School structural reform in Berlin

School structural reform in Berlin is the name given to a profound change in the Berlin school system from 2010 onwards. Since the 2010/2011 school year, there are only two types of secondary school in Berlin following the primary school : the integrated secondary school and the grammar school . This reform was carried out at the same time as similar reforms in other German federal states.

organization

There has been a two-tier school system in Berlin since 2010 . The primary school is followed by either the secondary school (with the special form of the community school ) or the grammar school . At high schools you can take the Abitur after 12 years, at secondary schools after 13 years. Children with special educational needs are taught in special educational support centers, provided that parents prefer this type of school to integration / inclusion in regular classes. Private / free schools are not a separate type of school, but are structured according to the same principles.

With the Berlin school structure reform (SSR) in Berlin a coalition agreement between the governing parties and in cooperation with various interest groups (school practitioners, politicians, HWK , IHK , employers' association) ended a decades-long ideological dispute over the "right" school - for the time being .

Objectives of the reform

The aim of the school structure reform is to provide the best possible support for students in accordance with their abilities and inclinations in order to achieve the best possible school leaving certificate - regardless of their family and social requirements.

This goal is to be achieved in Berlin from the 2010/11 school year by limiting it to only two types of secondary school. The aim is to improve the quality of Berlin's schools, since the main schools that have existed so far are less and less accepted by the population. The developers of the SSR want to replace the differentiation in the school system with a differentiation within the classroom. It is expected that, as a result of this reform, the number of pupils with intermediate or higher school leaving certificates can be increased and, on the other hand, grade repetitions can be reduced.

Educational goals

• individual and best possible support for each individual,
• Practice and job-related learning
• increased cooperation with youth welfare ,
• integrative support for pupils with special educational needs

The long-term goal is the nationwide establishment of community schools, which are already being run as pilot schools in parallel with secondary schools, grammar schools and special schools. The test period of the community schools is scientifically monitored. With the - expected successful - completion of the pilot phase in 2013, it should become generally binding in Berlin.

Conception of the reform

high school

There are hardly any major changes at grammar schools. The access criteria will be modified, the all-day offer will only be slightly expanded, at least one school per district should be offered. The Abitur can still be completed after 12 years (in exceptional cases after 11 years). The trial half year in grade 7 is extended to one year.

As before the reform, parents have the right to choose the type of school, but not the right to have their child admitted to the desired grammar school. If there are more applicants than places, a selection will be made based on the hardship and performance of the students. 30% of the places have to be awarded by lottery to ensure a social mix of the student body. This is intended to ensure that children with a poorer grade point average get a chance of a place in one of the high schools that are more popular with their parents.

Secondary school

In the secondary schools , the former school types Hauptschule, Realschule and Gesamtschule are merged. This means that, as a rule, the school buildings and facilities will be retained, but from the 2009/10 school year onwards they will be managed according to a concept that builds on the experience of the integrated comprehensive school . The secondary school thus offers internal differentiation according to the performance and individual abilities of the students. The individual schools now have the freedom - according to their school profile - to implement this differentiation through different courses according to homogeneous performance levels or old "FEGA principles" (= advanced, extension, basic and advanced courses) or through heterogeneous learning groups within the class groups.

The class size will be reduced from an average of 29 to 26 children, the teachers will receive a reduction in the number of hours and will only teach 26 hours per week.

In the secondary school there are two less hours of lessons per week than in the grammar school, which is compensated by the one year longer time until the Abitur. The same educational standards apply to both types of school, and all school qualifications must be attainable. Special focus is placed on the concept of “dual learning” in grades 9 and 10 - here the students are to be prepared for their later vocational training through internships in companies, help with career orientation and numerous practical collaborations and networks. The most significant difference to the grammar school is the greater application orientation of the secondary school.

All schools must guarantee the transition to an upper secondary level (upper secondary level) - either by offering it themselves or by entering into cooperation with upper level centers. Special emphasis is placed on free all-day operation, which means educational support until 4 p.m. For the most part, we work with extracurricular partners, in particular with sports clubs and youth work organizations. The cooperation and networking, especially with youth welfare and social work, is to be expanded. A qualification of the teachers with regard to quality assurance and pedagogical implementation of the reform is still under discussion.

The concept of “one school for everyone” will be gradually introduced and will affect all new classes from August 1, 2010 - at this point in time (February 2011) this means grade 7. However, all schools already have the title “secondary school”, even if grades 8 to 10 are still taught according to their old concept.

Evaluation and criticism of the reform

The implementation of the school structure reform was preceded by a school dispute that lasted for years, in which both left representatives of the SPD and the party Die Linke took the position that the reform would also mean that high schools would have to be abolished in order to implement the concept of "One School for All". In Berlin it was the Greens who decided in 2008 for the "two-way model" and thus supported the then school senator Prof. Dr. Jürgen Zöllner found, who then had the reform process implemented. It was based on the following arguments: better individual support, manageable structures, longer joint learning, better equipment in schools, expansion of the all-day offer and, above all, equal opportunities - regardless of the student's origin and social environment. Both the SPD and the Die Linke party supported the reform. Both parties responded only very rudimentarily to the numerous critical voices, which do not share the Senate's euphoria about the introduction. Even at Jusos Berlin, the now apparently forgotten "child" of the SPD - the community school - is complained about : "The road to a comprehensive community school [is] over for the time being, its perspective unclear". Only with this type of school, according to the Jusos, can negative and positive discrimination and selection be ruled out, especially since the community school project is (or was) part of the medium-term goal of the SPD. As long as there are still high schools, private and special schools, one is, from the perspective of the Young Socialists, far removed from the goal of "one school for everyone", strictly speaking even in the opposite position. The polarization will increase due to the fact that there are only two types of schools, and the secondary school will degenerate into a “residual school”. The Jusos also argue against the arbitrariness of the lottery and thus the inherent endangerment of the profile formation of schools. Overall, the Berlin school structure reform is anti-social.

The Greens support the reform in principle, but abstained from the vote because they found the concept inadequate in terms of detail. As opposition parties in Berlin, the CDU and FDP position themselves against the reform: it is “immature” and there is no real personnel concept (qualification) that could ensure the implementation of the educational concepts. "Instead of individual support, students are juxtaposed with no ideas". The FDP in particular criticizes the admission criteria imposed on schools for high schools - the special profiles of many schools would fall victim to this. In addition, access to the grammar school should remain performance-related. As expected, the parties are using their conservative stance with regard to maintaining the selective school system. The traditional oppositional headwind is surprisingly low in Berlin.

The Education and Science Union (GEW) is taking the Berlin school structure reform to justice: The clear goal must be the community school - not a hierarchically structured school system. And there it is not enough to abolish the problem schools (especially the secondary school), because "the social selection continues even in a two-tier school system". Rather, the form of learning itself has to be changed - towards learning with individual support in heterogeneous groups - and according to the GEW Berlin this is only possible in community schools. The school structure reform in the form that has now been implemented is therefore not based on any real pedagogical justification, but on "exclusively short-term tactical-political considerations".

The Association of Berlin School Principals agrees in principle with the reform, but notes points of criticism and improvement: The association sees the propagated equality of the two types of school due to the different number of hours and the probationary year at the grammar school as problematic. The association also calls for more autonomy in personnel issues and better quality development for schools in order to be able to meet the expected additional educational effort.

The Primary School Association is one of the few to note that, in addition to the two-tier school system, the special schools remain untouched, which is viewed as problematic. The UN Disability Rights Convention must finally be taken into account. In addition, the association sees the reform as a relief for the primary schools, as “there is no longer any selection related to the qualification” and therefore it does not have to be decided prematurely whether the child is suitable for the path to the Abitur, for example. There is talk of a course in the right direction, but it is also noted that the separating effects of the structured school system are only softened. After all, the grammar school is still the dominant and the secondary school the subordinate type of school. The high school in particular, the "sharpest criticism from primary school association, separation of power already to lead" by the year of probation and the special right of some "undergraduate schools' 5th and 6th classes and select even earlier to be allowed. The clear goal for the primary school association is the community school - the school structure reform could at best be an intermediate step on the way there.

The Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IHK) speaks of "the right educational policy course". From the perspective of employers and training providers, the Berlin school structure reform is to be welcomed. This position is linked to the hope that fewer school dropouts will be recorded after the reform, as the starting chances are now better. The IHK emphasizes the concept of “ dual learning ”, which represents a significantly more qualifying career orientation and that this model could be groundbreaking for the whole of Germany. The Berlin economy has therefore not only assured the Senate of support, but has also established itself as a partner.

The Freedom of Science Association , whose main theme is the performance of schools and universities, justifies its negative criticism of the Berlin school structure reform from its perspective: In its view, the reform is only "ideologically based leveling and patchwork". He is pushing for a clearly performance-oriented school with a more selective function as early as the 4th grade. Above all, the suggestion of a special form of grammar school “with a special pedagogical character” and a stronger focus on “migrant children” have led to violent media protests.

The Berlin State School Students Committee (LSA), the official organ of the actual target group, has a rather positive view of the reform - provided that this is only an intermediate step on the way to a community school and that special attention is paid to the qualifications of the teachers and to an increase in their presence in the schools (e.g. 2 teachers per class) should be laid. The LSA considers the shortened Abitur after 12 years to be a failure and thus joins the argumentative round of the educational strikes in 2009 and 2010.

According to the responsible Senator for Education, Science and Research, there were no significant changes in the number of registrations for the grammar schools - which for the time being can invalidate the argument that the secondary school will degenerate into a residual school and the grammar schools overrun.

See also

• School system in Germany
• Education system in Germany
• Come on tour - my strengths, my future
• Berlin program for in-depth professional orientation (BvBO)

literature

• Berlin Senate (ed.): The school reform - "A school for us" February 2010

Individual evidence

1. ^ ^{A b c d} Berlin Senate: School structural reform. ( online ( Memento of the original from February 17, 2012 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 note. , accessed on December 23, 2010). 
2. ^ Educational timetable for the Berlin School. 2010, p. 2.
3. ↑ ^{a b} Jusos Berlin: Statement on the SSR. dated June 12, 2009 ( online  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this note. , accessed on January 7, 2011).  
4. ^ CDU district association Berlin Mitte: Statement on Berlin school structure reform of January 13, 2010 ( online , accessed on January 7, 2011).
5. ^ FDP Berlin: Opinion on Berlin school structure reform. ( online ( Memento of the original from April 9, 2014 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 note. , accessed on January 7, 2011). 
6. ↑ ^{a b} GEW Berlin: preliminary statement by GEW BERLIN on the draft law. from June 24, 2009 ( online ( memento of the original from January 24, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this note. , accessed on 7 January 2011). 
7. ↑ Association of Berlin School Heads: Berlin School Heads criticize school structure reform. dated January 18, 2010 ( online ), accessed January 7, 2011.
8. ^ Primary School Association: Statement on the Berlin school structure reform. Frankfurt / M., January 15, 2010 ( PDF file ( Memento of the original from January 23, 2016 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 them Note. ), Accessed January 7, 2011. 
9. ↑ IHK Berlin: Statement on the Berlin school structure reform. dated January 14, 2010 ( online  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. ).  
10. ↑ Bund Freiheit der Wissenschaft: Opinion on the Berlin school structure reform. I / 2009, p. 6 ( PDF file  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Accessed on December 23, 2010 ).  
11. ↑ State student committee: The LSA Berlin supports the nationwide education strike. January 26, 2010 ( online , accessed January 7, 2011).

Remarks

1. ↑ The special educational support centers are excluded from the explanations.