German School System1 2 German School System: Basic Facts 1 schooling is provided and regulated by the federal states (16)—only coordinated by a commission

German School System 1


German School System:Basic Facts 1

• schooling is provided and regulated by the federal states (16)—only coordinated by a commission (KMK) that brings together the „Länder“ ministries of education



• generally, Germany has a three-tier system based on student talent and preference

• only graduates of upper tier, having passed their „Abitur“-exam (similar to GB A-levels), are allowed to enter university

• 12 years of mandatory schooling• provided free of charge



• compulsory schooling in existence since 1717• few resources, i.e. education important for

Germany• grading system from 1 (very good) to 6

(unsatisfactory)• in „higher“ education (1 to 15 points) with 15 the

best achievement and 5 the failing score• after grade 10: separation in academic teaching

institutions and vocationally-oriented teaching & training colleges


Special Features…

• the school system in Germany is a little different than, e.g. its American counterpart:

All children enter in the same program, but at the age of 10, they go to one of four types of schools.

• the “dual system” in the vocational sector• Germany has relatively few private schools; they are

rather expensive• tertiary sector: private universities are still almost

nonexistent (some prominent exceptions in the business realm…e.g. EBS, WHU)


die Hochschule oder die UniversitätUniversity (Higher tertiary Education)

13Berufsakademien etc.

Advanced Training die SonderschuleSpecialist College

das Gymnasium

Grammar School(grades 11-13)

18+

12 die BerufsschuleVocational Training

Colleges

17

11 Technical Training 16

die Gesamtschule (or combined into a Comprehensive School/High School)

10die HauptschuleMain School(grades 5-10)

die RealschuleIntermediate School

(grades 5-10)

das GymnasiumGrammar School

(grades 5-10)

159 148 137 126 die Orientierungsstufe

(grades 5-6 not yet tier-separated, only in some states)11

5 104

Grundschule

(common primary/elementary school - grades 1-4)

9

3 82 71 6-

Kindergarten oder die Vorschule

(optional Kindergarten or pre-school)

5

- 4- 3

German School System--Chart

19+


Broad Educational Intentions…

• German school system puts a strong emphasis on making kids critical and thoughtful citizens via

- frequent class discussions (communicative competencies)

- a lot of group work (social competencies)

- rote learning is less common (focus on critical thinking & problem-solving competencies)


• German classes are very similar to other European classes in the way they are taught

• some of the subjects differ• to be studied: math, German, sciences,

literature, music and arts, history and geography plus gym classes

• in grade 3 or soon 1, start of foreign language study--all students learn English

• in grades 5 and 7, students can take up additional languages such as French, Latin, Spanish or Russian


Here you see what a class schedule at a typical German school might look like:



Differences US/Germany as perceived by exchange students:In the USA:

- school starts at about 8:00 and finishes between 14:25 and 15:30

- eating, drinking and chewing gum during the lessons is forbidden

- teachers have own rooms where different subject are taught

- there are no "Klassenverbände" like in Germany, but there are different groups in each “class”

- there is a lunch break which lasts about 30 minutes

- one lesson lasts 90 minutes and more

- normally, same timetable every day

- for every subject there are about three tests every month

- you can choose only one foreign language

- from the 9th grade on students can choose their subjects on their own

In Germany:

- usually you're also not allowed to eat or drink during the lessons

- every group of students has its own classroom (few room changes)

- one lesson lasts 45 minutes; 5-minute breaks in between; after two lessons there is a longer break (about 15 minutes)

- the students do not have the same lessons every day

- in every major subject, there are about 8-12 tests a year

- “minor” subjects require only about two tests a year

- you can choose to study up to 4 languages (two are mandatory early on)


• German children have summer vacations : six weeks

• common for families to travel during vacation• a two-week break in December and January,

another two-week vacation at Easter and a further week off in fall

• children do not go to school on many religious and national holidays

• Usually, German students have 220 school days per year


To be mentioned…• German students are held to high

academic standards and regularly face oral examinations

• still, the nation’s education is a far cry from the strict Prussian system of old

• school days starts at 8am and are generally over by 1pm

• schools tending not to offer anything much in the way of extracurricular activities—historically to be provided by clubs (Vereine)

• however, there is a host of school groups such as theatre, choirs etc.


Trends…• like almost every aspect of German social policy,

the education system is facing a series of major changes

• background: demography, economic difficulties and, in particular, international performance tests (TIMSS, PISA etc.)

• PISA: showed that Germany’s educational standards have slipped in recent years

• i.e. sparking a major debate about the need for overhauling the country’s education system

• first consequences: introduction of educational standards & regular testing


A word about teacher education & training…

• German teachers are expected to graduate with “Abitur“-level qualifications from grammar school

• Moreover, they have to study about five to six years (two major subjects as it is mandatory to teach at least two subjects in school) to the equivalent of a Master`s degree (1. Staatsexamen)—subject to change with the proposed introduction of Bachelor and Master-courses…

• Finally, teachers have to undergo a two-year teacher-training period (partly in school, partly in a teacher seminar) including many teaching observations in due course and a final “state examination“ (2. Staatsexamen)

• After that, they may be employed as civil servants (Beamte) by the federal states

German School System 16© StD Dr. Dipl.-Kfm., Dipl.-Hdl. Markus M. Böhner

E-mail: [email protected]

Thank you for your interest…

Documents

German School System1 2 German School System: Basic Facts 1 schooling is provided and regulated by the federal states (16)—only coordinated by a commission