Introduction  

Under the reunification treaty of 1991, the German system of education retains the structure of the system maintained by the former West Germany. The educational system is fairly decentralized, with responsibility for the organization and maintenance of education resting with the individual German Länder. However, the Länder coordinate their educational policies through a Conference of the Ministers of Education (Kultursministerkonferenz, or KMK), and, though the education system is not a national system, the systems run by the Länder are, overall, fairly uniform.

Stucture of Schooling  

Students begin school in Germany by age 6. Elementary and secondary schooling usually comprises 12 or 13 years; for most students, however, only 9 or 10 years are spent as full-time students, with the remaining 2 or 3 years spent part-time in the classroom and part-time in on-the-job training programs.

German education includes three levels: elementary school (grades 1 through 4), lower secondary (grades 5 through 9 or 10), and upper secondary (grades 11 through 13). All students in a given geographic area attend elementary school (Grundschule) together, regardless of their ability level. After the fourth year of schooling (at about age 10), students usually enroll in one of three secondary schools:

• The Hauptschule prepares students for vocational education and generally enrolls those students who are the least academically inclined. Mandatory full-time education ends after the ninth year of schooling (part-time study is mandatory until the age of 18), at which time students receive a certification of Hauptschule completion and enter a vocational education program. Most students attend vocational school part-time and receive on-the-job training part-time, but vocational education schools are increasingly offering full-time study as an option.
• The Realschule offers a general curriculum more demanding than the Hauptschule curriculum. Mandatory full-time enrollment ends after the tenth year (again, part-time study is mandatory until the age of 18). Students receive a Realschule completion certificate and begin their vocational education, either through full-time enrollment in a vocational school or through a combination of classroom and on-the-job education. Academically qualified students may transfer to the upper level of the Gymnasium at this point as well.
• The Gymnasium offers a liberal education to the most academically gifted students. Students may leave the Gymnasium after the ninth or tenth year of study and receive a Hauptschule completion certificate (though few do so), or they may continue for the eleventh through thirteenth years of schooling and study for the Abitur.

Some secondary schools, most frequently found in the Länder governed by the Social Democratic Party, keep students of all ability levels together in one secondary school, called the Gesamtschule (comprehensive school). The points at which students leave school and the certificates they earn at the Gesamtschule are intended to be equivalent to those of the three-tiered system used in the other Länder.

Through most of this century, the majority of German students were enrolled in the Hauptschule (formerly the Volksschule), and only a small elite attended the Gymnasium. Over the past three decades, however, changes in education policy have resulted in more students enrolling in the Gymnasium and fewer in the Hauptschule. In 1990-91, about 33% of secondary school-aged students were in Hauptschule, 28% in Realschule, and 31% in Gymnasium (Ashwill, 10); in contrast, about 64 percent of students in 1964 were enrolled in the Hauptschule and only 9 percent in the Gymnasium.

School Governance and Finance  

Each Land's Ministry of Culture and Education is responsible for overseeing the e ducational system. As was noted above, the Länder coordinate their policies through the KMK so as to achieve a fair bit of consistency across educational systems. Formally, the resolutions and re commendations put forth by the KMK are non-binding for the Länder. However, the need for recogn ition across Länder of school leaving certificates results in pressure to conform to the recomm endations of the KMK.

Governance.  The Ministry of Culture and Education in each Land specifies a uniform school calendar, school day, and class period, as well as the number of weekly lessons. On average, there are 188 days in the school year, though in some Länder classes meet on some Saturdays, increasing the number of school days in the year (but not the number of weekly lessons). The parliament of each Land also specifies a uniform configuration of local school governance, outlining the responsibilities of the school director and "provid[ing] for the collaboration of teachers, parents, and students through various administrative forums or councils...." (Foraker, 34).

At the school level, the school director, who is appointed by the district, is responsible for activities such as distributing classes among teachers, scheduling class hours, reviewing and assessing classroom instruction, and coordinating grading. The director continues to serve as a teacher as well, and he or she works closely with teachers and parent councils.

Finance  Most funding for public education comes from the Länder level: about 80 percent of school funds are dedicated at the Länder level, with 19 percent coming from local sources and less than 1 percent from the Federal government. (OECD, 1995).

Curriculum  

The Ministry of Culture and Education in each Land oversees the curriculum taught at each level of schooling. The Ministries develop curriculum guidelines and authorize the selection of textbooks. However, "teachers have considerable freedom of action through the use of supplemental materials and the methods by which they achieve the prescribed curricular objectives" (Ashwill, p. 7).

Across Länder, the basic structure of curriculum is similar. Curriculum in the first four years of schooling is uniform for all students and emphasizes basic skills - reading, writing, and arithmetic, as well as instruction in science, social studies, music, art, religion, and physical education. The curriculum is first differentiated for students when the enter lower secondary school. However, though students are separated at this point based on ability, the range of topics in the curriculum is quite similar for all students during the 5th and 6th grades: German language and literature, mathematics, social studies, science, physical education, art and music, religion, and foreign language. At grade 7, the addition of a second foreign language (for Gymnasium and many Realschule students) and varying depths of subject matter coverage serve to differentiate further the curriculum taught at the three types of schools.

It is at the upper secondary level (after the 9th or 10th year of schooling) that the curriculum becomes truly differentiated for students. Hauptschule students at this point enroll in some form of vocational education, usually an apprenticeship combined with part-time attendance at a vocational school. Unless they have chosen to transfer to the upper secondary level of the Gymnasium, Realschule students also attend vocational school on either a full-time or a part-time basis. Gymnasium students continue with an academic, college-preparatory curriculum for the 11th through 13th years of schooling.

Standards for Student Performance and Gateways to Promotion and Higher Education  

Promotion.  A student's academic performance at the G rundschule is the most important determinant of his or her secondary school placement. Recommend ations for secondary school placement are made by students' elementary school teachers. The placemen t recommendation is based primarily upon the student's performance in German and mathematics. Formal ly, parents make the secondary school placement decision for their children, based upon the recommen dation of the teacher; most parents accept the recommended placement for their children, though the percentages of accepted placements vary across the Länder. Usually, the first two years spent i n the secondary school are considered an "orientation," in order to ensure that the placement is cor rect.

Examinations.  Upon completion of their full-time schooling, students receive certificates of completion. For the Hauptschule, there typically are no exit examinations required of students for certification. In contrast, 7 of the 16 Länder require Realschule students to pass an exit examination at the end of their full-time schooling (Ashwill, 13).

The most visible examination in Germany is the Abitur. Upper-level Gymnasium students prepare for the Abitur examinations, successful completion of which allows them to attend a university or a polytechnic college. Students spend the 12th and 13th years of Gymnasium preparing for the Abitur, taking a certain number of courses from three domains, math and sciences, languages and the arts, and history and others. Students must then choose four subjects in which to take the Abitur; two of these must be taken at the "advanced" level, while the others are taken at the "basic" level. The Abitur qualification is based on the combined results of students' course work during the 12th and 13th years of Gymnasium and the exam itself. The Abitur examinations are administered somewhat differently across Länder. However, the KMK has established standards for the Abitur, ensuring "a high degree of comparability among the various Länder" (Ashwill, 20-21).

Access to Higher Education.  Successful completion of the Abitur allows students access to all institutions of higher education. As only the Gymnasium, the equivalent upper level of a comprehensive school (Gesamtschule), or a "vocational Gymnasium" prepares students for the Abitur, students who have attended the Realschule and who are academically qualified may transfer to the upper level of one of these schools at age 16, often through transitional classes.

Alternative routes do exist for gaining access to higher education. Students may enroll in evening classes at the Realschule and Gymnasium levels; another institution, the Kolleg, allows adult students access to higher education through full-time study. Other paths to higher education include some types of full-time vocational schools (Fachoberschulen) and successful completion of an external Abitur following private study. These alternative routes for gaining access to universities and polytechnic colleges have become increasingly popular over the past decade, during which time the percentage of students entering institutions of higher education through the traditional Gymnasium program has dropped from 90 to about 65 percent (Köster-Bunselmeyer).

Teacher Training and Certification  

Teacher training in Germany comprises two main parts, academic study and practical training. Teaching candidates study at "an institution of higher education, namely, a university, teacher training college, education college, a school of art or music, or a comprehensive university....Students study educational theory and practice, psychology, philosophy, teaching methods, and at least two academic subjects in depth" (U.S. Department of Education, 1993, p.10). There are some differences between the programs geared towards primary and secondary teaching, as well as between teaching in the Hauptschule, the Realschule, the Gymnasium, or a vocational school. Teaching candidates' academic preparation culminates with a first examination administered by the Land. Upon completion of practical training, teaching candidates spend 18 to 24 months in the classroom receiving practical training. This part of teaching candidates' education emphasizes "preparing, teaching, and evaluating lessons; working as a team member; and learning the rights and responsibilities of a teacher" (U.S. Department of Education, p.10). Practical training culminates with a second examination, after which candidates are granted a teaching credential.

References  

General Reference  

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (1995). Education at a glance: OECD indicators. Paris: Author.

Husen, T., & Postlethwaite, N. (Eds.) (1994). The international encyclopedia of education (Second edition). Oxford: Pergamon Press.

U.S. Department of Education (1993). Teacher training abroad: New realities. Washington D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.

References - Germany  

Ashwill, M. (undated). Components of national education standards in Germany. Unpublished manuscript.

Foraker, W.C. (undated). The educational structure of the German school system. Unpublished manuscript.

Köster-Bunselmeyer (April 11, 1996). Letter to Amy Stempel, Council for Basic Education. Unpublished.