A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

The Educational Structure of the German School System

William C. Foraker

The German system of education adheres to the structures developed in the West (Western Germany) since 1948. The 1990 unification contract between the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) and the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) requires that the unified Germany maintain a coherent system of education (Vertrag zwischen der Bundesrepublik Deutschland und der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik [Unification Treaty] 1990). To realize such coherence, the former East German regional states (Länder) agreed to emulate the West's system by mid-1991 and have consequently displaced their traditionally centralized education system. This chapter focuses on the federal model of education developed in the West and currently in use throughout the unified Federal Republic of Germany.

Most Germans are educated within the public system of education (Führ 1989). The public system is divided into three general levels: elementary, secondary, and higher education. There is also a public system of special schools for students with disabilities. Although private educational institutions exist in Germany, they play only a supporting role. Private education makes its most important contribution in the areas of preschool and continuing education. While the public systems of higher and special education and the private systems of preschool and continuing education are important and will be briefly addressed, this essay emphasizes the public systems of elementary and secondary education. Before entering into a detailed depiction of these two domains, it will be helpful both to summarize key points from each of the different educational domains and to consider the larger political structure of public education as a whole.

The following discussion includes a summary overview of the different educational domains, an overview of the organization and administration of German public education, and a more detailed look at the structure of elementary and secondary public education.

Summary Overview of Educational Domains

Seen from the perspective of the individual student, German education entails a well-defined sequence of educational domains: preschool education, elementary education, lower- and upper-level secondary education, higher education, and continuing education (Sekretariat der Ständigen Konferenz der Kultusminister der Länder in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland [KMK] 1993a). The following includes a summary of the educational mandate and highlights for each domain, which provide a general overview of the system as a whole. Quantitative figures and trends follow.

Educational Mandate

German mandatory schooling begins at the age of 6 and usually lasts 12 years. Of these 12 years of schooling, at least 9 must be full-time. Students who discontinue their full-time schooling after their ninth year in school are required to attend a 3-year program of part-time vocational study. Some Länder require 10 years of full-time, mandatory schooling, thus bringing the total years of mandatory schooling up to 13 for those students participating in the 3-year program of part-time vocational training. The specific guidelines governing the educational mandate vary among the regional states within Germany (KMK 1993a).

Preschool Education

Schooling in Germany becomes mandatory for children after their sixth birthday. Prior to this age, schooling is voluntary and is not generally a part of the public system of education. Nevertheless, roughly 75 percent of 3-year-olds and 80 percent of 5-year-olds receive some form of preschool education, which has a long history and is widely available in Germany (Führ 1989).

German preschooling seeks to complement the training and upbringing provided by the family and emphasizes both the acquisition of knowledge and social and emotional development. The aim is to stimulate children's social learning, responsibility, and creativity through various activities, including arts, sports, and play.

There are four types of preschools in Germany:

• Kindergartens (Kindergärten) are the traditional form and by far the most common. In 1992, roughly 1.5 million kindergarten places were available; at the same time, there were approximately three million 3- to 6-year-olds in the population (Bundesministerium für Bildung und Wissenchaft [BMBW] 1993).

• School kindergarten (Schulkindergärten) places are less numerous (39,363 in 1991) (Ständige Konferenz der Kultusminister der Länder in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland [KMK] 1993b) and are geared to children who have reached their sixth birthday but who lack the maturity to begin mandatory schooling. School kindergartens are usually organizationally integrated into the elementary school and seek to develop in children the preconditions for later success in school.

• Preclasses (Vorklassen), like school kindergartens, are organizationally tied to the elementary school. They are, however, geared to 5-year-olds and seek to ease the children's transition to elementary schooling. Only a few Länder support preclasses, which in 1991 had an enrollment of 37,391 students (KMK 1993b).

• Special kindergartens (Sonderkindergärten) are provided for children with physical, mental, and emotional handicaps and are specialized according to type of disability.

Preschool education is largely supported by the private sector. Roughly 70 percent of kindergartens are operated by either individuals or independent organizations such as charities or companies active in child and youth assistance. Thirty percent are operated by government bodies, mostly at the local level. Both publicly and privately operated kindergartens are subject to legal guidelines and government oversight. Although private kindergartens often receive small government subsidies, both public and private kindergartens charge tuition, which varies considerably from state to state and can sometimes be quite substantial. The government provides tuition subsidies to families with low incomes (KMK 1993a).

Elementary Education

Elementary education encompasses the first through fourth years of mandatory education (ages 6 through 9) (Führ 1989). During these 4 years, children attend a common school (Grundschule) in the school district in which they live. School district boundaries are set by the local government agency responsible for elementary education (Schulamt).

In order to foster equality of educational opportunity, there is no tracking at the elementary level. Instruction aims to foster students' individual talents, build the basis for independent learning and community living, and impart basic knowledge and skills. Emphasis is placed on linking school material and extracurricular experiences.

Elementary education has been the focus of reform efforts in Germany. Educational reform in the 1970s led to the introduction of a more academically based curriculum, including basic science courses and an emphasis on experientially based learning. Current reform discussions focus on problems posed by a greater integration of children with special needs and a rising percentage of foreign students in elementary schools (Führ 1989).

Secondary Education

The German system becomes somewhat complicated at the level of secondary education. Secondary schooling is divided into two levels:

• Lower level secondary schooling (Unterstufe) encompasses the first 5 or 6 years of secondary education.

• Upper level secondary schooling (Oberstufe) encompasses the last 3 years of mandatory education.

Lower Level Secondary Education

Lower level secondary schooling begins for most students at age 10, and ends when they reach age 15 or 16?at the completion of 9 or 10 years of general mandatory full-time schooling. (The number of years of schooling required varies by school type and Länder.) In general, academically oriented lower level secondary schools include the 10th year of schooling.

Types of school. While all schools at this level seek to impart to students a general, basic education, they vary according to the degree of emphasis placed on scholastic achievement. There are basically four types of lower level secondary schools:

• Hauptschule (school for practical education);

• Realschule (school for a mix of practical and liberal education, with the latter being given greater emphasis than the former);

• Gymnasium (school for liberal education); and

• Gesamtschule (comprehensive school offering practical, liberal, and practical liberal education).

The first three types reflect the traditional system of tracking in German education (Führ 1989, KMK 1993a). The Hauptschule emphasizes a practical, skill-based, nonacademic education for those children who show less promise in the academic sphere. Gymnasium is dedicated to a liberal, theory-oriented education for children with more academic promise. Traditionally, there have been three types of Gymnasium: classical, modern languages, and mathematics/natural sciences. The Realschule is a compromise between the Hauptschule and the Gymnasium, and offers a mix of practical (skill-based) and liberal (theoretical) instruction. Taken together, the Hauptschule, Realschule, and Gymnasium form a traditional system of educational tracking in which assessments of the child's performance in the first 4 years of mandatory schooling provide a basis for initial placement within a hierarchy of the school types.

The fourth type of school, the Gesamtschule, offers an alternative to the traditional system of tracking. In the comprehensive school, students of all academic interests?from the practical to the theoretical?are included under one roof. The Gesamtschule may be either cooperative or integrated. The cooperative Gesamtschule retains the traditional hierarchical structure by incorporating different tracks within a single school. This structure allows for differing abilities while providing for greater mobility across tracks. The integrated Gesamtschule does away with tracks altogether, combining students of differing abilities within integrated classes. Students in these schools attend common classes in the fifth and sixth years, and thereafter differentiate into honors courses depending upon their performance.

Table 1 depicts the numbers and rough percentages of students attending Hauptschule, Realschule, Gymnasium, and Gesamtschule at the lower level in 1991 (KMK 1993b).

Table 1—Numbers and percentages of students attending different lower level types of secondary schools, 1991

aIncludes only integrated Gesamtschulen.

More recently, three additional types of school have been introduced—the Mittelschule, the Regelschule, and the Sekundarschule—in which the activities of the Hauptschule and the Realschule are combined. These schools exist more typically in the former East German states and represent a transition from the previous East German school system to the educational structures of the West.

The Bavarian peoples' school (Volksschule) is another infrequent variant in which the Grundschule and the Hauptschule are organizationally integrated.

The orientation period. The first 2 years of lower level secondary education, the fifth and sixth school years (ages 10 and 11), are sometimes considered an orientation or trial period (Orientierungsstufe) in which the match between the student and the assigned school type is assessed. The organization of this trial period varies both between and within the Länder, and may be either independent of or dependent on the type of school involved. The orientation period is dependent when the fifth and sixth grades are organizationally integrated into the different types of school, and independent when they are organizationally separate. The orientation period allows the postponement of the final decision about the student's placement in a particular type of school until the end of the sixth school year, when the student is 12 or 13 years old. Both the timing of and the procedure for making this decision vary across Länder. Increasingly, the parents' preferences are taken into account in making this decision.

Completing lower level secondary education. Both the Hauptschule and the Realschule confer school-leaving certificates at the end of lower level secondary education?the Hauptschule after the 9th year and the Realschule after the 10th year of full-time education. Neither type of school includes an upper level; therefore, students who want to qualify for university entrance must transfer to a Gymnasium or Gesamtschule, both of which have grades 11 through 13. Students attending a Gymnasium or a Gesamtschule may opt to end their full-time liberal studies at the end of lower level secondary schooling (in which case they receive either a Hauptschule or Realschule diploma), but have the option to continue on within the same school. All students, whether they continue their full-time studies or not, receive a Hauptschule certification at the end of their 9th (and in some Länder, their 10th) year of full-time study.

Upper level secondary schooling. Upper level secondary schooling (Oberstufe) refers to the last 3 years of secondary schooling (years 10-12, or alternatively 11-13) and takes various forms. At this level of secondary education, the distinction between practical, skill-based education and liberal, theory-based education becomes even more distinct.

Structure. Liberal education is provided in the upper level of both the Gymnasium and the Gesamtschule and concludes with a university qualifying examination (Abitur). The Gymnasium is by far the most common institution for upper level secondary liberal education, accounting in 1991 for 89 percent of students pursuing liberal education at the upper secondary level (KMK 1993a).

Practical education is provided through two systems of vocational training. The first system requires full-time schooling and encompasses a heterogeneous collection of full-time vocational schools. Included in this system are the regular full-time vocational school (Berufsfachschule), the vocational extension school (Berufsaufbauschule), the technical upper level secondary school (Fachoberschule), the vocational Gymnasium (berufliches Gymnasium, or Fachgymnasium), and the technical school (Fachschule).

The second system of vocational training requires part-time classroom instruction at a part-time vocational school (Berufsschule) in combination with practical work experience. This arrangement is known as the dual system of vocational training, and entails a close collaboration between state and industry in the development of workers with specialized skills. The organizational form of the Berufsschule depends on the economic structure and the density of the population in the area served. In large cities, these schools specialize by trade; in the Länder, the schools provide five main vocational courses: industry, commerce, home economics, agriculture, and mixed courses. Lessons at the Berufsschule are coordinated with inhouse training provided by the firms where students work. Berufsschule lessons are often offered in blocks extending several weeks that alternate with periods in which students receive only inhouse training. Alternating patterns based on a shorter, weekly schedule are also common (KMK 1993a, Führ 1989).

Enrollment. Admission to particular forms of upper level secondary education depends on the kind of school-leaving certificate a student acquires at the end of lower level secondary education. Students who opt to stay in the Gymnasium and Gesamtschule continue their studies in liberal education within the same school and receive a school-leaving certificate only after completing the upper level secondary education at the end of their 12^th or 13^th year of schooling. Students leaving the Realschule, or receiving a Realschule certificate after having attended either Gymnasium or Gesamtschule, generally pursue some type of full-time vocational training. Students leaving the Hauptschule generally pursue a practical education through the dual system of vocational training.

Practical education, with its two systems of vocational training, accounts for much of the educational activity at the upper secondary level, as indicated in Table 2 (KMK, 1993a; Führ, 1989).

Table 2—Number and percentage of students attending liberal versus vocational upper level secondary institutions

a Because of rounding, detail may not add up to totals.

Students pursuing full- and part-time vocational education accounted in 1991 for 78 percent of total upper level secondary students. Part-time vocational education accounted for 79 percent of all vocational education.

At the end of upper level secondary education. Upon the successful completion of upper level secondary schooling, the student receives a school-leaving certificate. In Germany, school-leaving certifications are distinguished by the type of institution or profession to which the certification grants entry. At the end of upper level secondary education, the school-leaving certification qualifies the student either for higher education or for entry into a profession, or in some cases for both. (The vocational Gymnasium is a recent development in which students may acquire a dual professional and academic qualification after 4 years of upper level secondary schooling.)

Recent organizational modifications have led increasingly to a partial decoupling of the type of school attended and the student's subsequent educational career, particularly for the Realschule certification (KMK 1993a). For the vast majority of students, however, the type of certification received at the end of secondary schooling depends on the type of school they attend. Students leaving the upper levels of the Gymnasium and the Gesamtschule obtain certification for admission to any form of higher education, including the university. Those leaving upper level full-time trade and vocational schools receive a Fachhochschulreife), a certificate that declares them eligible for further education at polytechnical institutes but not at the university. Those participating in the dual system of vocational training obtain a final certification that qualifies them for entry into a profession and for admission into full-time vocational schools at the upper secondary level (the equivalent of a Realschule leaving certificate), but usually end their formal studies within the public system of education (Führ 1989, KMK 1993a).

Alternative Paths to Higher Education

In the 1950s and 1960s, an alternative path for gaining admission to higher education was developed to counter the social selection entailed in the Gymnasium. These include evening classes at the level of Realschule and Gymnasium, full-time enrollment in Kollegs, daytime schools, and a variety of forms of admission to polytechnics and universities by way of vocational training (Führ 1989).

Higher Education

Germany has a long tradition of higher education, and several German universities are among the oldest in Europe. Since 1948, the domain of higher education in Germany has undergone a dramatic expansion and transformation. As of 1991, there were 315 state-run or state-recognized institutions of higher, postsecondary education. They included various types of universities (regular universities; technical high schools and technical universities; combined universities and high schools; high schools with singular university courses of study, including theology, philosophy, medicine, and athletics; and teaching high schools), as well as academies of art and music, and technical and administrative high schools (Führ 1989).

Admission to these schools is open to any student possessing the requisite certificate. In some academic disciplines, admission is regulated centrally by the Central Office for the Distribution of Places of Study (Zentralstelle für die Vergabe von Studienplätzen). In addition, higher education in Germany includes some special institutions with closed admissions, including institutions of higher education (Hochschulen) run by the military and by the German postal service.

Continuing Education

The domain of continuing education is a complex combination of public and private profit and nonprofit organizations which has developed largely independent of governmental involvement. Organized in response to market forces, it encompasses general, professional, and social-political education.

Alternative Forms of Schooling

Although the general system of public education accounts for the bulk of educational activity in Germany, both private education and the public system of special education play important roles.

Private Education

There is no public monopoly on schooling in Germany; consequently, private schools are a notable presence not only in preschool and continuing education but at the elementary and secondary levels. Although private, these schools are subject to governmental oversight and must maintain standards equivalent to those of the state schools. State-recognized private schools award the same qualifications as their public counterparts and are generally not considered elite schools, either in terms of their educational support or of the students who attend them. Most private schools are church maintained, with Catholic schools accounting for more than half of all private schooling, although Waldorf schools (Freie Waldorfschulen) and private boarding schools (Landeserziehungsheime) have developed sizable constituencies (Führ 1989).

Special Education

Germany maintains an extensive system of special education for students with physical, mental, and emotional handicaps. This system seeks to provide children with disabilities with the education necessary for integration into broader society. Schools specializing by type of handicap (for example, learning disabilities, blindness, deafness, partial blindness, emotional disturbance, and mental retardation) provide expert care. Increasingly, integration has been viewed not only as a goal but as a means of bringing special education within the domain of the general public schools by teaching children with disabilities alongside other children. Special schools still play an important role, but they have been augmented by alternatives, including preventative education measures that seek to avoid the development of problems in the first place, special classes within the regular schools, and cooperative activities between special and regular schools (Führ 1989).

Continued

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[The Educational Structure of the German School System - Part 2]