg) continued as independent scientific universities .

The total of five to seven years of teacher training, which in an international comparison has a high proportion of pedagogy and didactics, takes place in two phases or in phase-integrated form. In the case of phase-separated training, basic scientific training must first be completed at a university before the legal clerkship can begin. In the case of phase-integrated teacher training (e.g. at the universities of teacher education), the theoretical studies are required to be accompanied by internships at schools. These are intended to improve the connection between theory and practice as well as to identify suitability for the future teaching profession before the traineeship follows. In university studies , in addition to two or more subjects, an educational degree is completed, which varies in size depending on the type of school sought. At the moment there are the courses of study for teaching at:

  • Gymnasien - entitles to teach at Gymnasien, Realschule and Hauptschulen.
  • Realschulen - entitles to teach at grammar schools up to the end of intermediate level, Realschule and Hauptschulen.
  • Primary and secondary schools - entitles to teach at primary and secondary schools.
  • vocational schools - entitles to teach in all types of vocational schools and vocational high schools.
  • Special schools - entitles to teach at elementary, secondary and special schools as well as integrated comprehensive schools with a special educational component.

In some federal states there is a level teacher training and, accordingly, the courses:

  • Primary level (elementary schools)
  • Lower secondary level (all schools up to grade 10)
  • Upper secondary level (all schools from grade 10)

The scientific training at the university ends with the first state examination , an examination in which the subject-related as well as pedagogical-didactic theoretical basic knowledge is examined. In the second phase, a more school-related, practically-oriented training takes place, which is accompanied by own teaching attempts and reflected in the study seminar . At the beginning of this period is the shadowing in the foreground. The suitability of the trainee for practical teaching is proven by the second state examination .

Teacher training is currently being reformed in all federal states due to the requirements of the Bologna Declaration . The teacher training course is to be divided into a Bachelor and Master phase. In the long term, the Bachelor of Education and Master of Education degrees are to be introduced, with the latter already replacing the state examination in some federal states (e.g. Berlin ) .

Moving to another federal state can cause problems for teachers, as sometimes the training is not mutually recognized.

The federal pay regulations also provide for subject teachers without a degree and with a degree from a university of applied sciences. However, these have not completed a teaching degree or a corresponding training, but should come from practice (engineers and craftsmen or industrial masters) and are only used at vocational schools.

In Baden-Württemberg there are still subject teachers for musical and technical subjects who do not complete a scientific degree, but are trained at so-called “pedagogical specialist seminars” (PFI) and are employed at all types of schools. With their qualifications and their shorter studies, the focus is on practical skills, "self-realization". They are paid less than their scientifically trained colleagues and are assigned a higher amount. In addition, there are agricultural teachers and consultants who have to prove a technical college degree that is useful for the higher agricultural service and who are employed at agricultural schools.

instructor

In the training of apprentices are usually training officer , training instructor or full-time trainers employed. According to the Vocational Training Act (BBiG), these must be technically suitable, which is sufficiently given by completing training in this profession. In addition, personal aptitude is required, which extends to skills in the field of methodology, didactics, law, etc. and which can be proven by an examination in accordance with the Instructor Aptitude Ordinance (AEVO). In the craft, however, the trainer qualification is proven by a master's examination . In addition to these qualified personnel, many other employees of a company also contribute to the training of an apprentice; however, they are not specially trained for this and have not passed an examination. There is currently a trend towards the activity of the trainer moving away from demonstration and control towards a more advisory activity for the trainee.

See also

Portal: Education  - Overview of Wikipedia content on education

Bibliography

  • Oskar Anweiler : Germany. In: Oskar Anweiler et al. (Ed.): Education systems in Europe. Development and structure of the education system in ten countries: Germany etc. Beltz, Weinheim and Basel 1996, pp. 31–56.
  • Kai S. Cortina et al. (Ed.). The education system in the Federal Republic of Germany. Structures and developments at a glance. Rowohlt, Reinbek near Hamburg 2003.
  • Döbert, Hans: Germany. In: Döbert, Hans: The school systems of Europe. Schneider-Verlag Hohengehren, Baltmannsweiler 2005.
  • Michael Winterhoff : Germany is dumbfounded: How the education system is blocking the future of our children . Gütersloher Verlagshaus, Gütersloh 2019, ISBN 978-3-579-01468-5 .

history

  • Tilman Borsche: Wilhelm von Humboldt. Beck, Munich 1990, ISBN 3-406-33218-8 .
  • Herrlitz et al .: German school history from 1800 to the present. An introduction. Juventa, Weinheim and Munich 2005.
  • Hoyer, Timo: Social history of education. From antiquity to modern times. Scientific Book Society, Darmstadt 2015.
  • Christoph Führ: German education system since 1945. Basics and problems. Luchterhand, Neuwied, Kriftel, Berlin 1997.
  • Siegfried August Kaehler: Wilhelm von Humboldt and the state. An example of the history of the German way of life around 1800. Munich and Berlin 1927.
  • Eberhard Kessel: Wilhelm von Humboldt: Idea and Reality. Stuttgart 1967.
  • Martina G. Lüke: Between tradition and new beginnings. German lessons and reading books in the German Empire. Frankfurt am Main 2007, ISBN 978-3-631-56408-0 .
  • Heinz-Elmar Tenorth: History of Education. Introduction to the basics of their modern development. Juventa, Weinheim and Munich 2000.

theory

  • Fend, Helmut: Theory of the school. Urban & Schwarzenberg, Munich-Vienna-Baltimore 1980.
  • Fend, Helmut: New Theory of School. VS, Wiesbaden 2006.
  • Melzer, Wolfgang & Sandfuchs, Uwe (eds.): What school does. Functions and duties of school. Juventa Verlag, Weinheim and Munich.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ See above all Siegfried August Kaehler: Wilhelm von Humboldt und der Staat. An example of the history of the German way of life around 1800. Munich and Berlin 1927, Tilman Borsche: Wilhelm von Humboldt. Beck, Munich 1990, ISBN 3-406-33218-8 and Eberhard Kessel: Wilhelm von Humboldt: Idea and Reality. Stuttgart 1967.
  2. ↑ See also the fundamental work by Martina G. Lüke: Between Tradition and Aufbruch. German lessons and reading books in the German Empire. Frankfurt am Main 2007, ISBN 978-3-631-56408-0 .
  3. ^ Rainer Fliegner: Spandau - history and stories . Erfurt 2007, Sutton Verlag, ISBN 978-3-86680-122-6 .
  4. ^ Federal Statistical Office: Private Schools (Fachserie 11 series 1.1). Archived from the original on June 11, 2011 ; accessed on September 2, 2015 (information on schools, classes, pupils, graduates and teachers at private schools from the Federal Statistical Office for the 2009/2010 school year).
  5. ↑ §5 Ordinance on the course of education in primary school
  6. ↑ Schleswig-Holstein abolishes secondary schools. ( Memento from January 28, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) In: Financial Times Germany. January 25, 2007.
  7. ↑ See H.-G. Herrlitz, D. Weiland, K. Winkel (ed.): The comprehensive school. History, international comparisons, educational concepts and political perspectives. (= Basic pedagogical texts). Juventa, Weinheim et al. 2003, ISBN 3-7799-1523-5 .
  8. ↑ Cf. C. Schuchart: Orientation level and educational opportunities. An evaluation study. Waxmann, Münster et al. 2006.
  9. ^ Bernhard Gayer and Stefan Reip: School and civil service law for teacher training and school practice in Baden-Württemberg . Europa-Lehrmittel Nourney, Vollmer, Haan-Gruiten 2012, ISBN 978-3-8085-7954-1 , p. 31 .
  10. ^ G8 reform: The stuff nightmares are made of
  11. ↑ Gerald Hüther: School and Society - the radical criticism. October 28, 2015, accessed June 4, 2020 .
  12. ↑ a b c More and more A-levels: "A disaster for high school graduates" - ZDFmediathek. Retrieved September 17, 2019 .
  13. ↑ a b c Education reform: "Under no circumstances approve everything that the school says" - DER SPIEGEL. Retrieved January 23, 2020 .
  14. ↑ Hauschke, Oliver: Abolishes school Why our school system does not educate our children and has to be radically changed . ISBN 978-3-7474-0042-5 ( worldcat.org [accessed January 23, 2020]).
  15. ↑ Gomolla / Radtke: Institutional Discrimination - Creating Ethnic Difference in School, Opladen 2002
  16. ↑ a b c Benjamin Köhler: Harald Lesch: "Give the children time and let them develop". October 12, 2016, accessed September 9, 2019 .
  17. ↑ a b Our school system is crap! In: ZDFmediathek. September 21, 2016, accessed February 26, 2020 .
  18. ↑ a b Astrophysicist Harald Lesch - Decelerate the education system! Retrieved on February 12, 2020 (German).
  19. ↑ DerWesten- Essen: Markus Lanz: Clear words to scientist Harald Lesch - "You get in trouble after the show". March 9, 2020, accessed March 9, 2020 .
  20. ↑ Data report 2018: Worse opportunities for poor children - ZDFmediathek. Retrieved September 17, 2019 .
  21. ↑ a b c OECD report: Where you come from decides what you become - ZDFmediathek. Retrieved September 17, 2019 .
  22. ↑ Teachers: Computer equipment in schools like in the Middle Ages. Retrieved December 11, 2015 . DerWesten, November 13, 2014