INCA Education around the world
Germany : Context and principles of education
1.2 Purposes of education
1.2.1 Aims, objectives, values, principles
1.2.2 Special programmes
1.2 Purposes of education
1.2.1 Aims, objectives, values, principles
According to the Constitution (Grundgesetz),5 the Federal Republic of Germany is a 'republic, a democracy, a federal, constitutional and socially responsible State'. In education, the Grundgesetz guarantees:
'the freedom of art and science, research and teaching, freedom of creed, conscience and to profess a religion, the freedom to choose one's occupation and place of study or training, equality before the law and the natural right of parents to care for and bring up their children'.12
Primary education
In line with an agreement of the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of the 16 Länder of 6 May 1994, the basic function and objectives of the Grundschule (primary school) are determined by its position in the school system. It is intended to:
'carry children forward from learning by playing at pre-school level to more systematic forms of school learning, and seeks to adapt the subject matter taught and methods employed to the students' requirements and capabilities. The Grundschule lays the foundations for secondary education. It endeavours to provide students with a structured understanding of the impressions they gain from the world around them and to develop their psychomotor abilities and patterns of social behaviour'.12
The function of the Grundschule is to educate children with different individual learning backgrounds and learning abilities, in such a way as to develop the basis for independent thinking, learning and working and to provide experience of interacting with other people. As a result, children acquire a solid basis which helps them find their way and act within their environment and prepares them for the process of learning in secondary schools.17
Lower secondary education
The main role of compulsory, full-time lower secondary education in Germany is that of preparing students for upper secondary education, as all students have to progress to, at least part-time, upper secondary schooling of some form.30
Although education is, essentially, a Land responsibility, common principles for lower secondary education have been laid down by the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of the 16 Länder. These are based on the goals of the principle of general education, individual specialisation and encouraging students according to their abilities. In accordance with these principles, lower secondary schools endeavour to achieve these goals by:
- furthering the overall intellectual, emotional and physical development of students, teaching them to be independent, make decisions and take their share of personal, social and political responsibility;
- providing instruction based on the latest academic knowledge which takes students' age-related conceptual faculties into account in its organisation and in the demands made on them;
- gradually increasing the degree of specialisation in line with each student's abilities and inclinations; and
- maintaining an open system of free interchange that affords opportunities to switch to a different course of education after an orientation stage.17
In Nordrhein Westfalen, for example, the stated aims for compulsory lower secondary education are that:
- all students should obtain the first leaving certificate (Realschulabschluß);
- the phase should encourage individual specialisation and encourage teaching and learning according to abilities;
- the phase should include some pre-vocational studies for all students.30
1.2.2 Special programmes
Common educational standards
Following an agreement by the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Culture of the 16 German Länder in 2002, common national educational standards have begun to be developed for specific stages in primary and secondary education.93 It is intended that the standards should facilitate the comparison of results at national level, whilst allowing schools to provide students with individual support. The common educational standards:
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set out the basic principles for each of the subjects
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describe the specific competencies which students should have reached at this stage of their education
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promote systematic and integrated learning and
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outline the expected levels of achievement.164
At the start of the 2004/2005 school year, initial standards relating to German, mathematics and the first modern foreign language (either English or French) were adopted in the schools of all Länder as the basis for subject-specific requirements for the mittlerer Schulabschluß (the lower secondary school qualification, which is usually taken at the end of Year 10 when students are around 16 years old, see 6.3.2.). In October 2004, the Standing Conference adopted educational standards in the subjects German and mathematics for the primary sector (Year 4, children aged nine to 10) and in the subjects German, mathematics and for the first foreign language (English or French) for the Hauptschulabschluß (the lower secondary qualification, which is usually taken at the end of Year 9 when students are around 15 years old, see 6.3.2.). In December 2004, educational standards were also adopted for the subjects biology, chemistry and physics for the mittlerer Schulabschluß. Further information is available in English at: http://www.bmbf.de/en/1154.php
The Institute for Educational Progress (Institut zur Qualitätsentwicklung im Bildungswesen - IQB) is responsible for reviewing the achievement of educational standards in a comparison between the Länder. The IQB recently conducted the the first national standardised language tests in Germany and the results were published in June 2010. Fifteen hundred schools took part in the tests, which measured the performance of students in Year 9 (ages 14 to 15) in English, French and German. Studnets' listening and reading comprehension were tested, as well as their command of German spelling. Further evaluations of the standards are planned in 2011 (German and mathematics at primary level) and in 2012 (mathematics and science at lower secondary level).172
The Federal Ministry of Education and Research has produced a publication which sets out a definition of the concept of educational standards and describes the national infrastructure required for the development and evaluation of the standards. This publication is available in English on the Ministry's website (pdf file).
Preventing sexual abuse and violence in schools
In April 2010, the Standing Conference agreed a set of recommendations to prevent sexual abuse and acts of violence in school. These include:
- ensuring that problems are recognised at an early stage and effective help and support are available for victims
- increasing the focus on the themes of sexual abuse and violence in schools in initial teacher training and continuing professional development
- requiring employers to ask applicants for work with children or young people for the Erweiterte Führungszeugnis (document certifying that the holder has not been convicted of particular sexual offences).174
Improving opportunities for disadvantaged primary school pupils
In March 2010, the Federal Ministry for Education and Research announced funding to strengthen educational partnerships that provide support for disadvantaged children in primary schools. It is intended that school leaders, teaching staff, parents and external school partners will work together to improve educational opportunities for these children. Each partnership will receive a budget which may be spent, for example, on cultural projects, sports activities or individual study support.173
The Federal Ministry for Labour and Social Affairs is piloting an electronic voucher programme in several Länder (federal states) of Germany during the first half of 2011. Instead of parents being handed money, children from welfare-dependent families will be given electronic chip cards loaded with 'e-vouchers' to be spent on educational material and activities. The amounts loaded onto the cards will be decided on a case-by-case basis, with each card having separate amounts allocated for:
- educational needs, including extra tuition
- school meals
- school materials, including textbooks and school bags
- extracurricular activities.
The scheme is planned to be rolled out nationally in 2012.175
Length of study prior to taking the upper secondary leaving certificate (Abitur)
An area of political debate in Germany is the possible reduction from 13 to 12 years of the time students should spend in school prior to taking the Abitur (the upper secondary school leaving examination which is required for university entry). The current 13 years is longer than the time spent by the majority of their contemporaries in other European countries. Trials of the 12-year Abitur have taken place in some Länder.35 See section 6.4.1 in addition.
Upper secondary vocational education
German education in the post full-time compulsory phase (students, aged 15+ to 18+) continues to be characterised by the predominance of vocational education. A clear link is made in Germany between continuing general education, and vocational education through the framework provided by the dual system of combined school and workplace education. The emphasis placed on vocational education in this phase is reflected by the fact that 80 per cent of German students in compulsory upper secondary education follow vocational education courses; the remaining 20 per cent follow general education courses.43, 10
