INCA Education around the world
Germany : Internal school organisation
4.2.1 Organisation of teaching groups
4.2.2 Student progression through the phase
4.2.3 Class size
4.2.4 Teacher specialisation
4.2 Second phase: Primary, age 6 - 10 (12) [see 3.2.2]
4.2.1 Organisation of teaching groups
Teaching provision in German primary schools (Grundschulen) is usually based on classes organised by age group.12 In Years 1 and 2 (students aged 6-8), most lessons are with the same member of staff, the class teacher. This is intended to help children become accustomed to school life relating to one teacher, rather than having different members of staff for each subject. From Year 3 (age 8+) onwards, children increasingly encounter subject teachers, which helps them prepare for the transition to compulsory lower secondary school where subject teachers are the rule. Teaching in the Grundschule therefore takes place both in lessons concentrating on a specific subject area and in cross-disciplinary classes.17
4.2.2 Student progression through the phase
The primary phase is not divided into cycles. All children progress automatically from Year 1 of primary school to Year 2. As a general rule, from Year 2 onwards, each child is assigned to a suitable class depending on his or her achievement level, either by being promoted to the next year or by repeating a year. The decision whether to move a child to the next year is usually made on the marks achieved in the pupil's Zeugnis (school report) at the end of the school year.165 The marks contained in the Zeugnis are based on the national 6-point marking system, where, in summary, 1 is high and 6 low.12 Generally, students in all schools in Germany must achieve a mark of 'adequate' ("ausreichend", grade 4) in their mid-year and year-end reports in each subject relevant to promotion. Marks of 'poor' ("mangelhaft" - 5) and 'very poor' ("ungenügend" - 6) in one subject can usually be compensated for with marks of 'good' ("gut" - 2) or 'very good' ("sehr gut" - 1) in another subject.23 (Full details of the 6-point marking system are provided in section 6.2.6.)
In some Länder, students who have been asked to repeat the previous year may be promoted to the next if, when returning to school for commencement of the next school year, they satisfactorily complete an assessment test.12
Students whose performance is far ahead of their class peers may omit a class and be promoted to the next-but-one class.12
School have three courses of action at their disposal for the differentiated treatment of exceptionally able students: enrichment; acceleration; or external differentiation or grouping. Enrichment involves extending the teaching material in breadth and depth, for example, by the inclusion of additional material, literature or information sources; by giving students special assignments; encouraging independent work; and the introduction of bilingual teaching. Acceleration is achieved by moving students up to a higher class. This only serves some purpose if the student's overall standard is very good and if he or she can integrate quickly into the higher class. Gifted students seldom skip a year in Germany; teachers and parents have great reservations and fears - very often unfounded - about taking this step. Even so several Länder have launched initiatives in recent years to facilitate gifted students jumping a class, thus providing them with a faster track to the Abitur (see 6.3.7 in addition).9
External differentiation involves teaching particularly able students in special groups, classes or schools. The most frequent example of this is the creation of extracurricular activities, additional and intensive courses in sport, music, choral work, foreign languages, natural sciences, philosophy etc. usually run by teachers from the school.9
Promotion/transfer from one class to the next, or repetition of a year, is decided by the relevant class conference on the basis of a student's marks in their year-end report. The class conference comprises all the teachers who have taught the class during the period concerned. Students who are in danger of not being promoted to the next class at the end of a given school year must be informed as such, either at the time of their mid-year report, or their parents must be informed in writing prior to the proposed time of promotion/ repetition.19
Transfer from primary education to one of the different types of lower secondary education (where students remain at least until the completion of their full-time compulsory education, age 15/16) is dealt with differently depending on Land legislation. Decisions regarding a student's future school career are taken on the basis of the recommendation of the Grundschule which the student is leaving, in detailed consultation with the parents. The final decision is taken either by the parents, the (lower secondary) school concerned or the school supervisory authority.12
4.2.3 Class size
Regulations and guidelines relating to class size vary dependent on the Land; some set maximum class sizes only, others set minimum and maximum student numbers for classes (which vary dependent on the age of students and the type of school). Schools must, however, operate within such limits. In Länder which set maximum class sizes only, these vary in Years 1 to 4 of primary education between 24 students in Nordrhein-Westfalen and 31 in Baden-Württemberg. Hessen and Thüringen set minimum and maximum class sizes of 13 - 28 students and 14 - 28 respectively.20
The average class size in primary education in Germany was almost 23 children per class in 1998, with a child:teacher ratio of 21:1. 13 In 2000, the average class size figure was around 22, with a child:teacher ratio of 21:1. 97
4.2.4 Teacher specialisation
Teachers are trained at universities and colleges of art and music and pass the first state examination, usually in two subjects, and in education science. Primary teachers are generalists. Teachers are generally employed by the Land and have civil servant status.14
In the Grundschule, children are usually taught by one teacher during Years 1 and 2 (ages 6-8) (interdisciplinary lessons) but, from Year 3, they are increasingly taught by other subject teachers in lessons focused on particular subject areas, in order to prepare them for secondary school, where they will have a different teacher for each subject.12
