INCA Education around the world
Germany : Context, principles and reforms of education
Geographic
Demographic/language
Economic
Political
Religious
1.1 National Characteristics
Geographic, demographic, economic, political and religious context, to help explain expectations and social goals.
The Federal Republic of Germany covers a territory of 357 000 square kilometres, the size having increased on 3 October 1990 as a result of German unification. The Federal Republic is made up of 16 Länder (states), including the five Länder of the former German Democratic Republic, which were reintroduced on the basis of the "Establishment of Länder Act" of July 1990.2 Each Land has its own constitution and government.12 The Länder are: Baden-Württemberg, Bayern, Berlin (city state), Brandenburg, Bremen (city state), Hamburg (city state), Hessen, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Niedersachsen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Rheinland-Pfalz, Saarland, Sachsen, Sachsen-Anhalt, Schleswig-Holstein and Thüringen.17
The Länder of the Federal Republic of Germany are further divided into 32 administrative regions ("Regierungsbezirke"), 440 districts ("Kreise"), comprising 117 municipalities with the status of a district ("kreisfreie Städte") and 323 rural districts ("Landkreise"), and 14,197 communes ("Gemeinden").13
In 2005, approximately 82.5 million people lived in the country. With a population density of 231 inhabitants per km2, Germany is one of the most densely populated nations in Europe. In geographical terms, however, this population is distributed extremely unevenly, with densely populated urban conurbations contrasting with extremely thinly populated rural areas, and the west, in general, being considerably more densely populated than the five Länder in the east. 13
In general, the birth rate in Germany has been falling since the 1970s, and the age distribution of the population has changed due both to the declining number of children and increasing life expectancy, resulting in a decrease in the proportion of young people at the same time as an increase in the proportion of older people. A further factor influencing the changing population structure in the Federal Republic of Germany is the number of foreign nationals living in the country. In 1997, there were 7.4 million foreign nationals, or nine per cent of the total population. In numerical terms, Turks represented the largest group, at almost a third of Germany's foreign population (28.6 per cent). One quarter of all foreign residents (25.1 per cent) came from EU Member States, of which Italy was most strongly represented.
German is stipulated by law as the official language of administration and the judiciary. There are special provisions in Brandenburg and Sachsen for the use of the Sorbian (Wendish) language. Education differs from administration and justice in that there are no legislative provisions on the language of instruction. However, German is the normal language of instruction and training in general education and vocational schools, as well as in institutions of higher education. There are some exceptions, however. For example, some private schools may not have German as their usual language of instruction; bilingual schools and classes exist; and instruction and extra classes in the mother tongue are provided for foreign students who lack a sufficient knowledge of German.
In addition, the children of the Danish minority in Schleswig-Holstein can attend private schools (called 'Ersatzschulen') instead of the general education schools provided in the public sector, as long as the educational objectives of these schools essentially correspond to those of the school types provided for in the Schleswig-Holstein Education Act. Lessons in these schools are taught in Danish. As a rule, Germany becomes a compulsory subject from Year 2 (age 7+). Parents make the decision on whether to send their child(ren) to one of these private Danish-speaking schools. The situation is similar for the parents of children of the Sorbian minority in the settlement area of the Sorbs in Brandenburg and Sachsen. They may choose for their child(ren) to be educated in the Sorbian language at Sorbian or other schools, either as the mother tongue, a second language or a foreign language. Where children attend special Sorbian schools, Sorbian is a compulsory subject.
As soon as the unity of the German state had been established in 1990, attempts were made to bring the political, economic and social conditions in eastern Germany into line with those in the old Länder of the Federal Republic. Gross national revenue in Germany reached DM 3,658.6 billion in 1997. Per capita, this was DM 44,800 and gross domestic product (GDP) totalled DM 3,675.8 billion.
The International Labour Organisation (ILO) umemployment rate (persons aged 15 and over) for Germany in 2006 was 10.3 per cent (10.3 per cent for men and 10.2 per cent for women). This data is sourced from the ILO Laborsta database, available online at: http://www.ilo.org/
Under the Grundgesetz (Basic Law or Constitution),5 the Bundestag and Bundesrat are the legislative bodies. The Bundestag is the Federal German Parliament whose members are directly elected by the people. The Bundesrat, the Federal Government, carries out executive functions in the field of home and foreign affairs, and comprises the Federal Chancellor (also its head), plus 16 other Ministers (one for each of the German Länder). The Federal President is the Head of State and is elected for a five-year term.12,17 He is elected by the Federal Convention ("Bundesversammlung"), a constitutional body (comprising the members of the Bundestag and the same number of delegates elected by the parliaments of the individual Länder) which meets only to elect the Federal President. His principal duties are to represent the Federal Republic of Germany in its international relations and to conclude treaties with foreign countries on Germany's behalf. The actual conduct of foreign policy matters is, however, the prerogative of the Federal Government.17 The current Federal President is Horst Köhler, who has held office since July 2004.
The Federal Chancellor enjoys an autonomous and eminent position within the Federal Government and with regard to the Federal Ministers. S/he makes proposals to the Federal President on the appointment and removal of Ministers and chairs cabinet meetings. The strong position of the Federal Chancellor is based on his/her power to determine general policy guidelines as enshrined in Article 65 of the Grundgesetz,
"the Federal Chancellor sets out general policy guidelines and is responsible for them".17, 5
Elections to appoint the Federal Government and the Federal Chancellor usually take place every four years. Angela Merkel, leader of the conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) became Germany's first female chancellor in late November 2005, taking over from Gerhard Schroeder who had held the post since 1998. After a very close result in the general elections two months earlier, agreement was reached that Mrs Merkel would be chancellor in a "grand coalition" involving the CDU, the Christian Social Union (CSU) and the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). (Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/europe)
The German Bundestag currently encompasses a wide political spectrum. There is the Christian Democratic Union of Germany (CDU), the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), the Free Democratic Party (FDP), the Christian Social Union (CSU), the Party of Democratic Socialism (PDS) and the Green Party. The PDS is the successor to the former Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED) which was the official state party in the former German Democratic Republic (GDR, East Germany).17
Under the Unification Treaty 3 concluded between the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic on 31 August 1990, fundamental provisions were made to establish a common and comparable basic structure in education - particularly in the school system.17
There is no state church in the Federal Republic of Germany, but the Grundgesetz guarantees freedom of belief and conscience and freedom of creed, religious or ideological; the undisturbed practice of religion is guaranteed. The relationship between church and state, which is characterised by the principle of the separation of church and state, was determined by the Weimar Constitution of 1919.17
In 1997, the Protestant and Roman Catholic churches in Germany each had around 27.4 million members (33.4 per cent of the population), whilst around 27.5 million people are Roman Catholic (34 per cent of the population). The Free Churches and the Greek Orthodox Church, as well as the Jewish communities, are also represented, among others. The large number of foreign workers who have made their home in the Federal Republic account for some 2.6 million Muslims, the largest group of which is of Turkish nationality.
According to the Grundgesetz,5 religious instruction should be part of the curriculum in public sector schools (except those which are non-denominational) and should be provided in accordance with the doctrine of the religious community concerned. These stipulations do not apply, however, in the Länder of Bremen and Berlin, where different regulations had already been specified by a Land law dated 1 January 1949, that is, prior to promulgation of the Grundgesetz. Brandenburg also makes use of this legal provision, whilst conceding to churches and religious communities the right to teach students according to their denomination on school premises. The Grundgesetz further stipulates that parents have the right to decide whether their child should receive religious instruction. Once a child has reached the age of 12, the decision made by the parents must, according to the Law on the Religious Education of children6 have the child's consent. From the age of 14, each child is free to decide whether to attend religious instruction, unless Land legislation makes other provision.17
