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We were interested in finding out not only how individuals of differing abilities were educated within the German school system, but also where these differences in ability among individuals were thought to originate. What were the sources of these differences? Were they considered to be inborn and immutable, were they a result of environment, or were they thought of as a product of both innate intelligence and environment? Also, given the fact that Germany has a differentiated school system, we were interested in the range of ability differences within classes at the different school forms.
Respondents answered most questions regarding differences in ability from the perspective of the school form in which they either taught, studied, or had a child studying. Because the differentiated nature of the school system results in greater homogeneity within school forms than across school forms, it is important to look at not only what the respondents said but also at the student population that formed their frame of reference.
Across all school forms, the primary sources of ability were cited as innate intelligence and family support. However, in the lives of foreign students in particular, environmental factors besides family support were often raised as very significant influences on ability. Respondents noted these environmental factors very frequently for student populations at the Grundschule and the Hauptschule schools, where the highest percentages of foreign students are found.
Grundschule. Grundschule teachers commonly cited a longer list of factors, which they saw as influencing differences in ability than did teachers at the higher school forms. The students enrolled in Grundschule classes were more heterogeneous than those in classes at the secondary level, and the Grundschule teachers were frank in describing the wide range of differences in performance encountered in their classrooms. Typical responses included such as statements, "The range of performance levels in my class is tremendous." Another said, "I have very, very gifted children in my class, and I have students who are not at all intelligent." They also pointed out that the children in their classes often came from families of different socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds. It was not uncommon for Grundschule classes to include at least 25 percent foreign students, and in one of the schools we visited the percentage was much higher. Language fluency (for recent immigrants) and vocabulary issues (for first- and second-generation immigrants) were often cited as factors in these children lives. Teachers also recognized that academically weak children may not have been to kindergarten and did not have well developed social skills. Thus these children start school on unequal ground. A Grundschule teacher from one of the schools in a poorer area of one city stated, "At our school we have a tendency towards weaker students. One third of my class may be considered very poor. They are in need of devotion; the teacher has to make sure not to let the deficits grow."
However extensive the list of contributing factors, the primary factors cited repeatedly by Grundschule teachers as contributing to differences in ability included natural disposition (often referred to as intelligence or talent), family support, and family environment. Included in family environment were factors such as whether the children were latchkey children, whether there was adequate room in the home for a quiet study space for the child, whether German was spoken in the home, whether parents encouraged reading, or whether the children were primarily left alone, unsupervised, and spent a great deal of time watching television. One teacher's statement summarized briefly the critical factors cited by many of the teachers we met:
The aptitude of the child is definitely very important. The family must be another factor. The entire domestic environment with the question of how much the parents care about their children and school is an important factor.
Another Grundschule teacher elaborated on the role of home environment and family support as follows:
Some students are helped and encouraged at home. They have an easier time at school. Other students do not have contact with people who want to further the development of their mind. For them, the situation at school is always rather new. They need more time, and they only learn at school. So it is not just a matter of intelligence. It is one factor, but other factors blend with it.
Most Grundschule teachers also mentioned a group of secondary factors, which they felt contributed to differences in ability among children. The most frequently cited of these were concentration, willingness to learn, and effort.
In our discussions with Grundschule teachers about the range of ability differences they found in their classrooms, they often spoke of their efforts to reduce the range. One Grundschule teacher in particular stated, "The teaching staff tries not to have the differences between students grow too much. We adjust our teaching so that these differences can be avoided." This statement was consistent with other teachers' statements about how they try to foster all children and bring the weak children along with the rest of the class.
Secondary schools. Teachers at the Hauptschule and the Realschule also said that several factors contribute to a student's ability and level of performance in school. Like Grundschule teachers, both Hauptschule and Realschule teachers cited family support and innate intelligence as two of the most important factors. In addition, the amount of interest a student has in school, their level of interest in a particular subject, and their willingness to put forth effort were all cited as important contributors.
At the Gymnasium, teachers were more likely to speak of innate intelligence, the student's interest in the material, and their motivation to learn as factors, which play a large role in their level of ability and academic performance. The most academically able students attend Gymnasium, but teachers noted that those who were a little less talented but willing to work hard could also perform well in the Gymnasium and pass the Abitur. One Gymnasium teacher stated the following when asked what the most important reasons were for different levels of performance among the students at the Gymnasium:
First of all there are different preconditions in terms of inherent talent. Then there are different work styles. Some students are able to work in a concentrated way. A third point is the question of motivation. Students who have a certain amount of enthusiasm about the material have an easier time performing well.
Despite the fact that students must meet certain criteria for their performance to enroll in the Gymnasium or the Realschule, teachers and parents alike spoke of the increasing numbers of students being sent to these school forms against the recommendation of their teacher. This was generally said to add to the diversity in the range of performance at both of these school forms. In the former East German state, however, teachers and parents complained that because of the low reputation of the combined Haupt/ Realschule, far too many students who were suited to the Realschule track were enrolling in the Gymnasium instead, and that this was creating a greater range in the level of ability at the Gymnasium while reducing the range in the combined Haupt/Realschule.
Gymnasium teachers often pointed out that the weakest students would eventually transfer to a less demanding school form. As a result, while the early grades in the Gymnasium have great diversity in the students' levels of ability, the grades become somewhat more homogeneous as students who are unable to perform at the required level transfer to another school form. The percentage of students who transfer to a less demanding school form, such as the Realschule or combined Haupt/Realschule, varies among the states, however, with the more academically rigorous states in southern Germany having the largest percentage of students leaving the Gymnasium. One Gymnasium teacher noted that in the southern state in which he taught, approximately 60 percent of those students who began their studies in the Gymnasium would achieve the Abitur. The rest would either transfer to the Realschule or take a school-leaving exam at the end of the 10th grade of the Gymnasium.
When Realschule teachers were asked whether there were big differences in performance within their classes, teachers noted that this was indeed the case. They said that their school often encompassed the full range, because in addition to the former Gymnasium students and the typical Realschule students, they also had students whose abilities more closely matched the requirements of the Hauptschule. They also said that the differences in the level of the standards between the school forms meant that the former Gymnasium students were among the academically stronger students in their classes. This was confirmed by some of the transfer students with whom we spoke. They said that they found the classes at the Realschule easy and that in some cases they had already studied the material at the Gymnasium, which they were now covering in the Realschule.
Hauptschule teachers acknowledged that they had many weak students and said that some students who could not perform at the Hauptschule level were eventually transferred to a Sonderschule. On the other hand, teachers at the Hauptschulen pointed out that they had the highest percentage of foreign students and that the reason many of them were in the Hauptschule was that they did not have strong German language skills and were therefore unable to perform well in school. They also noted that they had students who were able to perform very well in some subjects.
Berufsschule. The Berufsschule is a part-time vocational secondary school in which students enroll following completion of the Hauptschule, Realschule, or Gymnasium. As a result, many Berufsschule teachers cited diversity in education background and age differences as factors influencing student performance at the Berufsschule. One teacher stated it this way:
It is certainly the case that some have better preparation than others, and those with better preparation have an easier time of it. And one can see that students with higher certificates work in a more concentrated way.
Intelligence was considered a primary factor in the ability to achieve at the Berufsschule, and this was often gauged by the student's school-leaving certificate from a secondary school. Other factors influencing performance at the Berufsschule mentioned by Berufsschule teachers included career motivation, parental support, and home environment.
In regard to the sources of differences of ability in children, one parent's response encapsulated most of the factors typically mentioned by most parents.
The intelligence of the children is one important factor. A second point would be how the teachers approach the children. That depends greatly on the size of the classes. The bigger the class the more problems children will have—especially the weaker ones. A third point would refer to how much the parents deal with the children at home and whether they are willing to work with their children on the class material.
The importance this parent placed on the role of the teacher was also cited by the other parents of Grundschule students. It was not cited as a factor at the other school forms.
Many of the Realschule and Gymnasium parents we spoke to said that they no longer were able to help their children with their schoolwork and that they expected their children to take responsibility for doing their homework on their own. Nevertheless, Realschule and Gymnasium parents saw the influence of the family and the family as a source of support as important factors in student performance. Over and over again, parents cited parental support as an important factor. One Realschule parent said, "I think it has a lot to do with parental support. . . .parents are often both working and I think that it is necessary for the parents to exert some pressure in order that the kids do something." Another stated:
There is the intellectual level, but this does not only have to do with talent. There are some kids who could do better, but who are not challenged to do their best because the parents are too busy working. The children must be encouraged.
Parents of Gymnasium students gave similar answers. Typical responses were very much like the one of this parent: "Students may have different aptitudes, but the different support for the student is far more essential."
Grundschule students were very much aware of differences in ability and spoke of them frankly. A comment made time and again by Grundschule students was that not everyone can be good in all subjects. They stated that most students are strong in some areas and weak in others and this was normal. In addition, Grundschule students we spoke to noted that some students are always attentive and participate and learn a lot while others are inattentive and disruptive. One astute Grundschule student noted that to do well in school "a student must be talented and able to learn material fast." In addition, "he/she should participate in class and not contradict or disturb the teacher." Talent, attentiveness, and participation were key factors that they saw as contributing to good performance.
Students often described the range of differences in ability in terms of grades. One student stated, "The grades on the exams reflect the level." The best students were those few students who consistently received the grades of 1 (A) and 2 (B). Most perceived the majority of their classmates as performing somewhere in the middle range. A Gymnasium student spoke of the distribution in his class by saying:
We have one student who always gets 1's and 2's, and we have some who are slightly below average—including me—and occasionally get 4's and 5's. We also have students who constantly get bad grades. And then there are of course those who are sometimes good and sometimes bad.
Most of the students we spoke with were not concerned with school pressure. We realize, of course, that the students we talked with were usually average or above average students, so their views on the pressure they felt may be somewhat atypical. They said that, although there was some pressure to perform well, it was not overwhelming. They recognized that standards and the pressure to perform at a high level varied by school form and behind that for the average student at each school form the pressure would not be too great if he or she paid attention in class, kept up with the school work, and were motivated to learn. However, they noted there was always more pressure for the weakest students and that students who were stressed by the demands of school (usually at the Gymnasium) would often transfer to a less demanding school form. Typically, students who were not weak in all subjects but had difficulty with a particular topic would seek extra help from the teacher or hire a tutor.
Although students at the Realschule and the Gymnasium recognized that placement in these schools required a certain amount of intelligence, they also noted that most people would not be good in all subjects and that additional factors such as effort and motivation contributed to differences in performance. For example, one Realschule student spoke of "laziness, lack of interest, and lack of intelligence" as reasons why some students do not learn. A student at the Gesamtschule said, "Those that do not want to learn and do not like to go to school or do not put in any effort will always stay in Grundkursen" (the lowest-level-of-ability class within the three-tiered class system at the Gesamtschule). At the Gymnasium, a student stated that:
First of all there is the difference in innate intelligence. Then there is the amount of effort one puts in. It may be the case that students who are not so intelligent are able to pass without a problem. They have to work a lot, but this happens too.
In addition to stressing that intelligence and effort were important, several of the students we spoke to also referred to home environment and a lack of support at school as important influences on performance.
Overall, there was a great deal of consensus among parents, teachers, and students regarding influences on a student's level of ability and performance in school. Respondents at all of the school forms cited innate intelligence and family support as the key influences. Home environment, effort, motivation, and a willingness to learn were also considered important influences for students at all school forms.
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[Chapter 3 (Part 3 of 5)]