Primary school

The Swiss education system (simplified)

Preliminary remark

There is no uniform Swiss school system. The cantons are largely responsible for education. After a national educational article was added to the federal constitution in 2006 , a harmonization process began . In Switzerland and the Principality of Liechtenstein, the term primary school encompasses schools that are attended by children in grades 1 to 5 and 6, respectively. This school level includes ages from around 6 to 12 years. Attending primary school is compulsory.

Goals and learning content

The general goals of the primary school are that students develop their intellectual and creative abilities, develop their physical and musical skills and develop a sense of responsibility towards themselves, the environment, their fellow men and society.

The curricula are set by the cantons and used to be quite different. In order to harmonize the school, the curricula in the individual language regions have been standardized. The German-speaking Swiss cantons are introducing a joint curriculum ( curriculum 21 ) as part of the HarmoS project . The cantons of western Switzerland have agreed on the framework curriculum Plan d'études romand (PER). The following subjects are taught at primary level in all cantons:

the local language spoken on site (German, French, Italian or Romansh )
as the first foreign language in the French-speaking German, in the canton of Zurich as well as in Central and Eastern English, in the other German-speaking cantons and Ticino French. In the canton of Graubünden , the first foreign language is German, Italian or Romansh, depending on the language region.
English as a second foreign language in the majority of the cantons, French in the canton of Zurich, French in central and eastern Switzerland and German in Ticino.
mathematics
Nature, people, society (natural history, geography, history, life science)
Artistic, textile and technical design
music
movement and sport

Some areas such as the use of new information and communication technologies or health promotion are taught in an integrated manner in other subjects.

Lessons in the first foreign language begin in the 3rd grade at the latest, in the second foreign language in 22 cantons in the 5th grade.

entry

Children start primary school when they are around six years old. The transition from pre-school to primary takes place without an examination. Children with a so-called learning disability are increasingly being taught in regular classes. According to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (signed by Switzerland in April 2014), every child has the right to go to school with the other children near their home and to receive the best possible support there.

performance evaluation

The school performance is assessed by means of grades and / or learning reports. During the first year of school there are no grades in the majority of the cantons, but rather appraisal interviews or learning reports. Grades are usually given on a scale from 6 to 1 (6 = very good; 5 = good; 4 = satisfactory; 3 = unsatisfactory; 2 = bad; 1 = very bad). The pupils receive a certificate or study report twice a year.

At the end of each school year, a decision is made as to whether the student's performance allows the transfer to the next class. Some cantons have introduced multi-year learning cycles during which no class is repeated. In the 2000/2001 school year, around 2% of students repeated a class, with the repetition rate differing considerably from canton to canton (from 0.7% to 3.4%).

At the end of primary school, a decision is made as to which level of performance in lower secondary school the pupil can transfer to.

Costs and financing

Public primary schools are free for all children. They are financed by the cantons and communes. 4.1% of pupils attend unsubsidized private schools.

organization

The cantons, in cooperation with the communes, are responsible for the legislation, organization and financing of the primary school. In principle, children attend the school where they live. In German- and French-speaking Switzerland, the primary level lasts six years , in the cantons of Ticino and Liechtenstein five years.

Each week 21 to 28 lessons are given in the first and second grades and 26 to 32 lessons in the following school year. The primary school children go to school both in the morning and in the afternoon. There are no afternoon classes on Wednesdays. In practically all cantons, block times of at least three and a half hours in the mornings and one to four afternoons have been introduced. The average class size in the 2016/17 school year was 19.3 students. In contrast to lower secondary level, children in primary level are not divided into school types with different levels of ability. Usually a single teacher as a class teacher or two teachers in job sharing teaches almost all subjects in a class.

statistics

In the 2016/17 school year, 486 825 children attended primary school. 49.1% of them were girls. The proportion of foreign students was 26.7%. 50,672 teachers, 82.5% of whom were women, shared 30,449 full-time positions.

developments

Nationwide harmonization

→ see also: HarmoS Concordat

The HarmoS project aims at a certain standardization (harmonization) of the cantonal school systems. This is intended to improve the quality of schools and optimize inter-cantonal school mobility. Competency models and minimum standards for certain core subject areas (first language, foreign languages, mathematics and natural sciences) are set at the end of the second and sixth school year (and the ninth school year at the end of the upper level). The HarmoS Concordat also regulates key parameters such as the duration and time of enrollment.

Foreign language teaching

The Swiss Conference of Cantonal Education Directors decided on March 25, 2004 that two foreign languages should be taught at primary level, at least one of which is a national language. The first foreign language is taught at the latest from the third school year (introduction at the latest in the school year 2010/2011), the second foreign language at the latest from the fifth school year (introduction at the latest in the school year 2012/2013). The implementation of this project was delayed by popular initiatives launched in various cantons against two foreign languages at primary level.

quality control

Several cantons carry out self-evaluation projects for quality assurance in primary schools: Certain evaluation instruments enable teachers to assess the learning success of the class in comparison to the learning success of other classes.

Elementary and basic level

In addition to the two-year kindergarten, various cantons also offer the basic level or the basic level. The children can play and learn in kindergarten and one or two years of primary school at a mixed age. This creates a smooth transition between kindergarten and school. (Depending on the child's development, the duration of the basic or basic level can be shortened or lengthened.)