Lifestyle-ethics-religious studies

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Lifestyle - Ethics - Religious Studies (LER for short) was introduced in 1996 in the state of Brandenburg as a general educational subject for students in grades 7-10.

The training of teachers for this subject takes place at the University of Potsdam . The subject should make a contribution to the education of values ​​and interreligious understanding.

history

The subject LER emerged as the result of a desired fundamental school reform at the end of the GDR . The intention was to open up the school to personal questions about the way students live. Ethical and religious issues should be discussed in an open atmosphere in the school. In a joint lesson - not separately according to religious beliefs - the young people should talk about their religious and ideological orientations and learn to respect people with different ideas about life. Between 1992 and 1995, 44 schools in Brandenburg tested the subject of life - ethics - religion in a scientifically supported model test.

The intended involvement of the churches in this model experiment was only partially successful, as only the Protestant church was willing to compromise. The lessons were divided into an "integration phase", in which the students attended LER lessons together, and a "differentiation phase", in which LER was continued, but instead, participation in Protestant religious education was also possible. These phases alternated, but this compromise relativized the idea of ​​LER as an integrative subject, in which teaching topics from the perspective of lifestyle, ethics and religion should be discussed with all students. The structure of an integration and differentiation phase had failed.

Nevertheless, according to the will of the state government of Brandenburg , the subject LER should be introduced nationwide, albeit with a minor but significant name change; "LER" should now stand for the general educational subject of lifestyle - ethics - religious studies. The addition “-kunde” emphasized the difference to denominational religious education and emphasized the status of a non-denominational compulsory subject. In April 1996 the Brandenburg State Parliament passed a school law that provided for the introduction of LER as a general school subject. It gave the students the opportunity to deregister from LER classes. Since then, you have theoretically three options:

  1. only attend the LER classes,
  2. in addition to the LER lessons, take advantage of the offer of religious instruction,
  3. only go to religion class.

However, religious education is not offered in every school.

The subject is - as stipulated in Section 11 (3) of the Brandenburg Schools Act - "taught religiously and ideologically neutral". In the meantime, LER has been introduced nationwide - depending on the school authority areas - in 84 to 100% of the Brandenburg schools, with lessons mainly being given in grades 7 and 8. From the school year 1997/98 to 1999/2000, LER was tested in the primary level and general special school. A binding framework plan for grades 5/6 and 7-10 has been available since the 2004/05 school year.

The introduction of LER was accompanied by sharp educational and religious policy disputes. Above all, they found expression in the negative attitude of the churches towards LER in a constitutional complaint submitted to the Federal Constitutional Court in mid-1996, shortly after the Brandenburg Schools Act was passed . The complainants complained against it that denominational religious instruction in the state of Brandenburg had not been given the status of a regular school subject. The state in turn relied on Article 141 of the Basic Law, the so-called Bremen Clause , according to which Article 7, Paragraph 3 (denominationally separate religious instruction) does not apply in a country that had a different state law on January 1, 1949. The Federal Constitutional Court should examine whether the state of Brandenburg was entitled to make use of Art. 141. More than five years later, the parties were heard in Karlsruhe in June 2001. In December 2001 the Federal Constitutional Court submitted a settlement proposal, which the parties to the dispute approved. This proposal confirms the previous status of LER as a compulsory subject and that of religious instruction.

After that, the Brandenburg state government attached importance to the scientific support of the subject. The conception of content and the training of the teachers were modified several times. a. through the takeover of teacher training by the University of Potsdam and the establishment of an undergraduate course in LER.

In August 2007, the Brandenburg state government assumed “that LER will be introduced across the board in the lower secondary level for the 2007/08 school year.” In the 2006/07 school year, LER lessons were given at 91% of all secondary level I schools. Only 6.1% of all students in the country who could attend LER lessons had canceled the LER in the school year in question. In future, LER will also be implemented in grades 5/6.

Some of the LER teachers are organized in the LER trade association .

Course of study: Lifestyle - Ethics - Religious Studies

The University of Potsdam offered LER from the summer semester 2000 to the summer semester 2005 as a part-time postgraduate course. From the 2003/04 winter semester, LER was introduced as an undergraduate course with the aim of teaching the subject of the same name in school. Although the course has already been introduced in modular form in preparation for the upcoming study reform (Bachelor / Master), the final goal of the first year was still the first state examination . There are 50 places available each year. In the 2007/08 winter semester, 205 students were enrolled in the LER course.

The subject LER can be used in the study program for the teaching profession for the courses of education of the lower secondary level and the primary level at general schools (entitles to teaching in classes 1 to 10) and for the teaching profession at grammar schools (entitles to teaching in classes 7 or 5 to 13) can be studied. Since the 2013/14 winter semester, the LER subject can also be selected in the new study regulations for primary level teachers (grades 1 to 6). It is offered here as a reference subject for subject teaching and thus extends the teacher's activity to classes 5 and 6, since the subject subject teaching is only taught up to class 4.

The teacher training course at the University of Potsdam takes place consecutively. The 6-semester bachelor's degree, which ends with the bachelor's degree (BA) as the first professional qualification for activities outside of the teaching profession, is followed by a 3- or 4-semester master's degree. The master’s degree , which is geared towards the respective teaching post, is recognized as the first state examination and is the prerequisite for taking up the preparatory service / traineeship. During the course, students acquire knowledge in the subjects of religious studies , philosophy , psychology , sociology and subject didactics LER , partly in interdisciplinary Courses.

See also

Selected literature

  • Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport, State of Brandenburg: "Notes on teaching in the model experiment learning area of ​​lifestyle-ethics-religion Sek.I." Potsdam 1994 (with the participation of the Protestant and Catholic Church)
  • Ursula Pfender: "And how are Ms. and Mr. L.?" - Approaches to a student AND teacher-friendly didactic methodology in lifestyle-ethics-religion, self-published Berlin 1995
  • "Living by example or thinking?" Report of the scientific support of the model experiment on the LER learning area, Frankfurt a. M. Diesterweg 1996
  • Dieter Fauth: "Religion and education in the political-social perspective" in: practical theology 32 (1997) pp. 145–157
  • Ruth Priese: "Learning and social responsibility" - on teacher training in the project "Lifestyle-Ethics-Religious Studies" Psychosocial cf. 1997
  • Dieter Fauth: Religion as an educational asset - perspectives in the state and the Protestant church: (Habil.schrift) Würzbrg: Religion & Kultur Vlg. 2000, ISBN 3-933891-03 - 5
  • Sabine Gruehn and Kai Schnabel: School performance in the moral and value-building area. The example of Lifestyle, Ethics and Religious Studies (LER) in Brandenburg . In: Franz Weinert : Performance measurement in schools . Beltz: Weinheim 2002.

Web links

Religion and life studies

swell

  1. ↑ a b Homepage of the University of Potsdam Kollegium LER , accessed July 12, 2008
  2. ↑ a b Answer of the Brandenburg state government to the minor inquiry 1879, Landtags-Drs. 4/4971 (PDF file; 192 kB) from August 21, 2007, pp. 4, 5 and 8
  3. ↑ Brandenburgisches Schulgesetz- BbgSchulG ( Memento of the original from July 18, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.landesrecht.brandenburg.de
  4. ↑ BVerfG, 1 BvF 1/96 of October 31, 2002, paragraph no. (1 - 14)