German School System 1
German School System 2
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
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German School System:Basic Facts 2
• 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
German School System 4
German School System:Basic Facts 3
• 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
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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)
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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+
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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)
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• 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
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Here you see what a class schedule at a typical German school might look like:
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German School System 11
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)
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• 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
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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.
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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
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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…