INCA Education around the world
Germany : Initial Teacher Training
7.5.1 Control
7.5.2 Types of training institutions and course
7.5.2.1 Admissions
7.5.3 Trainers
7.5.4 Curriculum for initial teacher training
7.5.5 Qualifications and standards
7.5.5.1 Qualifications and entitlement
7.5.5.2 Probationary periods
7.5.6 Post-qualification induction periods
Please note that the initial teacher training sections of the website were originally funded by the Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA). They have not been updated since March 2009 and the information provided in them by have been superseded.
This section of the INCA website describes initial teacher training for teachers of students with special educational needs. For information on initial teacher training for teachers in pre-compulsory, primary, lower secondary and upper secondary mainstream education, see sections 7.1, 7.2, 7.3 and 7.4 of the mainstream country archive respectively.
7.5 Initial training of teachers working with students with special educational needs in publicly funded mainstream or special schools
Sonderschulen/special schools
In most Länder, Sonderschule teachers are specifically trained to teach children with special needs. They specialise in various (usually two) areas, selected from, for example, teaching for the blind, the deaf, the mentally handicapped, the physically handicapped, for children with language or learning difficulties etc. In some Länder, Hauptschule or Realschule teachers might also take additional courses of study to become Sonderschule teachers.8
As a supporting measure, specialist speech therapist teachers working in Sonderschulen also work in the early remedial treatment of young children with speech disorders in Kindergarten and mainstream schools.18
Mainstream provision
Where students with special needs are integrated in mainstream provision, specifically trained Sonderschule teachers (see above) usually assist the class teacher (at primary level) or subject teacher (in secondary level education). These special education teachers may be peripatetic.5
See 4.5.4. for further information on teachers working with students with special educational needs.
7.5.1 Control
Training of teachers for all types of schools is regulated by the Ministries of Education and Cultural Affairs of the Lander and Land legislation. The relevant statutory provisions include teacher training legislation, Studienordnungen (study regulations) for teacher training courses, Prüfungsordnungen (examination regulations) for the First State Examination (Erste Staatsprüfung), Ausbildungsordnungen (training regulations) for the preparatory service (Vorbereitungsdienst) and examination regulations for the Second Staatsprufüng.17
Examinations (First and Second Staatsprüfungen) are conducted by the state examination authorities or boards of the Länder.17
In-service training
In-service teacher training (IST), like initial teacher training, is the responsibility of the Ministries of Education and Cultural Affairs of the individual Länder, as these are the highest school supervisory authorities and usually the employers of teachers with civil servant status. The goals of IST have been laid down by most of the Länder in their teacher training or educational legislation. Directives regulate other details about organisations which provide IST and about applications, admissions and release from teaching duties for attendance at courses. Some Länder have also formulated the fundamental aims and tasks of IST for teachers in directives or publications and not in legal provisions. It is the duty of employers (usually the Ministries of Education and Cultural Affairs) to ensure that suitable training programmes are provided.16
State-run in-service teacher training is organised in the Länder at central, regional and local level. IST can also take place within schools or in the form of guided private study.16
In-service training within schools is carried out by schools for their own teaching staff or some members of their teaching staff. It is essentially organised by individual schools, although assistance is available, in some Länder, from IST institutions and advisers from school supervisory authorities. In some Länder the Ministry of Education is informed of the content and dates of courses held within schools and, in other Länder, IST sessions within schools are offered by the central institutes of the Länder in cooperation with the school supervisory authorities.16
Ministers of the Länder currently intend to establish a working group which will take a critical look at the development of teacher training.16
7.5.2 Types of training institutions and courses
To become a special education teacher a qualification can be obtained:
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either by passing the First and Second State Examinations (Staatsprüfungen) (awarded on completion of a teacher training course) following a first degree course of study in special needs teaching - a First Degree in Special Education
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or by embarking on an additional course of study following teacher training for a different type of teaching career which also concludes with a state examination (Staatsprüfung).17
These two forms of training exist side by side or as alternatives in the Länder. Great importance is attached to in-service training in addition, especially in connection with the integration of students with special needs in mainstream schools.17
For first degree courses, in all Länder, training is divided into studies at a university or equivalent institution of higher education, and practical training (preparatory service) and includes:
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a specialist component (including subject-related pedagogy) including the study of at least two subjects or subject areas;
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an educational science component with compulsory study of educational theory and psychology; plus a choice of additional study areas;
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teaching practice, sometimes of several weeks' duration, accompanying courses of study.17
See 7.5.4 for further information on the curriculum for special educational needs initial teacher training.
For all teaching careers, this higher education phase is followed by 'preparatory service' (Vorbereitungsdienst) as the second stage of teacher training. Depending on the Land and the type of teaching career, Vorbereitungsdienst varies in length (from 18 to 24 months) and lays emphasis on different areas. It is a period of practical training and involves setting lessons, guided and independent teaching at training schools and studies in educational theory and subject-related pedagogy at seminars which reappraise and consolidate experience gained through practical training. Training includes general information on special needs, teaching methods and assessment. In some Lander, general information about integration is also included.16
7.5.2.1 Admissions
For first degree courses
See 7.1.2.1, 7.2.2.1, 7.3.2.1 and 7.4.2.1 of the mainstream archive for the admissions requirements for initial teacher training courses.
For in-service training courses
Candidates are normally required to be qualified, practising teachers.
7.5.3 Trainers
NO INFORMATION AVAILABLE AT PRESENT.
7.5.4 Curriculum for initial teacher training
First degree in special education
Under a resolution reached by the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of the Länder, the standard period of study (Regelstudienzeit) for a first degree is a maximum of nine semesters with a total of 160 aggregate hours of weekly attendance. The first degree in special education course includes the study of educational science, subject-related studies in at least one subject or subject area, and the study of special education. About half of the course is devoted to the study of special education while the other half is devoted to educational science and subject-related studies at an approximate ratio of 2:3. Pedagogical studies and teaching practice are an integral part of the course.17
Two of the following subject areas relating to special education, the weighting of which can vary according to the exact course of study and examinations, are selected:
- education for the blind
- education for the deaf
- education for the mentally handicapped
- education for the physically disabled
- education for children with learning difficulties
- education for the hard of hearing
- education for the visually handicapped
- education for those with speech defects and
- education for those with behavioural problems.17
7.5.5 Qualifications and standards
7.5.5.1 Qualifications and entitlement
Teachers qualified in special needs education, via either qualification route (the first degree in special education or an additional qualification following a first degree in another form of teacher training), are able to teach students with special educational needs in mainstream or special schools. In the majority of cases, teachers are employed to teach in special schools, as there is a shortage of teachers qualified in special needs education.18
7.5.5.2 Probationary periods
See sections 7.1.5.2, 7.2.5.2, 7.3.5.2 and 7.4.5.2 of the mainstream Germany Archive.
7.5.6 Post-qualification induction periods
See sections 7.1.6, 7.2.6, 7.3.6 and 7.4.6 of the mainstream Germany Archive.
