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HISTORY OF GERMAN EDUCATION The Prussian Era (1814–1871) Historically, the Lutheran denomination had a strong influence on German culture, including its education. Martin Luther advocated compulsory schooling, and this idea became a model for schools throughout Germany. During the 18th Century , the Kingdom Of Prussia was among the first countries in the world to introduce free and generally compulsory primary education, comprising of an eight-year course of primary education, '' Volksschule ''. It provided not only the skills needed in an early industrialized world (reading, writing, and arithmetics), but also a strict education in ethics, duty, discipline, and obedience. Affulent children often went on to attend preparatory private schools for an additional four years, but the general population had virtually no access to secondary education. In 1810, after the Napoleonic Wars , Prussia introduced state certification requirements for teachers, which significantly raised the standard of teaching. The final examination, '' Abitur '', was introduced in 1788, implemented in all Prussian secondary schools by 1812 , and extended to all of Germany in 1871 . German Empire (1871-1918) When the German Empire was formed in 1871, the school system became more centralized. As learned professions demanded well-educated young people, more secondary schools were established, and the state claimed the sole right to set standards and to supervise the newly established schools. Four different types of secondary schools developed:
By the turn of the 20th Century , the four types of schools had achieved equal rank and privilege, although they did not have equal prestige. In 1872, Prussia recognized the first separate secondary schools for girls. Weimar Republic (1919-1933) to the present After World War I , the Weimar Republic established a free, universal 4-year elementary school (''Grundschule''). Most students continued at these schools for another 4-year course and those who were able to pay a small fee went on to an Intermediate school (''Mittelschule'') that provided a more challenging curriculum for an additional one or two years. Upon passing a rigorous entrance exam after year 4, students could also enter one of the four types of secondary school. During the Nazi era (1933-1945), Indoctrination of Nazi ideologies was added to student education, however, the basic education system remained unchanged. After World War II , the Allied Powers ( Soviet Union , France , Britain , and the USA ) saw to it that the Nazi ideas were eliminated from the curriculum. They installed educational systems in their respective occupation zones that reflected their own ideas. When West Germany gained partial independence in 1949, its new constitution ( Grundgesetz ) granted educational autonomy to the state ( Länder ) governments. This led to a widely varying landscape of school systems, often making it difficult for children to continue schooling whilst moving between states. More recently, multi-state agreements ensure that basic requirements are universally met by all state school systems. Thus, all children are required to attend one type of school on a full-time basis (i.e. five or six days a week) from the age of 6 to the age of 16. It is possible to change schools if a student shows exceptionally good (or exceptionally poor) abilities. Graduation certificates from one state are recognized by all the other states, and training qualifies teachers for teaching posts in every state. Education in East Germany ''Main article: Education In East Germany '' The German Democratic Republic (East Germany) started its own standardized education system in the 1960s. The East German equivalent of both primary and secondary schools was the ''Polytechnische Oberschule'' (polytechnic high school), which all students attended for 10 years, from the ages of 6 to 16. At the end of the 10th year, an exit examination was given, and depending upon the results, a student could choose to end their education or choose to undertake an apprenticeship for an additional two years, followed by an ''Abitur''. Students who performed very well and displayed loyalty to the ruling party could change to the ''Erweiterte Oberschule'' (extended high school), where they could take their ''Abitur'' examinations after 12 school years. This system was abolished in the early 1990s, but continues to influence school life in the eastern German states. PRESENT SITUATION Here is a quick glance at the present school system: '' Grundschule '' (Elementary school) can be preceded by voluntary '' Kindergarten '' or ''Vorschulklassen'' (preparatory classes for elementary school) and lasts four or six years, depending on the state. Parents who are looking for a suitable school for their child have a considerable choice of elementary schools in Germany today:
Teachers possess different qualifications at all these schools, but parents have to pay additional costs at non-state schools, since the state does not cover the full costs of tuition and administration; these non-state schools may also not be close to the student's home. After ''Grundschule'' (at 10 years of age), there are basically four options as to secondary schooling:
In some states, children have to attend 2 years (usually grades 5 and 6) in ''Orientierungsstufe'' ("orientation phase"), a special school type that follows the ''Grundschule'', and is intended to help decide whether the student should be sent on to ''Hauptschule'', ''Realschule'', ''Gesamtschule'', or ''Gymnasium''. Primary school teachers or ''Orientierungsstufe'' teachers counsel parents on where to send their child. Depending on the state, parents or teachers make the final decision. Also, in states without ''Orientierungsstufe'', grades 5 and 6 are seen as an orientation phase in which initial decisions can be reversed. Achievements in the subjects of Mathematics, German, and the chosen foreign language (commonly English, French or Latin), are considered to be most important in the decision about the school that the child will attend. In Germany, the 16 states have the exclusive responsibility in the field of education. The federal parliament and the federal government can influence the educational system only by financial aid (to the states). Therefore, there are many different school systems; however, in every state the starting point is ''Grundschule'' (elementary school) for a period of 4 years. After ''Grundschule'', a few states offer ''Orientierungsstufe'', although most states start with secondary schooling immediately afterwards. All German states have ''Gymnasium'' as one possibility for skilled children, and all states - except Bavaria, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia - have ''Gesamtschule'', but in different forms. Some eastern states (Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringa in particular) only have ''Gymnasium'' and ''Regelschule'' (Secondary school until the 10th grade). In most of the 16 states, there are all of the kinds of secondary schools described above. English is compulsory statewide in secondary schools. In some states, foreign language education starts in ''Grundschule''. For example, in North Rhine-Westfalia, English starts in the 3rd year of school; Baden-Wurttemberg starts either English or French in the 1st year; in Brandenburg, it is English or Polish. It is often problematic for families to move from one state to another, because there are extremely different curricula for nearly every subject. ''Standard classroom at a secondary school in Germany in 1998'' LIFE IN A GERMAN SCHOOL Although German students are not very different from other students across the world, there are organizational differences. The main points are outlined below; however, it should be noted that there are additional differences across the 16 states of Germany.
THE SCHOOL YEAR The school year starts on the 1st of August and is divided into two semesters. There are typically 12 weeks of holidays, in addition to public holidays. Exact dates differ between states, but there are generally 6 weeks of summer and two weeks of Christmas holiday. The other holiday periods are given in spring (usually around Easter Sunday ) and autumn (the former "harvest holiday", where farmers used to need their children for field work). Schools can also schedule one or two special days off per semester. Report cards are issued twice a year at the end of the semester, usually in February and June or July. The grade scale ranges from 1 to 6, where 1 is "Excellent" and 6 is "Failed". Students who do not measure up to minimum standards have to repeat a year (which happens to almost 5% of students every year). MODEL TIMETABLES Students have about 30-36 periods of 45 minutes each per week. There are about 12 compulsory subjects: two or three foreign languages (one to be taken for 9 years, another for at least 3 years), physics, biology, chemistry and usually civics/social studies (for at least 5, 7, 3, and 2 years, respectively), and mathematics, music, art, history, German, geography, PE and religious education/ethics for 9 years. A few afternoon activities are offered at German schools - mainly choir or orchestra, sometimes sports or drama. Many of these are offered as semi-scholar AG's (''Arbeitsgemeinschaften'' - literally "working groups"), which are mentioned, but not officially rated in the testimonials. Other common extracurricular activities are organized as private clubs, which are very popular in Germany. ''Typical grade 10 timetable at a Gymnasium in 2003 "F3" means third foreign language ("Fremdsprache"), which is usually either Latin or French, though Spanish and Ancient Greek are not uncommon'' ''Typical grade 10 timetable at a middle school in 2003'' In grades 11-13, 11-12, or 12-13 (depending on the school system), each student majors in two or three subjects ("Leistungskurse", "Profilkurse"). These are usually taught five hours per week. The other subjects are usually taught three periods per week. There are many differences in the 16 states of Germany and there are alternatives to this basic pattern, e.g. '' Waldorfschulen '' or other private schools. Adults can also go back to evening school and take the ''Abitur'' exam. ORGANIZATIONAL ASPECTS In Germany, education is the responsibility of the states ('' Länder '') and part of their constitutional sovereignty (''Kulturhoheit der Länder''). Teachers are hired by the Ministry of Education for the state and usually are employed for life after a certain period (which, however, is not comparable in timeframe nor competitiveness to the typical tenure track, e.g. in the US). A parents' council is elected to voice the parents' views to the school's administration. The local town is responsible for the school building and employs the janitorial and secretarial staff. For an average school of about 600–800 students, there may be two janitors and one secretary. School administration is the responsibility of the teachers (who will receive a reduction in their teaching obligations if they participate). RECENT DEVELOPMENTS After much public debate about Germany's international ranking ( PISA - Programme for International Student Assessment), some things are beginning to change. There has been a trend towards a less ideological discussion on how to develop schools. These are some of the new trends:
Since the 1990s, a few changes have already been taking place in many schools:
COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY Since the end of World War II , the number of youths entering universities has more than tripled, but university attendance still lags behind many other European nations. This is partly because of the Dual Education System , with its strong emphasis on Apprenticeship s (see also German Model ). In the annual league of top-ranking universities compiled by Shanghai Jiaotong University in 2004 , Germany came fourth overall, but had only seven universities in the top 100 (compared to 51 in the U.S. ). The highest-ranking German university, at number 45, was the Technical University Of Munich . Universities in Germany are part of the free state education system, which means that there are very few private universities and colleges. Private universities and colleges in Germany are generally less well regarded than public universities. While the organizational structure claims to go back to the university reforms by Wilhelm Von Humboldt in the early 19th Century , it has also been criticized by some (including the German-born, former Stanford University president Gerhard Casper ) for having an unbalanced focus, more on education and less on research, and the lack of independence from state intervention. Many of today's German public universities, in fact, bear less resemblance to the original Humboldt vision than, for example, a typical US institution. German university students largely choose their own programme of study and professors choose their own subjects for research and teaching. This elective system often results in students spending many years at university before graduating, and is currently under review. There are no fixed classes of students who study together and graduate together. Students change universities according to their interests and the strengths of each university. Sometimes students attend two, three or more different universities in the course of their studies. This mobility means that at German universities there is a freedom and individuality unknown in the USA, the UK, or France. Generally, it can be said that Germany does not have "colleges" in the sense that is used in the US. Upon leaving school, students may choose to go on to university; however, most (male) students will serve a year's Military or alternative service ('' Zivildienst '') beforehand. The ''Gymnasium'' graduation ('' Abitur '') opens the way to any university; there are no entrance examinations. The ''Abiturdurchschnittsnote'' (similar to GPA in the US, or A-Level results in the UK) is the deciding factor in granting university places; an institution may quote an entry requirement for a particular course. This is called ''numerus clausus'' (literally "restricted number"), but it generally only applies to popular courses with very limited places; for example a Medical course could require an ''Abitur'' grade of between 1.0 to 1.5, approximately equivalent to a 3.9 - 4.5 GPA in the USA. Yet another difference: while at ''Gymnasium'' a student cannot take courses that result in university credits. This might also have to do with the fact that the credit system is unknown in Germany so far, although it is being introduced with the Bologna Process that is intended to unify education and degrees for all EU states. What counts at the end of one's studies is a bundle of certificates ("Scheine") issued by the professors proving that the required courses (and/or exams) were successfully taken. Usually there are few required specific courses, rather students choose from a more or less broad range of classes in their field of interest, while this varies greatly upon the choice of subject. Once a student has acquired the needed number of such certificates, he or she can decide to register for the final examinations. In many cases, the grades of those certificates are completely discarded and the final diploma grade consists only of the grades of the final exams and master thesis. This can seriously impair the student's motivation to achieve excellence during their studies. At ''Gymnasium'', students are under strict observation by teachers, and their attendance at all courses is checked regularly. At German universities, however, class attendance is rarely checked. Life at German universities may seem anonymous and highly individual, but most students find a group of fellow students with common interests in their first year, and then often take courses together and study in this group up to the final exam studies. While there are curriculae for the first two or three years in the sciences, in the liberal arts, every student picks the lectures and seminars he or she prefers, and takes the exams at the end of the study period. Each student decides for him- or herself when he or she feels ready for the final exam. Some take the minimum 4 years, most take 5-6 years, some may even spend 10 years at university (often because they changed subjects several times). After 13 years at school plus maybe 1 year in the military, graduates may sometimes be almost 30 years old when they apply for their first job in life. If they have successfully studied at university for two years (after a ''Zwischenprüfung''/''Vordiplom''), students can transfer to the USA or other countries for graduate studies. Usually they finish studies after 4-6 years with a degree called the '' Diplom '' (in the sciences) or '' Magister '' (in the arts), which is equivalent to an M.Sc. or M.A., or a '' Magister Artium ''. Many universities nowadays offer a Bachelor degree, but this is so far of limited use and acceptance in Germany. However, there is another type of post-''Abitur'' university-like training available in Germany: the '' Fachhochschule n'' (Universities of Applied Science), which offer similar degrees as regular universities, but often concentrate on applied science (as the English name suggests) as opposed to basic Research and purely academic subjects. Students start their courses together and graduate (more or less) together, and there is little choice in their schedule. To get on-the-job experience, Internship semesters are a mandatory part of studying at a Fachhochschule. After about 4 years (depending on how a student arranges the courses he or she takes over the course of his studies, and on whether he or she has to repeat courses) a ''Fachhochschule'' student has a complete education and can go right into specialized working life. ''Fachhochschule'' graduates receive a title that starts with "Dipl." (Diploma) and ends with "(FH)", e.g. "Dipl. Ing. (FH)" for a graduate engineer from a ''Fachhochschule''. The FH Diploma is roughly equivalent to a Bachelor degree. An FH Diploma does not usually qualify the holder for a Ph.D. programme directly -- most universities require an additional entrance exam or participation in theoretical classes from FH candidates. Perhaps one of the most important differences: All courses at the roughly 250 universities and'' Fachhochschulen'' are - like any school in Germany - free. One might also say the government offers a full scholarship to everyone. However, students that take longer than the "regular length of studies" (''Regelstudienzeit'') do have to pay "long-time study fees" (''Langzeitstudiengebühren'') of about 500 EUR per semester, in a growing number of states. Today there are a few private institutions (especially business schools) that charge tuition fees and offer better conditions for students than state financed universities. One does have to pay for one's room and board plus one's books. After a certain age, one must obtain obligatory student health insurance (50 EUR per month), and one always has to pay for some other social services for students (40-100 EUR per semester). Students often enjoy very cheap public transport (''Semesterticket'') in and around the university town. There are cheap rooms for students built by the ''Studentenwerk'', an independent non-profit organization partially funded by the state. These may cost 150 EUR per month, without any food. Otherwise an apartment can cost 500 EUR, but often students share apartments, with 3 or 5 people per apartment. Food is about 100 EUR (figures for 2002). The German Constitutional Court recently ruled that a federal law prohibiting tuition fees is unconstitutional, on the grounds that education is the sole responsibility of the states. Following this ruling, several state governments (e.g. in Bavaria and North Rhine-Westfalia ) proclaimed their intention to introduce tuition of around €500 per semester within the next year. There are no university-sponsored scholarships in Germany, but a number of private and public institutions hand out scholarships, usually to cover the cost of living and books. Moreover, there is a law ('' Bafög '' or ''Bundesausbildungsförderungsgesetz'') that sees to it that needy people can get up to 550 EUR per month for 4-5 years if they or their parents cannot afford all the costs involved with studying. Part (typically half) of this money is given as an interest-free loan and has to be paid back. Most students will move to the university town if it is far away. Getting across Germany from Flensburg to Konstanz takes a full day (1000 km or 620 miles). But, as mentioned above, there is no university-provided student housing on campus in Germany, since most campuses are scattered all over the city for historical reasons. Traditionally, university students rented a private room in town, which was their home away from home. This is no longer the standard, but one still finds this situation. One third to one half of the students work to make a little extra money, often resulting in a longer stay at university. Figures for Germany are roughly:
''University degrees:'' Most courses lead up to a diploma called ''Diplom'' or ''Magister'' and these are about equivalent to the Master degree (after a minimum of 4 to 5 years). The doctoral degree usually takes another 3-5 years, with no formal classes, but independent research under the tutelage of a single professor. Most doctoral candidates work as teaching- or research assistants, and are paid a reasonably competitive salary. This is different in medicine, where an M.D. is (effectively) required for work and hence a more streamlined process applies. Recently, changes related to the so-called Bologna-Agreement have started taking place to install a more internationally acknowledged system, which includes new course structures - the (hitherto unknown) Bachelor degree and the Master degree - and ETCS credits. These changes have not been forced on the universities and the hope has been that they will develop them from the bottom up. So far, students have been reluctant to start these new courses because they know that within Germany, employers are not used to them and prefer the well-known system. In the winter semester of 2001, only 5% of all students aspired to complete either a bachelor or master degree, but this is changing as some universities and polytechnics (''Fachhochschulen'') change their course offerings to exclusively provide only bachelor or master degree certificates (e.g. Erfurt). In addition, there are the courses leading to ''Staatsexamen'' (state examinations), e. g. for lawyers and teachers, that qualify for entry into German civil service, but which are not recognized elsewhere as an academic degree (although the courses are sometimes almost identical). SEE ALSO
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