University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses

West German Education In Transition

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West German Education In Transition

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Content This dissertation has been
m icrotilm sd exactly as received 67-17,667
ASSMANN, Ingeborg, 1927-
WEST GERMAN EDUCATION IN TRANSITION.
University of Southern California, Ph.D., 1967
Education, history
U niversity Microfilms, Inc., A nn Arbor, M ichigan
WEST GERMAN EDUCATION
IN TRANSITION
by
Ingeborg Assmann
A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
(Education)
June 1967
UNIVERSITY O F S O U T H E R N CALIFORNIA
T H E G R A D U A T E S C H O O L
U N IV E R SIT Y PARK
L O S A N G E L E S , C A L IF O R N IA 9 0 0 0 7
This dissertation, written by
............. .Inge.bQj:&.AsAn)3va.............
under the direction of h§X....Dissertation C om
mittee, and approved by all its members, has
been presented to and accepted by the Graduate
School, in partial fulfillment of requirements
for the degree of
D O C T O R O F P H I L O S O P H Y
Dean
Date..J.unea.. 1 9 . 6 . 7 . .
DISSERTATION COMMITTEE
TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF
Chapter
I .
II.
Ill.
Page
TABLES ....................................... v
INTRODUCTION ................................. 1
The Problem and Its Significance
Statement of the Problem
Purpose of the Investigation
Importance of the Study
Assumptions
Delimitations of the Study
The Procedure
Presentation of the Data
THE COUNTRY AND ITS P E O P L E................. 13
Historical Background
The Political Structure
The Administrative System
The Fiscal System
The West German Economy
Summary
ADMINISTRATION, CONTROL AND FINANCE
OF EDUCATION............................... 30
The Role of the States in Education
The Standing Conference of the Ministers
for Cultural Affairs
School Finance
The Role of the Federal Government in
Education
Summary
Chapter Page
IV. THE STRUCTURE OF GERMAN EDUCATION . 46
The Historical Background
The Volksschule
The Realschule
The Gymnasium
The Vocational Schools
Summary
V. THE TEACHING PROFESSION....................... 126
Historical Development
The Present Education of Teachers
The Social Status and Pay of Teachers
Summary
VI. THE PROCESS OF CHANGE......................... 153
The First Reform Scheme on the Reorgani
zation of the German School System:
The Rahmenplan
Attitudes toward Education, an Intangible
Force in Educational Planning
Educational Policy in Political Context
Summary
VIII. FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDA-
VII. CURRENT ISSUES IN WEST GERMAN
EDUCATION .................. 192
The Untapped Talent Reserve
The Second Path to Education
The Problem of Teacher Shortage
Summary
TIONS 243
The Problem and Procedure
Findings
Recommendations
Page
GLOSSARY............................................. 260
BIBLIOGRAPHY......................................... 272
LIST OF TABLES
Table Page
1. Comparison of Amounts Spent for Education
in Various Countries ......................... 41
2. Enrollment in West German Schools:
Past and Predicted........................... 79
3. School Leavers at Different Stages:
General Education ........................... 84
4. Number of Teaching Periods per Subject:
Humanistic Gymnasium ......................... 87
5. Number of Teaching Periods per Subject:
Modern Language Gymnasium .................. 88
6. Number of Teaching Periods per Subject:
Mathematics-Natural Science Gymnasium . . . 90
7. Curriculum of a One-Year Hohere
Handelsschule ................................ 118
8. Range of Teachers' Salaries in Public
S c h o o l s ...................................... 144
9. Predicted Shortage of Teachers for 1970
(Elementary Schools Only) .................. 233
v
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
The . . Problem . and.. .Its., Sign! ficahce
New demands of a shrinking world are of particular
concern to educators of all nations. Fast-moving develop
ments in scientific, cultural and economic areas are causing
the people of Germany— as elsewhere— to re-examine their
educational philosophy.
School reform, the adjustment of the formal educa
tional system to the changing needs of the society, is
dependent upon national characteristics, philosophies of
education and socioeconomic conditions of a country. By its
very nature the school resists change and is subject to
"cultural lag" (W. F. Ogburn). In addition, educational
reforms are difficult and complex. Some problems might be
unique to the Federal Republic of Germany; others might
occupy other nations as well, such as the balance between
generalized and special education, or the dilemma of trying
1
2
to preserve the quality of elite education while expanding
the quantity of educational opportunities.
A foreign observer might be led to believe that
Germany, after 1945, had a unique opportunity to build up an
entirely modern educational system meeting the needs and
demands of present-day society, schools supplying each in
dividual with an opportunity to develop all his faculties
and simultaneously educating him to fulfill his functions in
the community; a system in which the latest achievements of
research in education and in individual and social psychol
ogy were applied by means of the most effective modern
methods of education and instruction. Such an observer,
surveying the German schools as they are now, might feel
that Germany missed an excellent chance to have the most
perfect educational system of our time.
In 1945 Germany faced the catastrophe of a complete
ly defeated nation. Schools were reopened under most un
favorable conditions. Textbook material contained Nazi
ideals, teachers were lacking and children were under
nourished and apathetic .
The nearly impossible task of making up the intel
lectual and material deficiencies left by the war fully
occupied the nation . Germany first concentrated on the
economic and political reconstruction and on a normalization
of life. In the middle 1950's, when the political and
economic situation appeared to look much better, many Ger
mans felt that there was a pressing need for a thorough
reconstruction of public education. They realized that too
little attention had been given to education during this
period of political and economic reconstruction. Germany
had established a so-called "economic miracle" (Wirtschafts-
wunder) but no sweeping reform of education as well. The
traditional patterns, the three-track system, were so deeply
rooted again in the mind of the average citizen that it was
hard to carry reforms through; nevertheless, a slow and
painful process of introducing educational innovations
began. The German public, however, was reluctant to accept
the need for reforms. Since the sixties, the ever-popular
debate on education became unusually vigorous. The needs of
an expanding society and an observation of modern reforms
abroad forced the German people to recognize that the
present state of education did not meet the needs of present
and future generations. The deep sense of urgency became an
overtone in all discussions on education. The cry for new
educational goals grew constantly louder. Never was the
educationist's message so clear and urgent. "The crisis in
education," a newly-adopted slogan, was making the head
lines everywhere.
On entering office in 1965 the Federal Chancellor
Ludwig Erhard said "the German people must be aware that
education and research possess the same significance for our
nation as the social problem of the nineteenth century," and
he was supplemented by the Socialist Democratic Party, which
stated that "the reform of educational policy is the most
important joint task facing our nation." This study pro
ceeds from these two statements and endeavors to determine
the efforts of a whole nation to live up to these goals.
Thus, an objective analysis of the process of educational
changes in the Federal Republic is its main objective.
Statement of the Problem
The purpose of this study was to analyze the process
of educational changes in the Federal Republic and to iden
tify the measures initiated to improve the development of
education.
Purpose of the Investigation
The purpose of this investigation was threefold:
1. To examine the present status of education in
the Federal Republic of Germany.
5
2. To gain an understanding of problems and issues
affecting education in West Germany.
3. To identify the process of educational changes
in the Federal Republic of Germany.
More specifically, the study was set up to answer
the following questions:
1. What are the social, economic, cultural and
political conditions that have a bearing upon education in
the Federal Republic of Germany?
2. What is the present status of education in the
Federal Republic?
3. How does educational planning provide for the
development of the German educational system?
4. What is being done to bring education to bear on
the problems of modern life in a changing society?
5. What is being done to meet the increasing de
mands for qualified persons in an industrial society?
6. What political and socioeconomic factors deter
mined educational changes in the Federal Republic of Ger
many?
7. What are the proposals for structural changes in
the educational system?
8. Does the diversity of various educational
systems in the Federal Republic create problems?
9. Is there an influence of educational agencies,
political parties or pressure groups on education?
10. What are today's most pressing issues and prob
lems in education?
Importance of the Study
The importance of this study can be classified in
three major areas:
1. Since the close of World War II, there has been
a growing interest in the field of comparative education
because of an awareness that the study and comparison of
educational theories and practices in different countries
can lead to a better understanding of the processes of
education in general. It is hoped that this study can make
such a contribution.
2. The analysis of trends, reforms and current
educational planning has not kept pace with many other
phases that have occupied educational researchers. Studies
of education in Germany usually have stressed the history of
educational thought, their implications for American educa
tion, the postwar American influence on German education and
the development of educational institutions, and a careful
7
investigation of the professional literature indicates no
comprehensive, up-to-date study analyzing the process of
educational changes and surveying the problems affecting
education in the Federal Republic of Germany. There seems
to be a need for a comprehensive and documented study—
available in the English language— to fill this obvious gap.
3. New techniques of labor, the economic develop
ment, and new sociopolitical ideas have necessarily had an
impact upon the school system of the nation; and Germany is
making strong attempts to reorganize its school system, to
redefine its educational goals and to reexamine its educa
tional institutions. It can be concluded with great cer
tainty that in this phase of transition the basic founda
tions of new educational thinking are becoming visible in
educational planning, reform plans, governmental decrees
and public discussions. The information being supplied in
this study, therefore, seems of value to the educator in his
search for understanding of the new educational dimensions
in the Federal Republic of Germany.
Assumptions
This study makes the following assumptions:
Education is the transmitter and preserver of a
8
cultural heritage; it is an instrument for transforming
culture and it serves as a means for the development of the
individual.
Education is the collective noun for every type of
planned influence on the growing individual in order to
develop body, mind, and soul.
Each individual carries his value and dignity within
himself. He has the inalienable right to develop his
physical, mental, and spiritual abilities.
Each individual must be educated towards liberty,
for without liberty there is no human dignity.
The ultimate goal of education is man himself, and
education should help him to be fit for life.
The study further rests on the assumption that a
democracy cannot function without an informed electorate,
hence the modern society needs the educated person.
The study further rests on the assumption that a
goal in education must be to ensure the maximum development
of an individual's potential and that it is the responsi
bility of the state to provide for equality of opportunity
for every citizen, thus providing a school that meets the
needs of everybody.
9
Delimitations of the Study
1. The study beings with the year 1945 and con
cludes with the year 1966. Thus, in point of time, this
study was concerned with a period of twenty years following
the end of World War II.
2. While the immediate concern of this study was
the search for changing educational dimensions in West
Germany, called for by contemporary developments, earlier
periods of education were only examined when necessary for
the understanding of current educational developments.
3. As to location, the study centered its interests
on the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany) as opposed
to the Democratic Republic of Germany (East Germany).
4. The study was kept within the limits of public
education, thus excluding the realm of higher education and
private schools.
5. The investigation has been limited to the
analysis and identification of the most important educa
tional problems and developments in the Federal Republic,
rather than a survey of each individual state.
The Procedure
1. The descriptive method was used in this study
10
because of its advantages in isolating, defining, and
analyzing issues and problems and in arriving at construc
tive recommendations.
2. Primary and secondary sources were used to
identify the purposes and distinct features of German edu
cation. Wherever possible, the former was given precedence.
3. Visits to West German schools, universities,
research institutions, libraries, professional organiza
tions; personal interviews with recognized authorities in
the field of education, numerous discussions with teachers
and administrators, and several years of direct observation
as a teacher in the West German school system helped to
provide orientation to the problem.
4. A survey of Federal and Lander government laws,
decrees, research studies, proceedings of professional
associations, governmental reports and statistics as well
as the publications of the Documentation and Information
Center, Bonn, provided helpful information.
5. A systematic perusal of German newspapers,
periodicals and professional papers to keep informed on
developmental trends became part of the total research
effort.
Presentation of the Data
The study was divided into eight chapters. Chapter
I serves as introduction, stating the problem, the purpose
of the investigation, the assumptions, the importance of the
study, its delimitations and the procedure followed.
Chapter II is devoted to a brief account of the
history of the Federal Republic of Germany, its form of
government and the social and economic conditions of the
country.
Chapter III describes the administration of the
educational system, including personnel and curriculum con
trol, financing and legislation.
Chapter IV describes the educational system and
current status of education in the Federal Republic. This
historical and present account was intended to provide a
setting for a comprehensive analysis of current problems
(Chapters VI and VII).
Chapter V gives a resume of the development and
present status of the teaching professions. Since the
teacher is seen as an integral part of the total educational
enterprise, a thorough consideration seemed appropriate.
Chapter VI deals with major issues of educational
development in socioeconomic, cultural, and political
12
context. Special stress is laid on unique features in the
evolution of change.
Chapter VII considers in greater detail some basic
problems and issues which confront education in West Germany
today.
Chapter VIII contains the summary of the study,
findings, conclusions and recommendations.
Graphic representation of data was made only when
the nature of the material warranted its inclusion. A
bibliography and an appendix containing the definition of
terms used complete this investigation.
f
CHAPTER II
THE COUNTRY AND ITS PEOPLE
Before entering upon a detailed analysis of the
educational system in Germany, one step must be taken— that
is, to place the German system of education in its natural
setting.
One cannot understand the present struggle for
education without some understanding of the land, its peo
ple, and its economy. This involves a brief description of
the physical configuration and location of the country, its
political and administrative units, and its social, eco
nomic, and historical background.
Historical Background
Historically, Germany is the name given to the
territory of the German-speaking Teutonic tribes: Lower
Saxons, Frisians, Franks, Thuringians, Alemanni (Swabians),
and Bavarians. Politically, these were united from 800 to
13
14
1806 in one State (Reich). During the Middle Ages, the
"Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation" established peace
and order among the various Central European peoples. The
Reformation after 1520 was one of the most momentous events
of the Renaissance. Since that time, Germany has been
divided from the standpoint of religious belief. The
Thirty Years' War (1618-1648) was, in spite of untold havoc,
unable to overcome the religious schism. The eighteenth
century saw the growth of Brandenburg-Prussia to a great
power and a golden age of the spirit connected with men
like Immanuel Kant, Johann Sebastian Bach, Johann Wolfgang
von Goethe and Friedrich von Schiller.
In 1806, the Empire fell to pieces under the on
slaught of the French Emperor Napoleon. From 1815 to 1870
the North German Federation formed a loose association of
German States. They reunited in 1871 as one realm, with
the King of Prussia as head of the state.
The New German Empire, whose first Chancellor was
Otto von Bismarck, led the German people from 1871-1914 to
great economic heights, especially in the field of indus
trial production. Scientific, technical, and cultural
achievements brought high esteem for Germany throughout the
world, and it was the first country to introduce model
15
social legislation, which has operated since 1881.
In 1918, after the first World War, Germany became
a republic, with substantial territorial losses. The world
economic crisis following 1929 aggravated the structural
weakness of the Weimar Republic. After World War J[, the
German Reich lost 27,000 square miles of its European
territory. The national frontiers were determined by the
treaty of Versailles.
In 1933, Adolf Hitler, as the leader of the strong
est political party, became Reich Chancellor. In a short
time, he eliminated the democratic institutions of the
Reich and turned the republic into a horrible despotism.
In 1939 National Socialist policies unleashed the Second
World War, which ended in 1945 with the total military de
feat of Germany. Germany's frontiers as they then existed
were recognized internationally and could be altered only
by a treaty, freely negotiated. The partitioning of German
territory in 1945 is therefore— as the Potsdam Declaration
of the victorious Powers states— subject to a final ruling
in a peace treaty. The conclusion of such a treaty is not
yet in sight. The reunion in freedom and through peaceful
means is the aim of all Germans and the foremost task of
the government.
16
The Political Structure
In 1945, the Occupation Powers set up in Germany an
administrative apparatus which, centrally controlled,
reached down to the remotest village. German public life
was in such a state of shock that it was some time before it
was possible to develop organs composed entirely of Germans
exercising administrative authority and governmental ac
tivity .
In all Zones the reconstitution of the administra
tive structure and the establishment of a State system
framed according to democratic principles proceeded step by
step from below upwards, following the directions of the
Military Governments and proportionate to the German popu
lation's limited opportunities for cooperation. However,
the Military Governments in the various Zones of Occupation
approached the task in widely differing fashions as regards
both pace and the method adopted.
In the phase of consolidating conditions in regard
to the Federal Republic both within and without, the Basic
Law of 1949 has wholly stood the test. Conceived as only a
provisional measure to be superseded by a Constitution for
17
the whole of Germany,^ it has meanwhile come to represent
the full Constitution of the free part of the German Reich
during the transitional period. Naturally, it has been
supplemented and amended by a number of provisions.
The Basic Law represents an example of a modern
democratic constitution. As the constitution of a repub
lican and democratic state based on the rule of law, it
resumes the tradition of both the German Constitution that
was read in the Paulskirche in Frankfurt during the 1848-
1849 revolution and the Weimar Reich Constitution of 1919.
However, the Parliamentary Council was concerned to avoid
the mistakes of the past as far as possible. The particular
emphasis laid on the federative arrangements betokens a
repudiation of unitarism and centralism. At the same time
it signifies a further division of power within the State
going beyond the traditional. Since, however, in many cases
the interests of the Occupation Powers were decisive when
the Lander were first formed in the years 1945 to 1947,
provision is made in the Basic Law for any subsequent re-
2
organization of Federal territory.
^he Constitution of the Federal Republic (estab
lished May, 1945), Preamble and Article 146.
2Ibid., Article 29.
18
In the Bundesrat the Lander possess a constitutional
organ through which they cooperate in the legislation and
administration of the Bund.5 The Bundestag and Bundesrat
constitute a two-chamber system. The Bundestag is elected
for a four-year term. Even if, as the directly elected
4
representative of the whole people, it ranks above all
other constitutional organs, its power is curtailed to a
certain extent by reason of the strong position that has
been allotted to the Federal Chancellor as Head of Govern
ment. The Federal Chancellor is elected by the Bundestag
by a majority vote. He can be recalled only by what is
called a "constructive" vote of no confidence— that is, by
the election of a new Federal Chancellor.5 The Federal
President is elected for a five-year term of office by the
Federal Convention, which consists of the members of the
Bundestag and an equal number of members elected for the
purpose by the Land Parliaments. He is the Head of State.
In the main his position is of a representative nature.
The most important institution in the Republic is
the Bundestag (Chamber of Deputies), which is elected by
3Ibid.. Article 50. ^Ibid ^ Article 38.
, Articles 63 and 67.
19
the people under a system of general, direct, free, equal
and secret elections held every four years. It passes
legislation and also exercises supervision over the execu
tive. Both the Federal Government and the Federal Adminis
tration are subject to its rulings.
The Bundesrat was established to represent the
Lander (States). Its general function is to ensure their
cooperation in legislation and administration of the Repub
lic; to this extent, it is a second chamber. Federal laws
of specific consequence to the Lander require the express
approval of the Bundesrat.
The Administrative System
As its name indicates, the Federal Republic of
Germany is a federative state. Even the Preamble to the
Basic Law expressly emphasizes that "the German people in
the Lander Baden, Bavaria, Bremen, Hamburg, Hesse, Lower
Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate,
Schleswig-Holstein, Wurttemberg-Baden and Wurttemberg-
g
Hohenzollern" have enacted this Constitution. In Article
23, which defines the territory in which the Basic Law
applies, the aforementioned Lander are again listed— with
^Ibid.. Preamble.
20
here, in addition, West Berlin.
In regard to the Land West Berlin, a reservation
made by the Three Powers still exists. Berlin may not be
governed through the Bund. But from the political law point
of view, Berlin is a Land of the Federal Republic. This the
7
Federal Constitutional Court has also acknowledged.
The Federal Republic's Basic Law takes into account
the federative structure institutionally in that, side by
side with the Bundestag as the direct representative organ
of the people, with the Federal President as Head of State,
and with the Federal Government headed by the Federal
Chancellor, it has created the Bundesrat. This consists of
members of the Lander Governments. The Lander have three,
four, or five votes according to the number of their in
habitants. In a certain sense, the Bundesrat can be called
a "second chamber," such as is found in all Federal States.
However, an essential difference exists in the fact that the
members of the Bundesrat do not have the same personal right
of decision as, for example, the members of the United
States Senate, who moreover are not delegated but are
elected in the respective States.
^Thus the Federal Republic consists of eleven
Lander.
21
Since the Federal laws are on principle executed by
g
the Lander as matters of their own concern, the position
of the Lander in the Executive is particularly strong. To
protect their constitutional authority, the Lander, as the
Bundesrat too when it feels its competencies have been in
fringed, can make application to the Federal Constitutional
9
Court.
The Federal Government includes a special Ministry
for Bundesrat and Lander Affairs. This has the task of
instructing the Bundesrat and the Lander on the work and
intentions of the Federal Government and, vice versa, of
conveying the wishes and ideas of the Bundesrat and the
Lander to the Federal Cabinet.
The Fiscal System
The taxation strength of the Lander is based on
Articles 106 and 107 of the Basic Law. These state that
the whole of the yield from the property tax, the inheri
tance tax, and the motor vehicle tax accrue to the Lander.
The yield from the taxes on real estate and businesses
(the Realsteuern), in particular the tax on tradesmen's
^Constitution of Federal Republic, Article 84.
9Ibid.
22
profits and that on real property, accrue to the communes
(and the City-States, which in this case rank as large
communities). In addition, the Lander receive a fixed per
centage of the income and corporation taxes under what is
known as the vertical equalization of Federal finances,
which is embodied in the Constitution. In 1958 the Lan
der's share was fixed at 65 per cent, and the Bund's at
10
35 per cent. When the financial weight between Bund and
Lander shifts, these percentages can be altered by a law
requiring the approval of the Bundesrat. A further equali
zation, also with a statutory foundation, takes place be
tween the Lander that are financially strong and those that
are financially weak. Under this "horizontal equalization
of the Lander," account is taken of the financial needs of
the communes,
In 1962 the financially strongest Lander having to
contribute to the equalization fund were North Rhine-
Westphalia, Hamburg, Baden-Wiirttemberg and Hesse. The
Lander in receipt of subsidies from the fund, again clas
sified according to the amount of money received, were Lower
Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein, Rhineland-Palatinate, Bavaria
10Friedrich Edding, Qkonomie des Bildunuswesens
(Freiburg i. Br.: Verlag Rombach, 1963), p. 56.
23
and Saarland. The yield in Bremen was equivalent to the
average, and this Land was therefore neither a contributor
nor a receiver. The total yield from taxation in the
Lander was 34,145 million DM ($8,536 million), the amount
involved in the equalization being 1,558 million DM ($390
million).
To illustrate still more clearly the Lander's vary
ing financial strength, we find that after the financial
equalization there is still a difference of 18.6 per cent
between the financially soundest of the "superficial"
Lander, North Rhine-Westphalia, and the financially weak
est, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland, whereas in the case
of Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein there was also an
additional burden as a result of their coastal position and
nearness to the Zonal boundary. On the other hand, the
average for the Hanseatic cities was considerably above
that for the Lander as a whole.
The West German Economy
At the end of the second third of the century,
German society looks very different from what it had been
at the conclusion of the first third. Gone is the Prussian
aristocracy which had retained a powerful position in the
24
Weimar Republic, due to the prestige of President Paul von
Hindenburg. Of the old industrial leadership, the names of
Siemens and Krupp are still around. But otherwise the
managers, able and relatively unknown specialists, prevail
in the big combines and the bank corporations. The social
contrast between the upper bourgeoisie and the common man
is less pronounced than it was at the end of the depression.
The workingman enjoys good wages. In late February, 1966,
a new agreement was reached in the metal industry which sets
the pace for the whole economy. The 2,900,000 metal workers
received an increase of 6 per cent, and their weekly hours
of labor are to be reduced to forty,^
West Germany's economic progress over the past fif
teen years reveals a remarkable growth rate, with an average
in real terms of more than 7 per cent annually. For the
ten-year period 1950-1960, its 6.3 per cent average rate of
per capita Gross National Product (GNP) growth rate was the
highest in Western Europe.
The West German GNP share of gross domestic fixed
asset formation has been one of the highest in Europe,
H-All figures taken from: Press and Information
Office of the Federal Government of Germany, The German
State. Yesterday. . Today, and Tomorrow (Wiesbaden: Franz
Steiner Verlag, 1964.
25
averaging 20.4 per cent during the years 1950-1955, and
22.8 per cent of GNP for the 1955-1960 period. During 1960-
1965, fixed asset formation continued at a very high rate,
representing more than 25 per cent of GNP for the years
1963-1964, and 23.9 per cent and 26.7 per cent for 1964 and
196 5 respectively.
The pronounced and widespread optimism of West
Germans operating in a "free market economy" {Sozialmarkt-
12
wirtschaft) milieu has helped preserve the upward trend
in practically all sectors of German industrial activity.
Despite the fact that West Germany has passed the peak of
the most recent West German expansion phase (which started
in early 1964), the economy as a whole is still clearly on
a long-term upward trend. Strong elements of demand per
sisting in consumer goods (e.g., automobiles, household
durables), housing construction, defense, and exports,
suggest a continuation of high output levels. The unusually
high growth rates of previous years, ranging in the
^The term "Sozialmarktwirtschaft" was coined by
Professor Ludwig Erhard, former Chancellor of the Federal
Republic. As former minister of economics, he received
considerable personal acclaim in helping bring about the
West German "economic miracle" (Wirtschaftswunder). His
image as Germany's postwar economic leader was an important
contributing factor in his successful election campaign of
September, 196 5.
neighborhood of 6 to 8 per cent of real GNP, however, may
no longer be reached, considering the limits set by a fully
employed labor force and the maturity of the economy in
general. The 1965 gross national product in current prices
increased by 8.4 per cent for a total of $112 billion (DM
448.6 billion). Deflating this figure into real terms, the
gain over 1964 amounted to 4.4 per cent.
Manpower
Between 1950 and 1960, more than 6.2 million workers
were added to the West German industrial labor force. Dur
ing this period, the agricultural sector declined by 1.4
million, leaving a net increase of 4.8 million in the active
West German labor force. This represented an average in
crease of nearly half a million additional workers. As a
result of intense recruitment drives by German governmental
officials and private firms, the foreign workers' population
in West Germany increased from 280,000 in 1960 to about
1.2 million in 1965. They come from Italy, Greece, Spain,
and Turkey, and create many problems, since they grew up in
different cultures. Many of them left their families at
home and must live in strange and sometimes primitive tem
porary quarters.
27
The labor shortage has also revolutionized middle-
class households. Gone are the days with a full-time maid
for a modest wage. Today she has a fairly well-paid job in
an office or factory, works from eight to five and has the
weekend off. This has brought about tremendous changes in
the German home, where husband and wife must now rely on
modern appliances.
The side effects of the postwar recovery boom and
the subsequent prosperous years have included moderate but
persistent across-the-board price and wage rises— generally
beyond productivity gains. Although rising at a faster rate
than United States wage and cost indexes for the same post
war period, the magnitude of West German inflationary price
rises has been considerably less pronounced than in many
other countries of Western Europe (e.g., France, Italy,
Belgium, the Netherlands). Between 1962 and September,
1965, the consumer price index in the Federal Republic rose
about 10 per cent. Because of differing degrees of compe
tition for resources among and within certain sectors and
particular branches of industry, considerable variations
from the average price increases have been apparent. For
example, in the building materials sector, prices have gone
up more than 18 per cent since 1962, and more than 56 per
28
cent since 1958. Industrial producer prices, in contrast,
have remained fairly steady, increasing only 4 per cent
since 1962. Agricultural producer prices went up about 9
per cent for the same period.
In recent years West German public expenditures have
noticeably increased. Since 1958, defense expenditures have
shown a strong rise. Government investment expenditures and
credits granted by the government have continued to rise at
a fairly rapid rate, with a subsequent diminution of public
domestic cash surplus. Actual expenditures of the Federal
Government, the States (Lander) and the municipalities in
1965 averaged about 10 per cent above 1964 levels.
West German trade with the Communist countries
during the last several years has averaged some 3 to 4 per
cent of its total world trade. Imports from the Soviet
Zone totaled $257 million in 1964, while exports amounted
to $287 million. In 1964 the share of West German foreign
trade was 9.9 per cent, and in 1965 it reached 10.6 per
cent of free world trade. In current value, West German
foreign trade increased by almost five times during the
period 1950-1962, or from $4.7 billion to more than 25.5
billion. It nearly doubled its foreign trade in the six-
year period 1958-1964.
Summary
Chapter II is devoted to a brief account of German
history from the Teutonic period to the present day. It
describes the political structure of the Federal Republic,
the form of government and the Constitution of 1949. In
the Constitution great emphasis was placed upon human
rights, which are directly related to the education of the
German youth. Note was also made of the taxation program
and its relationship to the eleven German states and the
total educational program of West Germany.
CHAPTER III
ADMINISTRATION, CONTROL AND
FINANCE OF EDUCATION
The Role of the States in Education
Post-World War II decentralization, decreed by the
Allied Powers in order to prevent a recurrence of totali
tarianism, limited the Federal Government powers and gave
Lander governments responsibility for educational adminis
tration and finance.
The fundamental law of the German Federal Republic
(Grundgesetz fur die Bundesrepublik Deutschland), which
became effective on December 11, 1949, states that "educa
tion in its entirety is placed under the authority of the
Lander."'*’ The legislative provisions vary in the different
states. Thus the Basic Law has placed cultural sovereignty
in the hands of the Lander. The Lander attach special
^Constitution, Basic Law, Article 7, section 1.
30
31
importance to this responsibility, which they regard as one
of the most essential parts of their policy.
Accordingly, cultural administration, particularly
with regard to scholastic affairs and to supervision of the
academies, colleges and universities, is a Lander affair.
There are eleven different systems of education in West
Germany. The individual Lander differ in curriculum, text
books, methods of teaching and supervision. Educational
administration includes the control of teaching and the
supervision of schools and teachers. Responsibility for
the construction, maintenance and management of the school
plant rests with the local authority which founded the
school. This could be the county (Kreis), the commune
(Gemeinde), a group of communes or private groups. The
Land is the only body that can lay down programs, methods
of instruction or rules governing the teaching personnel.
In each Land, the supreme authority in the matter of school
administration is the State Ministry (Kultusministerium),
which is headed by the Minister (Kultusminister). The
Ministry has control of policy, teaching personnel, school
organization, vocational education, adult education and the
provision of Richtlinien (guidelines) for the curriculum.
The Ministry also approves textbooks, and the local schools
32
may choose from the approved lists.
In most of the states there are three levels of
administration: (1) the State Ministry of Education and
Culture, (2) the Government district level, and (3) the
local level, rural or urban. Supervision of the elementary
schools is the responsibility of the local level, super
vision of secondary schools the responsibility of the Gov
ernmental level (Regierungsbezirk). Supervision of teachers
is less intense and extensive than in the United States.
The function of supervision does not rest with the prin
cipal, but with the superintendent.
The individual states are responsible for school
legislation and the administration of the public schools.
Each of the eleven Lander has enacted a basic educational
law. The state laws on education may or may not include a
statement of the aims of education. As an example, the
North Rhine-Westphalia School Law is quoted here in trans
lation:
1. It is the pre-eminent aim of education to
engender in the children the reverence for God,
respect for the dignity of men, and readiness to
act for the benefit of the community and its mem
bers . The young are to be educated in the spirit
of humaneness, of democracy, and liberty; to an
attitude of tolerance and respect for the convic
tions of others; to love their native country and
its people; to be imbued with the spirit of a
t
33
community of all nations, and of peace.
2. The school has the task of educating the
young morally, intellectually, and physically and
to impart to them the knowledge and skills neces
sary for their future life and work. This is to
be achieved on the basis of the common Occidental
and the specific German heritage and with constant
reference to the actual economic and social situa
tion .
3. The young generation is to become capable
and ready to prove its competence in service to the
community, in family and vocational life, as members
of the people and as citizens of the state. In all
schools, civics is a subject of instruction, and
the education of the pupils for citizenship is a
mandatory task of the schools. Instruction and
community-life in the schools are to be developed
in such a way as to prepare the students for active
and intelligent participation in public life.^
These tenets, perhaps with the exception of the
religious aspect expressed in the first sentence, are likely
to be endorsed quite generally in Western Germany.
The Lander have faced the difficulty of restricting
cultural work to a regional basis, though not in a secre
tive, uncommunicative manner, and have come to agreements
among themselves. Since 1949 the Lander Ministers of
Culture have got together in what is called a "Standing
Conference," which is a permanent body with the chairmanship
changing annually and with its head office in Bonn. The
2From Erich Hylla, Education in Germany (Frankfurt:
Hochschule fur internationale padagogische Forschung,
1954), p. 14.
34
work of the Standing Conference of Ministers has shown
considerable results. More agreements have been reached by
them than ever achieved during the period of the Weimar
Republic.
The Standing Conference of the Ministers
for Cultural Affairs
The Standing Conference of the State Ministers of
Culture, although operating without direct legislative or
executive powers, has been successful in assuring agreement
over a wide range of common problems. The Conference meets
at intervals in Bonn to discuss problems and to find so
lutions. If an agreement has been made there, it is re
ferred to the Lander for adoption. In general, the state
legislature adopts the recommendations made.
After the war, difficulties developed because of
differences in the priorities given in various states to
the teaching of foreign languages. Some Lander started with
English, others with French, and the classical secondary
schools (Gymnasium) had Latin ranking first. The Standing
Conference came to an agreement. English is being taught
as the first foreign language in all Lander, the only ex
ception being the Gymnasium, which start with Latin.
Some of the recommendations being made by the
35
f
Standing Conference and enacted into law by the Lander
legislatures are the following {among many others):
1. The introduction of English in the elementary
schools, starting in the fifth grade.
2. The acceptance of basic principles for the
teaching of "education for citizenship" in the schools.
3. The general acceptance of licenses for teachers
who have received their training in the various Lander.
4. The distribution of the summer vacations.
Over-all national education policy has been made by
the Standing Conference of the State Ministers of Culture
in consultation with the Federal Ministry of the Interior.
This Standing Conference has urged the formation of
a new national education council for policy-making and has
also urged the formation of a cabinet post for science
within the Federal Government to coordinate education and
research. The new cabinet post was installed in 1966. The
new national education council for policy-making came into
being in 1965, with Dr. Erdmann, from the University of
Kiel, as chairman. The German Council of Education (Bil-
dungsrat) is a consultative body for educational planning
and will have the following functions, as outlined by
36
Article 2 of the Agreement:^
1. It will draft estimates of requirements and
development plans for Germany's educational system, in
accordance with the requirements of cultural, economic and
social life, and taking into account the future demand for
educated persons.
2. It will make proposals regarding the structure
of education and calculate financial requirements.
3. It will publish recommendations for long-term
planning regarding the different levels and stages of educa
tion .
The Federal Government is convinced that even in a
federal state educational policy is something which brings
problems not only for the individual Lander but for the
whole nation of Germany, the Federal Republic.
The conclusion of the agreement between the fed
eral authorities and the states regarding the setting
up of a "Bildungsrat" or Council of Education has
been greeted with general relief by the German public.
The setting up of a Council of Education means that a
significant step has been taken in the direction of
achieving a common policy in the sphere of education.
Time is short, for a large number of urgent problems
require solutions.4
3Printed in Education in Germany (Bonn: Inter Na-
tiones, 1965), No. 9.
4Ibid.. p. 3.
37
The Standing Conference of the State Ministers of
Culture have worked very well together pursuing their mutual
interests. Their latest success was an agreement among the
eleven Lander that the school year begins in autumn. By
many, the Standing Conference is regarded as an effective
tool toward federalization.
The educational scene in Germany has been bedevilled
on many occasions by the conflict between two irreconcilable
fundamental principles: on the one hand there is the public
demand for uniform conditions in all eleven Lander of the
Federal Republic, and on the other the continuous process of
internal reform measures, which are in some cases extremely
modern in the various Lander. Problems resulting from the
federalistic structure of the country are well illustrated
by the question as to when the school year ought to begin.
Until the middle of 1964, consideration was devoted
primarily to the possible organization and technical aspects
of the proposed alteration. During this period, however,
both in the Lander parliaments and among the public the
political argument acquired increasing prominence: the
Federal Republic ought to adapt itself to the general prac
tice in the rest of Europe.
In the middle of May, 1964, therefore, the
38
Conference of Ministers of Education that the changeover
should be planned for the years 1966-1967; the proposal was
accepted.
Since the Standing Conference is composed of the
educational heads of the Lander and since the Lander have—
until now— usually enacted the educational policy being made
by the Standing Conference, the latter may, in the future,
assume the legal authority of a federal ministry of educa
tion. On the other hand, it would place educational policy
more in the political arena, and this arouses fear of ad
ministrative bureaucracy. Since the Ministry for Cultural
Affairs is a political appointment, and since the Ministers
are dependent upon the Land legislature, their recommenda
tions and decisions are relatively free from political con
troversy .
Foreign observers often say that coordinating the
diverse educational systems is one of the chief obstacles
to education reform, the other being the limited tax base
of the Lander.
No final conclusion can yet be reached on the ad
vantages and disadvantages of carrying out cultural work on
two levels— Bund and Lander. All problems are so much in
flux that no final judgment can be pronounced.
39
School Finance
The public schools, i.e., the schools for general
education (elementary, intermediate, secondary), most of the
vocational schools, and the university-level institutions
(universities, institutes of technology, teacher training
institutions) are supported from general tax funds. The
details of school financing in Western Germany are very
complicated, inasmuch as practices are not uniform among
the Lander. Contributions are made by the Land, the local
communities, and by private organizations (especially for
the maintenance of vocational schools). The Federal Govern
ment does not contribute to school finance; this is the
joint responsibility of the Land and the community. In
general, the proportion of school finances carried by the
Land is 65 per cent, that by the community 35 per cent.
This differs because of the uneven financial capacity of the
communities. In Lower Saxony, some communities contribute
only 28 per cent, whereas in the financially sound Land of
North Rhine-Westphalia some communities contribute up to 50
per cent of the expenses. In general, teachers' salaries
and old-age pensions are paid by the Land, whereas the
physical plants of the schools are built and maintained by
the local communities from their budgets based on general
40
taxation, although the Land will refund to the communities
certain expenditures for new buildings and the repair of
old ones. The state will, under certain conditions, also
contribute even to the support of private schools, e.g.,
make up for their loss of income if they offer free tuition,
or contribute to the cost of free learning aids furnished
to pupils. There are no specific school taxes, as levied
by the school districts in the United States. The absence
of separate school taxation may partly explain the lack of
interest in, and influence of, the citizens on the way the
schools are run. The people of the community have no direct
influence on school decisions and the communities have no
legal claim to participate in the selection and appointment
of teachers, although in practice they may make appropriate
suggestions. The local communities often contribute to the
personnel cost in order to have more teaching staff employed
than the allocation would grant. The expenditure per pupil
varies among the Lander. The total expenditure on public
education is low in comparison with other countries (see
Table 1).
Since 1949 the Lander have been associated in what
is known as the "Konigstein Agreement,” under which they
share the financing of a large number of important research
41
TABLE 1
COMPARISON OF AMOUNTS SPENT FOR EDUCATION
IN VARIOUS COUNTRIES
Country Percentage
United States 4.53
Netherlands 4.23
Sweden 4.14
USSR 3.74
Canada 3.72
United Kingdom 3.67
Norway 3.67
France 3.50
Italy 3.42
Denmark 3.01
Switzerland 2.88
Austria 2.85
West Germany 2.79
Ireland 2.72
Yugoslavia 2.60
Iceland 2 .53
Portugal 2.07
Turkey 2 .05
Spain 1.57
Greece 1.41
Source: Standing Conference of the State Ministers, Be-
darfsfeststellung der Lander 1961-1970 (Stuttgart: Klett,
1963), p. 93, table 15.
42
centers of supraregional significance, among which the Max
Planck Society is particularly prominent. In spite of these
very pronounced efforts of the Lander to ensure that their
work in the field of cultural policy meets with no restric
tions, cooperation with the Bund in this sector too has also
become very effective. In 1957, the Bund undertook to
shoulder half of the total expenditure involved under the
Konigstein Agreement, to make it possible for the Lander to
carry on more intensively with the prosecution of specific
tasks. The relief afforded to the Lander through the annual
provision by the Bund of 275 million DM ($69 million) to
meet equalization claims made on the Lander is also intended
to benefit the Lander's own scientific arrangements.
The Role of the Federal Government
The responsibility of the Land in promoting scien
tific research, teaching, and training derives from the
Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany. Although the
fulfillment of this responsibility is primarily the concern
of the Lander, Section 74, Paragraph 13 of this Law assigns
legislation in those fields of research which, by their very
nature, can best be treated on a federal level to the Fed
eral Government. This authority includes the responsibility
43
for granting material assistance to such branches of science
and the arts as are of importance to the whole of the Fed
eral Republic of Germany.
The Federal Government has set up a Department for
Cultural Affairs in the Federal Ministry of the Interior.
It is responsible for dealing with the tasks of the Bund in
the sphere of cultural policy. In the forefront are meas
ures for the advancement of research. The handling of
fundamental matters to do with the advancement of science
and scientific research and the coordination of the over-all
aid given by the Bund in the spheres of science and atomic
power has been transferred to the Federal Ministry for
Scientific Research set up in December, 1962. In that year
395.4 million DM ($99 million) was placed at the disposal of
the Federal Ministry of the Interior for the advancement of
science. Substantial grants were made out of this sum for
the conduct of scientific research in universities and
colleges. Considerable amounts were allocated to, among
others, the Max Planck Society and the German Research
Association, nearly three-quarters of whose budgets come
from this source. The remaining quarter comes from grants
made by the Lander and industry via the Donors Association
for Promoting Arts and Sciences in Germany.
44
The Bund's participation in the fostering of culture
on a national basis has been limited to a very few areas by
coordinating legislation: the advancement of scientific
research, the protection of the German cultural heritage
against loss caused by migration, the setting of the frame
work for legislation dealing with the general legal rela
tionships of press and film, and the preservation of natural
beauty and the care of the countryside.
At the federal level, scientific research is as
sisted by almost all ministries. The Federal Ministry for
Research in Sciences and Arts is concerned with problems of
common interest, whereas the other ministries provide funds
for research in those projects in which they are directly
interested. An interministerial committee under the chair
manship of the Federal Ministry for Research in Sciences
and Arts decides on such coordinating measures as may be
necessary.
The Federal Ministry for Research in Sciences and
Arts supports research in all branches of science and art
demanding a collective effort or which are beyond the
capacity of the individual Lander. The ministry gives in
centives for the general promotion of sciences and arts,
and coordinates federal activities in these fields. Its
45
tasks include research in and development of nuclear energy,
space research and missile technology. In addition, the
ministry acts as a federal agency dealing with problems
concerning the Council for Sciences and Arts (Wissenschafts-
rat), the German Research Association (Deutsche Forschungs-
gemeinschaft), and the Max Planck Society (Max-Planck-
Gesellschaft).
From 1948 to 1962 the Federal Government has spent
about 4.072 million DM of its budget on the reconstruction
of scientific and academic life in Germany.
Swroaacy
Chapter III stresses the role of the Lander in edu
cation, as well as the role of the Federal Government. It
notes the relationship and the functioning of both in the
total educational framework of West Germany. Particular
emphasis is placed upon the individuality of the total sys
tem which has produced eleven separate systems of education
in the Federal Republic. A unique feature in postwar German
education, the Standing Conference of the Ministers for
Cultural Affairs, is explained to the foreign reader.
CHAPTER IV
THE STRUCTURE OF GERMAN EDUCATION
The Historical Background
Medieval education
Before the fifteenth century, Western Europe was
dominated by one single, powerful, social institution, the
Roman Church, which also laid the foundations of German
education. The Church exercised influence everywhere, thus
being one common ancestor of the educational systems in
various European countries.
In contrast to the scientific and philosophical
methods of inquiry exercised in early Greek and Roman edu
cation, Christian philosophy claimed the complete and un
questioned acceptance of the body of sacred knowledge, thus
becoming a central factor in the occurrence of the Dark
Ages, which lasted from about 500 to 1100.
However, as early as the beginning of the ninth
century, Charlemagne, the king of the Franks, established
46
schools in his territory to train the nobility for their
duties. Charlemagne, noting the illiteracy even of persons
in the highest offices, called for training, thus removing
the veil of ignorance from medieval Europe. Around 826 the
first educational activities began, limited to a small
number of nobles and holders of the highest offices. The
responsibility for establishing schools was delegated to
the Church. From this time on, the Roman Catholic Church
was to become the controlling agent for all schools. The
Bible was made the accepted book of revealed knowledge, and
the vulgar form of Latin was used as the medium of instruc
tion. The Church was interested in teaching students to
read and write Church Latin. From these efforts the schools
received their names and became known as Latin schools.
From these schools emerged the distinctive type of secondary
schools which "became so deeply rooted among the German
peoples in the next centuries that it is the standard by
which German secondary education is measured even today."^
The Church set up schools to train their clergy. At the
same time religious orders set up monastery schools to train
■*•1. N . Thut and Don Adams, Educational Patterns in
Contemporary Society (New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co.,
1964), p. 77.
48
their new members. This was not an education for the
\
society but an education limited to a few and with a spe
cific purpose. Nevertheless, it represented the foundation
of the future educational systems in Europe.
Many schools sprang up, each maintained by the local
clergy and each offering the same curriculum. Occasionally,
parish priests offered instruction in Latin and sometimes
bequests were given to the church with the stipulation that
the priest should extend his instruction to poor but promis
ing boys of the parish. Medieval man lived by faith and had
no other choice than to accept religious beliefs.
Prior to the fifteenth century the German states
paid no attention to the cultural and educational needs of
their subjects. A feudalistic structure gave the basic
pattern for social, political, and military control, and
the established education of the church had successfully
functioned under the static structure of this feudalistic
society. Since the Church was not interested in providing
education beyond the training of its clergy, the general
population received education only when they took matters
into their own hands. At the close of the fifteenth cen
tury, therefore, German people had established to serve
their needs a variety of schools sponsored by nobilities,
49
parishes, municipalities, city-states and guilds.
The first explorations in the field of education
were done by guilds and resulted in an apprentice training
system. Through the contracts for apprenticeship training
craftsmen felt the need for training in reading, writing,
and arithmetic. From this early fifteenth-century appren
ticeship system developed the varied system of vocational
schools still in existence in Germany today.
The Church thus had to face the fact that forces
had arisen to challenge her monopoly in education. In the
beginning of the fifteenth century only a few handwritten
books were in existence. But after the invention of the
printing press by Johann Gutenberg in 1438 things changed
tremendously. Thousands of printers were printing books
available for the public and not restricted for the use of
the clergy only.
In addition, the concept of the universe was changed
by the innovations of the ages of discovery and the relia
bility of Church doctrines was challenged. Also, the ex
pansion of the world to include the newly discovered con
tinent of America, India, and Africa was followed by a
period of flourishing trade and commerce which also served
to awaken the popular Renaissance.
50
It was the rising aspiration of the city population
that required instruction geared to the needs of a newly
formed middle class. The populations of the city-states of
Hamburg, Liibeck, and Bremen were especially prominent in
their efforts to establish an education for a society that
no longer rested on a feudal structure. As in England,
Spain, Holland, and Portugal, the merchants had created a
new class based upon a money economy and not on old feudal
istic privileges. This left its imprint on the direction
of education. The new middle class established vernacular
schools to teach writing, reading, and counting. The three
R's were born and the lay interest called for the services
of teachers.
Schools multiplied during this time, and a new type
of man had arisen at the close of the fifteenth century.
Medieval man was dead.
However, in spite of all these developments,
the ecclesiastical domination of the social structure,
so much in evidence in their day, went unchallenged.
The social role of education changed only slightly.
As agencies of the traditional social system the
schools continued to be used to maintain the weakening
power structure inherited from the age of faith, the
so-called "medieval system." The schools were ex
pected to justify and transmit the system of religious
beliefs on which that power structure rested.
51
Although the seeds of reforms were being planted,
the philosophical revolution had not progressed far
enough to bring forth the various forms of social
revolution that were to break out all over Europe in
the next and succeeding centuries.^
In Italy and France the Renaissance flourished, but
did not influence the system of instruction. The schools
of Italy and France owed little to the Renaissance. But in
Germany the modern movement of the Renaissance became a
power in the state and entered into the public schools.
Where the Reformation triumphed in German countries the
Renaissance triumphed with it. Melanchthon and Erasmus were
not merely opponents of the Roman Church but also the na
tion's leading spirits in culture and intellect. They were
eminent humanists and distinguished friends of Protestantism
as well as of classical learning. Thus, the best spirits of
the nation were both men of the Renaissance and the Refor
mation, with the exception of Martin Luther.
The Reformation
Of the two major movements, the Reformation was the
one to produce widespread educational consequences. Ver
nacular reading schools were set up on a massive scale and
2lbid., pp. 36-38 paasim.
52
can be regarded as pioneering efforts in mass education.
The humanists, on the other hand, became active in
fostering the study of the classical literature and lan
guages. It was a rebirth of Greek philosophy. The intel
lectual man became the educational goal, an ideal which is
still very much in evidence in German universities and in
the Gymnasien.
The new instrument of learning was used for prac
tical ends, for the removal of ignorance as a menace to
society and for social reform.
The educational Renaissance was essentially a moral,
democratic and social movement, since it accepted the in
dividual as a goal of education.
The reorganization of schools followed immediately.
A new spirit demanded a new type of curriculum. The ideas
of Rousseau, Frobel, Pestalozzi, and Herbart found their
way into German schools.
The schools were supported out of public funds, but
fees were paid universally, although some provision was
made for free scholarships. But state or public support was
accompanied by supervision and control by governmental
authorities, including both clerical and secular officials.
One consequence of the Reformation was the attention
53
given to the training of teachers. However, greater empha
sis was placed on moral and religious standards than on the
intellectual qualification of teachers. Piety was a greater
factor than learning.
At the end of the seventeenth century the schools
lost all the spirit and power of the sixteenth-century
humanists and were reduced to mere appendages of the Church.
Usually a theological student was the schoolmaster. The
well-known critic of Homer, Friedrich August Wolf, said:
The schools will never be better, so long as the school
masters are theologians by profession. A theological
course in a university, with its smattering of clas
sics, is about as good a preparation for a classical
master as a course of feudal law would be.3
Wolf became the great renovator of Prussia's schools and
awoke them to new life. The state of Frederick the Great
(Wolf went to Halle in 1783) became the scene of Wolf's
reforms and Prussia's school system started to attract the
attention of foreign observers. Cousin and Henry Barnard,
as well as Horace Mann, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Jef
ferson, among many others, reported on the excellent system
of public education in Prussia.
3Matthew Arnold, Higher Schools and Universities in
Germany (London: McMillan & Co., 1882), p. 186.
54
Prussia
It is therefore to Prussia that one must turn for
the story of German education, as a German state did not
exist prior to 1871. One must look at Prussia from 1807 to
1871 to discover the educational patterns that made such
striking impressions abroad. It was during this time that
the severe terms of the Treaty of Tilsit (1807) stirred a
gigantic effort to rebuild the country and its educational
system. This period encompassed the ideas of eighteenth-
century rationalism and enlightenment, the ideas of Kant,
Fichte, Herder, Pestalozzi and Goethe that served as a
trumpet calling to national uplift, and it was Stein,
Scharnhorst and Gneisenau who carried out the task of re
construction of the administrative, social, economic, and
educational organization of the state of Prussia.
The story of that effort and its brilliant success
had been used by German leaders from Bismarck to
Hitler to inspire their subjects to make extreme
personal sacrifices to achieve certain glory for the
state.4
Frederick the Great sensed the need for putting new
life into secondary schools. He also favored the extension
of the Realschulen to train the large number of pupils who
4Thut and Adams, p. 79.
55
would not get a classical education. In 1763 he tried to
raise the quality of instruction in the vernacular schools
"by describing the methods of instruction to be used and the
subject matter to be taught."'’ Prussia was covered with a
network of elementary, intermediate, and secondary schools,
the latter to train scholars, nobles, and officers. In 1788
the Abiturientenpriifung was introduced, the prerequisite
for university admission. All schools were public in char
acter, were subject to state inspection, had to bring their
accounts to be audited by a public functionary, and could
have no teachers whose qualifications had not been proven
in required examinations. For every school there was an
ordained authority of supervision. The public control of
schools was exercised through administrative orders and
instructions. The basis of those orders are the articles
of the Allgemeine Landrecht, the common law of Prussia.
The tendency towards state control and centralization is
clearly visible in these provisions.
The curriculum for secondary schools gave the major
portion of the time to Latin, Greek, German, and mathemat
ics. Other subjects were history, geography, religion,
P. 81.
56
natural sciences, and the arts.
The aims of education were clearly defined as the
harmonious development of all the powers, with all-round
formal cultivation of intelligence, mastery of languages,
considerable attainment in mathematics, and familiarity with
sciences and history.^
Prussia had carefully regulated Gymnasien, Real-
schulen, elementary schools, and a large corps of carefully
selected teachers. Intense intellectual interests dominated
the schools. At this time the completion of the six-year
course at a Gymnasium conferred the much-sought-after
privilege of one year of military service (Einjahrige). The
Gymnasien, however, had acquired a monopolistic status as
the only institutions conferring the right to admission to
a university, to important high-ranked civil service posi
tions, and the privilege of one year of military service.
By retaining a high tuition fee in the Gymnasien, the ruling
class made certain that only the sons of acceptable families
could enter into positions of influence. Only Einjahrige
could become officers in the Prussian Army.
Compulsory education— introduced by Frederick the
6Isaac Kandel, History of Secondary Education (Bos
ton: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1930), p. 242.
57
Great in 1766— was extended to age fourteen. The wide sys
tem of Volksschulen— providing education for the masses—
trained the students effectively in the three R's.
Vocational education became more available and by
now the three branches of the German educational system—
the Volksschule, Mittelschule, and the Gymnasium— were
established.
After 1871, under the statesmanship of Bismarck,
the clash between the lower and the upper classes became
even more pronounced. No effort was made to eliminate class
discrimination, and nothing was done to eliminate the
financial barriers that kept children of working class
families out of secondary schools.
The Weimar Republic
Much has been written about school reforms and
liberalism in the Weimar Republic. For the purpose of
clarification only, a short resume of the accomplishment
will be given.
Administrative control over education was relegated
to the individual states.
The idea of the Einheitsschule was introduced, but
met so much rejection that it was a dead issue as soon as it
58
was announced.
Thuringia tried to organize its school system along
the ideas of the Einheitsschule, but a shift of political
powers from the Left to the Right forced abandonment of the
reform before it had a chance to be realized. Liibeck and
Bremen— independent city-states— organized their school
systems somewhat along the same lines by introducing a six-
year common Grundschule for everybody.
The reform plans called for a complete reorganiza
tion of the whole educational system and the adoption of
the principles of a common school system— the Einheits-
schule. This was a demand for a common education for all
up to the age of twelve and an organization of a variety of
secondary school classes afterwards.
The Constitution provided that all children should
receive a common education for the first four years in a
common school, thus giving a common elementary education to
all, regardless of class distinction. No private training
was permissible any longer, thus abolishing many private
schools— Vorschule— of this kind. A great opportunity for
a democratization of the school system was lost. What was
left from those radical new approaches was— besides the
newly formed Grundschule— the establishment of the
V
59
Aufbauschule. The Aufbauschule provided a six-year course
of studies leading to the Abitur. It was intended to give
the "late bloomers" a chance after completion of the seventh
year of the elementary schools. These schools quickly ac
quired popular esteem and have been reintroduced after 1945
after having been dissolved by Hitler. This school type,
often wrongly claimed by foreign observers as a new feature
in the postwar German educational system, goes back to the
Weimar Republic.
The Constitution— Article 145— extended compulsory
education from ages six to fourteen on a full-time basis
and from fourteen to eighteen on a part-time basis in con
tinuation schools. A wide variety of vocational schools
sprang up. The Grundschule, the Aufbauschule, and provi
sions for academic training for the elementary school
teachers were the educational outcomes of that period, but
a great opportunity for the establishment of a comprehensive
school that could have stamped out class discrimination was
gone. Secondary education for all— the Einheitsschule— had
been shelved, and the inaugurated reforms were cast basic
ally in the old molds. Secondary education remained selec
tive in character and continued to be an education for
status, adapted to the training of an elite group.
60
Kandel writes:
One of the most serious problems confronting the
German people in their post-war reorganization has
been to devise means for the promotion of education
that would develop a new sense of social solidarity
and loyalty to the republican form of government,
to take the place of the bonds of loyalty that had
been forged by the monarchy and devotion to the
political ends that it had set up. The obvious
solution— the adoption of the Einheitsschule— was
rejected as an organization; indeed attempts have
been made to define this as a spiritual need for
common education rather than an institutional
necessity.^
It seems as if this statement could also apply to the situa
tion of the educational scene in post-World War II Germany.
National Socialists
However, when the Nazis came to power the Weimar
achievements were wiped out. For the first time in German
history a centralized.form of control was introduced, and a
central ministry of education was established. "Education
was made a national function, and a unified system of
schools was introduced extending from the kindergarten
g
through the universities." The Nazi educational program
indoctrinated the infallibility of the Nazi leadership, and
^Kandel, p. 268.
®Thut and Adams, p. 103.
61
education became the major instrument for converting Germany
into a war machine.
Education of vomer*
During all this time, no special attention was given
to the education of girls. It has only been within the last
two centuries that serious attention has been given to this
problem. The beginnings of interest in education for girls
date from about 1680. In Halle, a "Gynacaeum" for the
daughters of upper class people was established, but in
general, interest was slight. Frederick the Great was very
much opposed to the expenditure of public funds for girls,
an attitude which was quickly adopted by the municipal
authorities and prevailed to the beginning of the nineteenth
century. Therefore, most of the girls' schools that sprang
up were private in character and mostly for training in
social accomplishments.
In 1831 and 1832 the first schools— under royal
decree— were set up in Berlin to prepare girls for the
teaching profession. In 1845 and 1853 regulations were
issued for the examination of women teachers, thereby giv
ing legal governmental recognition to the teaching profes
sion .
62
The increasing number of well-to-do middle class
families demanded the establishment of schools, and in 1860
the number of secondary girls' schools was 103, as compared
to fifty-six in 1840. These schools became known as Hohere
Tochterschulen. Organizations for the emancipation of women
demanded an education for girls comparable to that for
boys, and admission to the universities. In 1896 girls were
permitted to take the Abiturientenprufung, but the govern
ment continued to refuse to establish secondary schools for
girls and refused to consider coeducation.
Although in 1899 a special department for the edu
cation of girls was created in the Prussian Ministry, the
prevailing policy did not change much. "The ideal position
of the German woman in the family shall be preserved as far
as possible." In the Weimar Republic full educational
equality was granted to girls, and in 1964 a woman first
became head of a university (Heidelberg).
The Volksschule
General design
Compulsory education goes back to 1619, when the
Duke of Weimar introduced compulsory education for all
children between the ages of six and twelve. Prussia
followed this example in 1716 when the king ordered all
children to attend local schools. Since 1920 in the Weimar
Republic compulsory education applied from the ages of six
to eighteen. At least the first eight years had to be spent
at a full-time school. Students then usually passed on to
a vocational school (Berufsschule). Traditionally, the
German school encompasses three branches: the elementary
schools (Volksschulen), the intermediate schools (Real-
schulen), and the secondary schools (Gymnasien). The ele
mentary schools are the fundamental parts of the school
system in every Land. About 75 per cent of the children of
every age group receive their education at an elementary
school which they attend from their sixth to their fif
teenth year. The Volksschule has nine grades. The first
four years of the Volksschule are called Grundschule
(Basic School), the grades beyond are called Volksschulo-
berstufe, which include grades 5 to 9. In the city-states
of Hamburg, Bremen, and West Berlin the Grundschule in
cludes grades 1 to 6. Successful completion of the Grund
schule is a prerequisite for admission to secondary and
intermediate schools. Elementary schools are coeducational,
in general. Secondary and intermediate schools are partly
coeducational. Attendance at all types of school is
64
tuition-free. Textbooks have to be bought by the parents.
After the first four years of schooling the children
proceed to an intermediate or secondary school or attend the
upper level of the Volksschule. The decision on the subse
quent schooling depends on the choice of the parents as well
as on the children's grades. For many years the shift to a
secondary or intermediate school was a much-debated issue.
The final judgment was made upon the results of special
tests and a recommendation by the Grundschullehrer. Later,
the requirements were eased by the introduction of an
examination week during which the children attended the
schools of their choice. Their performance was being judged
by a group of teachers, usually four, two of which belonged
to the Grundschule and two to the permanent teaching staff
of the school chosen.
In 1965, following a recommendation of the Standing
Conference, the entrance examinations were abolished, thus
ending successfully the struggle of the parents for their
right to determine the schooling of their children, as being
established in the Basic Law of the Federal Republic.
This early selection of the children has for many
years been the focus of criticism by foreign educators as
well as by many German educators. The three city-states,
Hamburg, Bremen, and West Berlin, introduced laws providing
for six years of schooling at the basic level. These en
actments met a great deal of opposition. The parents were
afraid that the more gifted children would suffer severe
setbacks in the Gymnasium if the general education continued
too long. The idea, however, of extending the basic
schooling to six years has won the support of teachers. In
some states, Lower Saxony and Hesse, the cvcle d 1 observation
of the French system has been copied. Grades 5 and 6 are
called transition grades. In these transition grades
teaching is the same for all children, except for special
courses in mathematics, English, and the vernacular lan
guage. These two years of prolonged selection should help
to determine whether a child should be sent to intermediate
or secondary schools, thus also providing for the "late
bloomers." In this way the early selection would be avoid
ed and be replaced by a better form of guidance. Despite
remarkable pedagogical success, such school reforms failed
to win the support of the public.
Without exaggeration it can be said that the major
ity of all German children stay in the elementary school
instead of transferring. Although the number of pupils
shifting over to intermediate and secondary education has
66
increased after the abolition of the required entrance
exams, the percentage is not high enough to account for any
real change in the over-all picture.
Noteworthy here is the remark of superintendent
Ernst Matthewes, Hamburg:
There is now lacking in modern society a dynamic,
passionate belief in the inherent power of educational
and cultural forces. Many reasons can be found to
explain this restraint. Certainly, one of the major
reasons is that, after the catastrophes of the past,
visions of an ideal future no longer appear credible.
More consideration is given to hard facts and the
forces in being which are apt to shape life today and
tomorrow.9
Using Rhineland-Palatinate as an example, in 1963, out of
56,000 students only 10,372 shifted to the Gymnasium. After
the abolition of the required entrance examination the
10
number increased only to 12,613 m 1965.
The elementary schools are the major institutions
for the education of the majority of the German children,
and their importance therefore cannot be overrated.
The schools strive to stimulate independent thought
^Ernst Matthewes, "The West German School System,"
in Meet Germany (Hamburg: Atlantik Briicke, 1962), p. 101.
^Alfred Jacobs, "Probleme beim Internationalen
Vergleich von Bildungsstatistiken," Die Hohere Schuler No.
2 (1966), 2.
67
and responsible action, to develop the pupil's independent
personality and idea of public responsibility, respect for
the convictions of others, love of one's country and its
people, to advance devotion to peace and to stress the need
for cooperation between peoples.
The reform efforts aim to cultivate the totality,
the whole being of the individual. From this approach de
rived the method for integrated programs of instruction
(Gesamtunterricht). This method of Gesamtunterricht has in
general been adopted as the basis of instruction for the
four years in the Grundschule. Drills in the fundamentals
are drawn out of the matrix of the child's experience
rather than being exercised for their own sake. Reinter
pretation of earlier concepts of correlation are emphasized.
Heimatkunde (knowledge of environment) has become
the main subject in the Grundschule. It furnishes the real
and concrete relations between school and life outside.
Not the acquisition of factual knowledge, but rather a
creative discovery, the gradual expansion of the pupil's
horizon, is the aim. The curriculum in the Volksschulober-
stufe (upper grades) embraces more the facts of everyday
life, the social, political, and economic interrelations.
Efforts are being made to prepare the children better for
68
vocational life. Educational thought has turned away from
theoretical knowledge and from rigid, authoritarian pat
terns. Selective learning concentrating on comprehending
the principles involved is preferred. The aim in teaching
the vernacular is to develop appreciation of good literature
and the mastery of oral and written expression. The curri
culum in history begins with the immediate environment and
acquaints the pupil with the history of foreign countries.
In 1960 the Standing Conference recommended a more profound
education in political matters and the treatment of the most
recent past in history and international relations. The
subject "political education" or "education for citizenship"
was introduced after World War II on the request of the
Allied Powers. It embraces the knowledge of public insti
tutions and the political structure of the Federal Republic
as well as active participation in school assemblies and
student self-government. It must be noted, however, that
the German public has become very sensitive to any form of
training in political thinking.
Grace Richards Conant in her article "German Text
books and the Nazi Past" comes to the conclusion, after a
careful study of ten recently published history books being
used in German schools, that these books contain drastic
69
judgments on German national policy and give a vivid picture
of Hitler's terrible police state. They condemn the Nazi
ideology and emphasize the fact that Hitler's pretense of
legality was merely a screen for criminal aims.11 She is
convinced— and this writer, from her own experience, agrees
— that in history teaching the German school children face
and judge their country's past and that the history curri
culum "includes the breath of the new European spirit."
In general, the new trends in educational theory
are: respect for the child’s personality, integrated
methods of instruction and the derivation of materials for
instruction from the expanding environment (Heimatkunde)
It would be a fallacy to conclude that all these
features will be found in all German schools. However, "a
definite change has overtaken the schools of West Ger-
12
many." This remark holds true for the curriculum, method,
and classroom atmosphere of the elementary schools more than
for any other school type.
■^Grace Richards Conant, "German Textbooks and the
Nazi Past," Saturday Review. XLVI (July 20, 1963), 52.
^Richard Plant, "Schools at the Crossroads,"
Saturday Review. XLVI (July 20, 1963), 49.
Current reforms
In the field of the elementary schools, some note
worthy innovations and results of educational planning in
the Lander should be mentioned here.
Hesse.— As a very rare example in the Federal Re
public, Hesse has always set aside money in its budget for
the practical tryout of educational reforms. In 1960, for
example, 210,000 DM were set aside for this special pur
pose. Hesse supported the establishment of a new type of
elementary school, the so-called Mittelpunktschule. Here,
the communities— with the financial aid of the state—
abandoned the small village schools and joined together in
building new school plants equipped with modern facilities.
Bussing was introduced to make these projects possible.
Hamburg.— In 1946 the compulsory 9th grade was
introduced in Hamburg's elementary schools. Also, the
average number of students per grade was lowered to thirty-
two in 1955 and to twenty-eight in 196 0. Hamburg's Senat
had always supported educational reforms and innovations.
Educational planning has met less resistance here than in
any other Land, with the exception of Berlin, whose popula
tion has proved equally open-minded and interested in
71
educational reforms. In this connection, it may be men
tioned that Berlin is the only Land in the Federal Republic
to introduce comprehensive high schools of the American type
on a trial basis.
Bavaria.— This Land has established so-called Auf-
bauklassen. These are two grades added above the upper
grades of the elementary school. A final examination grants
the rights of the leaving certificate of the Realschule.
With this innovation, Bavaria hopes to increase the number
of students who continue their general education after
having finished the compulsory education.
Lower Saxonv.— Here educational planners have suc
cessfully implemented the transition grades (grades 5 and 6)
which are referred to in German as Forderstufe. In 1965
there were sixty schools that had worked with the transition
grades, and by 1966 the number had risen to 150. These
transition grades are supported by school authorities and
teachers, although often neglected by parents. The litera
ture reveals that the public has to be "re-educated," as
educational innovations are more opposed by them than by
educational authorities and teaching personnel.
/
72
Bremen.— Here educational planners supported the
Grundschule with six grades instead of the four grades that
are required in other states. These six grades were made
compulsory by law on April 4, 1949. Bremen took a leading
position in this respect. Educational planners have often
pointed to the successful work in Bremen, but only a few
Lander have followed this example. Also noteworthy is the
modern curriculum in Bremen's Volksschulen that has been
worked out by educational experts. In many areas Bremen is
ahead in educational and cultural policy.
Evaluation
The West German Volksschule is still the school for
the masses. It is the main source of education for roughly
75 per cent of the population.
Since 1945 modern teaching methods have been imple
mented. Special characteristics of the Volksschule are the
central role of Heimatkunde, the integrated methods of in
struction (Gesamtunterricht), and the activity method
(Arbeitsunterricht). The educational goal is to cultivate
and develop the total personality and to prepare for the
future occupational career. "The school transmits knowledge
that is related to reality and the present time, and skills
73
leading to practical application."^
Special attention has been given— on a nationwide
scale— to history teaching and the curriculum for history.
The subject of recent history has been made compulsory
through a recommendation of the Standing Conference.
Educational policy and educational planning differ
in the eleven Lander of the Federal Republic, although for
the foreign observer it might appear as national policy.
The curriculum in each state is outlined by the Minister
for Cultural Affairs. The expenditure for education differs
greatly among the Lander. Also, the implementation of edu
cational innovations is on different levels. Educational
policy on a nationwide scale has arisen only when the
Standing Conference of the Ministers for Cultural Affairs
took up educational issues as the basis for their recommen
dations . After 1945 the extension of the compulsory full
time education, to occur as a result of the establishment
of the 9th grade in the Volksschule, was a hotly-debated
issue on a nationwide scale. Another controversial area of
1963 was the rural school issue, which made headlines in all
German newspapers. Public and professional concern had
13Theodore Huebener, The Schools of West Germany
(New York: New York University Press, 1962), p. 38.
74
developed about the unsatisfactory conditions in the small,
mostly one-room schools in remote rural areas. The Standing
Conference took up this hotly-disputed issue and recognized
the need for major planning on a national scale. The na
tional perspective is important, because the situation is
different in the various Lander. Schleswig-Holstein and
Bavaria have a high percentage of these small schools which
are considered inadequate for modern demands. In Berlin
and Hamburg this situation is unknown. The Standing Con
ference submitted long-range proposals which led to the
establishment of a new type of school, the so-called Mittel-
punktsschule. Committees join together in the efforts to
build one school— equipped with modern teaching aids and
materials— in the center of rural areas so that it can be
reached by pupils from various remote villages. The Lander
have implemented this recommendation of the Standing Con
ference in their educational policy and planning. The
degree of practical implementation, however, differs con
siderably among the Lander.
Closely connected with the rural school issue is
the issue of the so-called "untapped talent reserves," to
be considered in Chapter VII.
The transition to a Gymnasium after completion of
75
the Volksschule— although possible in theory— is nearly
impossible because of the different learning approach and
the curriculum. With respect to educational goals and
teaching methods, the three school types show marked dif
ferences which are severe obstacles to a transfer. The
majority of Volksschule graduates are therefore precluded
from pursuing higher education. One significant innovation
after 1945 was the experiment of providing for able students
a so-called "second path" to education which would allow
them to continue their education. This second path to
education, which is referred to in German as Zweiter Bil-
dungsweg, will be taken up in Chapter VII.
The Realschule
The rise of the Realschule dates back to the latter
half of the eighteenth century. Men like Semler Francke at
Halle and John Hecker at Berlin introduced schools that met
the need for knowledge and training in the practical aspects
of life. Subjects like modern languages and natural sci
ences as well as mechanics and handicrafts were introduced.
Such subjects became known as the Realien, to distinguish
them from the classical subjects. The Realschule movement
was brought to a status of greater development by the
76
citizens who were unable to assume the cost of a secondary
education, especially by the higher level of skilled labor
ers, who wanted the possibility for schooling beyond the
elementary level for their children. These schools bestowed
more social prestige than the Volksschule, and parents made
every effort to get their children admitted. The existing
number of schools was small. An entrance examination was
required and tuition had to be paid. Although this tuition
did not compare with the high fees at the Gymnasium, it
often meant a substantial sacrifice for the parents.
Children were trained for middle-class positions,
and transfer to the regular Gymnasium was not possible; such
transfer became possible only after World War II.
Intermediate schooling in the Realschule begins in
grade 5 and includes grade 10, thus giving a six-year course
of study. It leads the pupils to a final examination. The
leaving certificate is given to pupils who have successfully
completed the requirements. The term Mittlere Reife has
been adopted for this diploma. It entitles the holder to
continue his education at a Gymnasium, to enter an In-
genieurschule (college of engineering) after two years of
vocational training, to apply for admission to a Techniker-
schule (school for technicians) or to try for admission in
77
the Hohere Fachschule.
Students with a Realschule education take up careers
in business, technical, administrative and civil service
jobs. In spite of the prestige attributed to a Gymnasium
education, many youngsters who shift to secondary education
prefer to attend the intermediate school.
The Realschule offers a six-year course and in most
of the Lander has a curriculum somewhat similar to the Gym
nasium, although not comparable in depth and rigidity of
requirements. English is the only required language, while
French can be taken as an optional subject starting in
grade 7.
The curriculum is planned to produce a well-balanced
education. It is possible for a graduate to continue his
secondary education at a Gymnasium if he so desires. In
this case he has to meet the subject requirements of the
Gymnasium in addition to the languages. The curriculum of
the Realschule, however, is not designed to feed into the
secondary schools. The Realschule has both a character and
a clearly defined goal of education of its own. It is a
terminal type of school program and not designed to prepare
for the shift to the Gymnasium. The increasing numbers of
enrollment indicate the growth of this school type.
78
In 1950 there were 196,067 students enrolled in the
Mittelschule. Within a decade the figure climbed to 317,000
in 1959. The estimated enrollment for 1967 is 556,624 and
for 1970 a pupil enrollment as high as 627,706 is predict
ed.^ See Table 2.
The methods of instruction follow the same prin
ciples that have been described for the Volksschule. Em
phasis is placed on close articulation of all subjects with
present problems and with concrete situations. Since the
subjects are taught by specialist teachers, the importance
of cooperation and conferences is evident. The curriculum
covers a variety of subjects. Bookkeeping, shorthand and
typing are elective subjects. Subjects such as these cannot
be found in the secondary schools, since they are considered
vocational, not academic, in nature. As compared with the
curriculum of secondary schools, that of the Realschule is
less academic and less directed to preparation for further
study in higher institutions. The Realschule is intended
primarily for students who combine scholarly ability with
practical capacity and who usually aspire to better-paid
positions in business and industry.
14Bedarfsfeststelluna. 1961-1970, p. 19.
TABLE 2
ENROLIMENT IN WEST GERMAN SCHOOLS: PAST AND PREDICTED
Past Enrollment Predicted Enrollment
1959 1961 1967 1970
Elementary schools
Intermediate schools
Secondary schools
4,914,000
317.000
784.000
5,148,000
345,000
784,400
6,262,418
556,624
910,998
6,566,197
627,706
954,344
Source: BedarfsfeststeHung. 1961-1970. p. 19.
- j
\o
80
Suggestions have been made to extend the length of
schooling for an additional year, terminating after the
v.
eleventh grade. None of the Lander have made this step.
The major problem— among other obstacles— is the lack of
funds, teachers, and school plants.
The Realschule does not regard the imparting of
knowledge as its sole task. Rather it endeavors to educate
its pupils to be free, independent, capable young people
conscious of their responsibilities. To this end, working
instruction in which master and pupils work together in
studying a subject or doing a task, instruction in groups
and in communities of master-with-pupils, rambling, stays
in country homes and pupil exchange are, among other things,
intended to contribute to this goal.
For the foreign reader, it should be emphasized that
the Realschule, which was called Mittelschule (intermediate
school) up to 196 5, is not an intermediate school between
the Volksschule and the Gymnasium comparable to the ele
mentary, junior high and senior high school sequence in the
United States. The Realschule runs parallel to the Volks
schule and the Gymnasium and encompasses grades 5 through
10. It is a special terminal school type and is part of
the German tripartite school system.
81
The growing demand for government, industry, and
business personnel offers attractive job possibilities for
Realschule graduates. In spite of this, the Realschule is
far less supported than the Gymnasium or the Volksschule.
Professor Derbolav, a specialist in this field, calls the
Realschule "a step-child among the school types for general
education, which has not yet found the place which it
15
deserves." Though this school has made much progress
since World War II, and though the enrollment figures are
steadily climbing, government support is lacking and the
Lander ministries vary greatly in their financial support
of the Realschulen.
The distribution of this type of school also varies
widely throughout the Federal Republic. In general, it can
be said that the northern parts have a we11-developed net
of Realschulen, whereas the south, especially the Lander
with a Catholic majority, falls below the average in student
enrollment.^
Josef Derbolav, Vom Wesen und Werden der Real
schule (Bonn: Bouvier, 1960).
^Roderick von Carnap and Friedrich Edding, Der
relative Schulbesuch in den Landern der Bundesreoublik
(Frankfurt: Hochschule fur Internationale Padagogische
Forschung, 1962), diagram 5.
82
The Realschule, however, does have some support,
since it seems to be especially well-suited for the growing
number of youth heading for white-collar occupations. Also,
it is supported by those who advocate that the Realschule
should help provide an education for those who seek access
to the Gymnasium, although not talented enough to follow
the rigid course of study. On the other hand, the Real
schule is attacked by those thinking the Realschule is
superfluous if the upper level of the Volksschule could be
strengthened and expanded to grade 10.
However, in spite of all arguments pro and con, and
less support by Land ministries, the esteem of the public
outweighs the opposition to a great extent. The increased
interest displayed in intermediate schools, which turned
out much-sought-after young people qualified to take up
intermediate grade posts and technical professions, is a
much-debated but striking aspect of German education.
Such support seems indicative of the stubbornness
of the German public in sticking to their old time-honored
values of education. Educators have not been able either
to talk them into the Gymnasium or to talk them out of the
Realschule.
Available data indicate that 16.5 per cent of the
83
corresponding age group received the certificate of the
Mittlere Reife in 1963 as compared to 7.4 per cent who re
ceived the Abitur diploma, and 69.2 per cent who completed
the final grade of the elementary school and went into
vocational training (see Table 3).
Since its establishment, however, the Realschule
has been--and in fact still is today— a hybrid which is
higher in standard than the elementary, lower than the
secondary and catering to the demands of the less well-to-do
lower middle classes.
In Germany, as in most European countries that do
not have a comprehensive type of school, there seems to be
the need of some kind of school between the elementary and
secondary levels. Since the elementary school is limited
in its scope and the secondary school definitely directed
to academic training, the Realschule obviously illustrates
the need for education beyond the elementary level.
The Gymnasium
General design
The various types of secondary schools grew out of
the classical Gymnasium. Until the end of the nineteenth
century, the classical Gymnasium was the only institution
TABLE 3
SCHOOL LEAVERS AT DIFFERENT STAGES: GENERAL EDUCATION
Categories of school leavers,
normal length of school
attendance, average age
School
1960
leavers
1963
Population
in corresponding
age group
1960 1963
School leavers as
% of corresponding
age group
1960 1963
School leavers who completed
the final class of compul
sory general education
(Volksschuleoberstufe) and
did not continue their
studies in general educa
tion. 406,900 537,600 610,000 776,600 66.7 69.2
Normal length: 8-9 years
Average age: 14-15
0 0
TABLE 3— Continued
Categories of school leavers,
normal length of school
attendance, average age
School
1960
leavers
1963
Population
in corresponding
age group
1960 1963
School leavers as
% of corresponding
age group
1960 1963
School leavers who completed
the final class of secondary
general education shorter
course (Real- or Mittel-
schule and equivalent level)
and did not continue their
studies in general education 128,200 102,500 784,000 622,900 16.4 16.5
Normal length: 10 years
Average age: 17-18
School leavers who completed
the final form of secondary
general education and
thereby qualified for high
er education (Gymnasium,
Abitur) 55,700 59,000 1,061,000 796,800 5.5 7.4
Normal length: 13 years
Average age: 19-21
Source: Council for Cultural Cooperation, Strasbourg, 1965.
oo
86
which prepared students above the elementary level for ad
mission to the university. In the twentieth century other
types of secondary schools developed in response to economic
and social changes; however, they are all called Gymnasien,
with an adjective to indicate the special type. Three
types have been preserved in German secondary education to
this day; the Altsprachliches Gymnasium, the Neusprach-
liches Gymnasium and the Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaft-
liches Gymnasium.
Altsprachliches Gymnasium.— This is the classical
(ancient languages) Gymnasium with emphasis on Latin and
Greek and one modern foreign language. One more foreign
language, ancient or modern, is optional. The relative
number of these schools has been decreasing since the turn
of the century (see Table 4).
Neusorachliches Gymnasium.— This is the modern lan
guage Gymnasium, emphasizing two modern foreign languages,
predominantly English, and Latin, or French. It offers more
instruction in mathematics and the sciences than the clas
sical Gymnasium. This type is by far the most numerous
(see Table 5).
87
TABLE 4
NUMBER OF TEACHING PERIODS PER SUBJECT:
HUMANISTIC GYMNASIUM
Required
Subjects
5 6 7
School
8 9
Year
10 11 12 13
Religion 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
German 5 5 4 4 4 3 3 4 5
History 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 3
Geography 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
Social
Studies 1 1 2
Latin 6 6 5 5 5 4 4 4 6
Greek 6 6 5 5 4 6
French 5 3 3 3 3 3 3
Mathematics 4 4 4 4 3 3 3 3 3
Physics 2 2 2 2 2
Chemistry 2 1 2
Biology 2 2 2 2 2 2
Music 2 2 2
1
J . 1 1 2 2 2
Fine Arts 2 2 2 2 2 1 2 2 2
Physical
Training 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 2
28 28 33 33 34 34 34 35 33
A pupil must decide in Class 11 whether he will take music
or fine arts. In Class 13 he has the choice of two hours
of Geography, French, biology, or chemistry.
88
TABLE 5
NUMBER OF TEACHING PERIODS PER SUBJECT:
MODERN LANGUAGE GYMNASIUM
Required
Subjects
5 6 7
School Year
8 9 10 11 12 13
Religion 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
German 6 6 4 4 4 4 4 4 5
History 2 2 2 2 2 2 3
Geography 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
Social
Studies 1 1 1 2
English 5 5 4 4 4 3 3 3 4
French-Latin 6 6 4 3 3 3 4
Latin-French 6 5 5 4 5
Mathematics 4 4 4 4 3 3 3 3 3
Physics 2 2 2 2 2
Chemistry 2 1 2
Biology 2 2 2 2 1 2 2
Music 2 2 2 1 1 1 2 2 2
Fine Arts 2 2 2 2 2 1 2 2 2
Physical
Training 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 2
28 28 33 33 34 34 34 34 32
A pupil must decide in Class 11 whether he will take music
or fine arts. Needlework is only for girls. In Class 13
a pupil has the choice of two hours of geography, physics,
biology, or chemistry. A pupil choosing French as his
second language takes it for the number of periods shown
for Latin-French. If he chooses Latin, he follows the
schedule in reverse.
89
Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliches Gymnasium.—
This is the mathematics-natural science Gymnasium with two
modern languages and special emphasis on the sciences and
mathematics. The number of schools of this type consider
ably exceeds that of the ancient language Gymnasium, but it
is only about two-thirds of the number of the modern lan
guage Gymnasium (see Table 6).
The Gymnasium gives access to higher education. It
leads from the fifth to the thirteenth school year, at the
end of which there is a comprehensive examination to deter
mine whether the student has achieved sufficient knowledge
and mental discipline for graduate studies on the university
level. The secondary education lasts nine years in all
Lander except Hamburg, Bremen, and West Berlin, where the
course of study is seven years. The leaving examination is
known as the Abitur (maturity examination). It is very
difficult and passing it carries high prestige. "One might
say that an Abitur graduate with a B average has covered as
much subject matter as the holder of a bachelor degree from
an American college.In general, however, American
universities agree to give an Abitur holder at least
17Plant, p. 50.
90
TABLE 6
NUMBER OF TEACHING PERIODS PER SUBJECT:
MATHEMATICS-NATURAL SCIENCE GYMNASIUM
Required
Subjects
5 6 7
School Year
8 9 10 11 12 13
Religion 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
German 6 6 4 4 4 4 4 4 5
History 2 2 2 2 2 2 3
Geography 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
Social
Studies 1 1 1 2
English 5 5 4 4 4 3 3 4
French-Latin 6 6 4 3 3 3 4
Mathematics 4 4 4 4 4 4 5 5 5
Physics 2 3 3 3 3 3
Chemistry 2 3 3 2 2
Biology 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
Music 2 2 2 1 1 1 2 2 2
Fine Arts 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
Physical
Training 3 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 2
28 28 33 33 34 34 34 34 32
A pupil must decide in Class 11 whether he will take music
or fine arts. Needlework is only for girls. In Class 13
a pupil has the choice of two hours of geography or Eng
lish. Only two foreign languages are required. If the
student chooses French as his second language, he may take
Latin as an additional subject.
91
sophomore standing. t
The maturity examination was introduced as early as
1788 to bring about standardization of instruction, and the
universities were advised to admit only students who had
passed the maturity examination. The Prussian Ministry then
outlined a plan of studies covering nine years of schooling.
Latin as the principal subject, with Greek, German and
mathematics, as well as French, religion, philosophy and
natural sciences were required. The transition from sec
ondary to university education came about at age twenty.
The Gymnasium was the only avenue leading to the universi
ties . By retaining high tuition fees the upper class made
certain that only pupils of acceptable families could enter
into positions of influence.
The Gymnasium is still the standard by which sec
ondary education is being measured. The classes are known
by their original German-Latin designations. These are,
from the lowest to the highest, Sexta, Quinta, Quarta,
Untertertia, Obertertia, Untersekunda, Obersekunda, Unter-
prima and Oberprima.
For centuries the chief goal of the Gymnasium was
to transmit the European cultural heritage and to mold the
minds of a selected group of pupils by means of a rigorous
92
course of studies, centered around the ancient languages
Latin and Greek, also mathematics, history, German, one
modern language, some science, and physical education. The
disciplinary power of each of these subjects of instruction
was considered at least as valuable as their content.
Knowledge and mental discipline were the measurable results
which the Gymnasium tried to achieve with its pupils. It
was assumed that the integration of this knowledge in young
minds trained to apply the categories of formal logic was
sure also to form the characters of the students sufficient
ly to make them fit for further independent studies in the
"academic freedom" of the universities and to prepare them
for positions of leadership in various fields.
The educational goal has been defined as the trans
mission of the cultural heritage of the past in the old
tradition of humanistic idealism. This goal, in German
termed Bildungsziel, has molded the entire curriculum in
the Gymnasium. Perpetuation of such humanistic education
has been critically analyzed by some noted sociologists.
For example, Theodor Litt and Robert Ulich point to the
fact that the humanists of the Renaissance, in their eager
efforts to bring to life the ideals of the past, misinter
preted the Greek ideal of the truly educated man by
93
emphasizing a detachment from the affairs of life and a
contemplation of abstract values. This led to the retreat
into an "ivory tower" that became characteristic of German
higher education and its assessment of educational goals
and values.
Since Wilhelm von Humboldt the clash between the
"truly educated" man in the humanistic sense that excludes
practical affairs and the "trained" man, the clash between
Bildung and Erziehung, has been recognized as a problem
that exists in all branches of education.
Even in the language, this split found expression
in two words for the term "education": Bildung and Er
ziehung. Erziehung refers to education in the sense of
growth and development (from erziehen: to bring up, to
train, to educate). Bildung refers to education in the
sense of cultivation and formation (from bilden: to culti
vate, to form, to shape).
This humanistic goal of education (das humanistische
Bildungsideal) forms the center for the course of study in
the Gymnasium and is most visible in the overemphasis on
mathematics and linguistic subjects, while natural and
social sciences play a minimum role.
Although these attitudes moderated considerably in
94
progressive schools, they still exist as a very severe
problem in many Lander. The graduate of a German Gymnasium
has spent almost 50 per cent of his time on German, Mathe
matics, Latin, and Greek, and perhaps 15 per cent on the
subject of Social Studies. See Tables 4, 5, and 6.
The individual is stuffed with knowledge, hence
educated in a very isolated manner, but hardly prepared for
life in the community and for his responsibilities as a
citizen. Pupils themselves very often complain that they
are treated as objects rather than as subjects.
The goal of intellectual training, the gaining of
abstract concepts, the acquiring of high verbal skills, top
the requirements in the Gymnasium. Felix Messerschmid, a
leading member of the Philologenverband, is in agreement
with the majority of Gymnasium teachers when he writes that
"it is not the concern of the Gymnasium to prepare for life,
18
but for the sake of Bildung."
In theory the Gymnasium has three different types.
In practice, especially in small towns and rural communi
ties, there often can be found one Gymnasium type, which
•^Felix Messerschmid, Die Bildunasaufaabe der
hoheren Schule in der heuticen Gesellschaft (Miinchen: Link,
1960), p. 38.
95
nearly always is the classical type, as this form is sup
ported by the Church and the Ministry.
Many middle class parents find this type of educa
tion outdated for an industrial society. They would rather
send their child to a Realschule, hoping that through the
expansion and provisions of the second path to education
(Zweiter Bildungsweg) their child might reach the Abitur.
Children from the working classes and the large
number of children from farmer families in these rural
districts continue the Volksschule. Their parents can see
19
no value in "that Latin and Greek stuff." Consequently,
there is almost never an overflow to the Gymnasium in these
areas and hardly ever a petition to establish a second
Gymnasium. If there are too many applicants, practices have
shown that the children of the upper class families who
usually hold high-status positions in the area are given
preference. Others are turned down because the admission—
although in theory based on ability— is based on the number
of places available.
These practices in rural areas finally in 1963 be
came part of the big rural school issue and the slogan of
19This is a common saying in lower class families.
96
the "untapped talent reserve" was developed. This problem
will be taken up in detail in Chapter VII.
The course of study
The course of study in the Gymnasium is a long and
thorough educational training for the future elite. It is
so demanding that nine years is the customary length— the
longest form of secondary school program in the world. The
work is strenuous and failure is common. "It is an open
and much disputed question, how large the group of the most
talented children is that can profit from the rigorous elite
education.
In 1952 the average of Abitur graduates was 4.1 per
cent; in 196 0 the national average of Abitur graduates was
5.6 per cent. In 1963 the average had risen to 7.4 per
* . 21
cent.
Alex Stviwer in his research shows that 45.88 per
cent of those that started the Gymnasium dropped out and
22
did not reach the Abitur. In general, a figure of
2Oursula Springer, "West German School Reform in
Social and Political Context" (unpublished Ph.D. disserta
tion, Columbia University, 1964), p. 99.
2^Carnap and Edding, p. 10.
22Alex Stuwer, "Die voraussichtliche Entwicklung
97
40 per cent is given as a rough estimate of losses in the
Gymnasium. The rigid curriculum and these high losses, as
well as the structural form of the Gymnasium, have been the
center of attacks by the public. The Gymnasium teachers
themselves, however, have always defended the form of the
Gymnasium and ignored criticism. They feared a loss of
social prestige and rejected reform proposals as "lowering
of intellectual standards."
At their annual convention on May 29-30, 1964, the
German Philologenverband (Association of Gymnasium teachers)
came to the conclusion that "the structure of the German
school system (tripartite) fulfills the needs of the citi
zen. The comprehensive school is rejected because it does
23
not fulfill the needs of a pluralistic society."
The Gymnasium makes substantial demands on its
pupils' intellectual capacity and eagerness to achieve.
Because they cannot reach the required standard, a large
number of them have to leave the school prematurely.
Helmut Becker, a leading German educational expert,
der Abiturientenzahlen bis zum Jahre 1980," Die Hohere
Schule. No. 2 (1964).
2^Gerhard 3rede, "Bericht liber die Tagung des Ge-
samtvorstandes des Deutschen Philologenverbandes am 29. &
30. Mai 1964," Die Hohere Schule. No. 7 (1964), 143.
98
vividly attacked the selectivity of the Gymnasium and the
social reputation that is connected with a Gymnasium educa
tion, arguing that in the contemporary world limited higher
education for an elite is completely dysfunctional. The
selected education for an upper class is not adequate to
. . 24
the changed social stratification of a modern society.
The Minister of Cultural Affairs for the Land
North Rhine-Westphalia supports this criticism by saying:
"The Gymnasien will have to subject their structure to a
critical examination, when one considers what a large per
centage of their pupils at present fall by the wayside
25
without achieving their Abitur."
German secondary schools do not practice promotion
by subjects. A group in a classroom will take all subjects
together. If the student at the end of the school year has
failed in two major subjects, he is not promoted and has to
repeat the year's course in every subject.
Another general characteristic is that a subject
will be continued through all grades. A subject cannot be
^Helmut Becker, "Schule und Verwaltung," Die Hohere
Schule. No. 7 (1964), 110.
25paul Mikat, "The German Bildungsrat and Education
al Reform," in Education in Germany (Bonn: Inter Nationes,
1965), No. 5, p. 3.
99
dropped. It will be a part of the Abitur examination.
Fundamentally, the principles are the same in all
three types of the Gymnasium— the classic, modern language
or mathematics-science type. The differences are only in
the emphasis given to certain subjects. It is understood
that the curriculum in each type includes subjects such as
history, geography, sciences, art, music, physical educa
tion and German. Richard Plant writes:
The character of the Gymnasium has definitely
been altered in recent years. . . . Finally, some
thing else began to happen, something harder to
assess and put into words: the ancient authori
tarian pattern of classroom instruction gradually
began to give way to more flexible techniques.26
He attributes this change to the younger teacher generation
that received their education after the collapse of the
Third Reich.
There exists a sharp split between the generations.
The few older teachers I observed during my trip still
revealed traces of the former paternalistic pattern.
The generation gap is a serious factor in the realm of
German education.27
This observation by Richard Plant is accurate, for
the generation gap is a serious problem in the German Gym
nasium. Ursula Springer writes:
26Plant, p. 49. 27Ibid.
100
It is characteristic of the Gymnasium teacher
that in most cases he speaks of himself as Philologe,
as also his main professional organization is called
Deutscher Philologenverband and its journal, the
Philoloaenblatt. This shows the strong emphasis of
these teachers on their function as transmitters of
subject matter and a de-emphasis of their role as
pedagogues and participants— with colleagues from
other school categories— in the common enterprise
of public education."
The young and modern Gymnasium teacher, educated
after World War II, greatly differs from the old type. He
regards himself more as a subject matter expert and "resents
the somewhat isolated position from the adult world that a
29
school inherently represents."
The older professional sees the "exalted status of
the traditional Gymnasium (and their position with it) sub-
30
ject to some critical examination" and a widespread frus
tration and discontent can be noted among the older Gymna
sium teachers.
In an assessment of teaching methods, the author
prefers to quote Theodore Huebener in The Schools of West
31
Germany. published in 1962:
28Springer, p. 104.
"ibid. . p. 105. 30I
3^-Since then things have changed, but for many a
Gymnasium the descriptions given hold true. Being a German,
the author wants to prevent an accusation of being partial
101
The many refinements of classroom procedures— what
we in America consider a mark of good teaching— are
largely ignored. The Studienrat does not worry about
motivation, eliciting corrections from the class,
remedial teaching, differentiation of assignment,
pupil participation, the socialized recitation, the
effective use of the blackboard, etc. . . . The
teacher teaches and the pupil learns, that is the
basic philosophy. There is no need to motivate, to
arouse and maintain interest to provide incentives.
The student knows that if he does not maintain him
self, he will be dropped out. His entire future
depends on his passing the Abitur.
The teaching procedures are chiefly questioning
and lecturing. The lecture method and the recita
tion are the mainstay of the lesson. Asking ques
tions occupies the greater part of the period.
Furthermore, it is teacher and pupil communication.
The teacher asks a question; the pupil answers,
directing his answer to the teacher, not to the
class. The concept of the socialized recitation is
unknown. In the 123 lessons I have observed, only
three times was a pupil asked to address the class.
As for having the pupils suggest corrections,
the German teacher considers this inefficient and
time-consuming. He makes the corrections himself.
And as for creating and maintaining interest,
the teacher does not have to "sell" himself or his
subject. Most subjects are required anyway and the
pupil is obliged to take them whether he likes them
or not. "His is not to reason why, but to study and
get by."32
Huebener concludes his observations of teaching
procedures by pointing out that:
when criticizing teaching methods in contrast to American
practices.
32Theodore Huebener, The Schools of West Germany
(New York: New York University Press, 1962), p. 117.
102
the German teacher on the secondary level secures good
results because of three basic factors: his own thor
ough training, the highly selected student body, and
the realization on the part of the pupil that he must
do good work if he is to remain in the Gymnasium and
pass the Abitur.
The Studienrat. in all fairness, should be com
pared with our college professor rather than with our
high school teacher.3^
Recent reforms
During the last hundred years the Gymnasium in
Germany has clearly developed into an institution preparing
the way for a course of studies at a university, and the
Gymnasium school-leaving certificate is a prerequisite for
entry to a university. On the other hand, this type of
school is intended to provide a general education of a high
standard, irrespective of whether the pupil goes on to a
university. Its school-leaving certificate is therefore
often— and without any real need--looked upon as a pre
requisite before the holder can embark on any one of a
number of careers. Because of these two distinctions, the
high schools soon tend to become either places for the in
culcation of knowledge or establishments providing a train
ing for future use. This ambiguity in the aim of education
has become a focal point for debate, leading to changes of
33Ifeid., p. 119.
103
the curriculum in the upper level of the Gymnasium.
In 1959 the Standing Conference worked out plans to
reconstruct the upper level of the Gymnasium. These recom
mendations were put into law by nearly all Lander of the
Federal Republic. These recommendations are known to every
educational planner and the teaching staff as the Rahmen-
vereinbarung zur Neugestaltung der Oberstufe der Gymnasien.
The aim is to make the instruction given in the
upper classes more concentrated in order to encourage the
student's independence and sense of responsibility. After
the 10th grade mathematics and sciences can be dropped in
the Altsprachliches Gymnasium and, in reverse, the modern
languages can be dropped in the Mathematisch-Naturwissen-
schaftliches Gymnasium. In the Neusprachliches Gymnasium
either Latin or mathematics and science can be dropped.
With these truly revolutionary innovations, the educational
planners tried to eliminate the broad variety of subjects
that the student is forced to attend and allow him a greater
concentration and depth in the subjects which characterize
the type of Gymnasium that the student has chosen.
These recommendations for reconstruction of the
upper level of the Gymnasium (grades 11-13) were the first
step in long-range educational planning in the sector of
104
the Gymnasium. In 1966 the Standing Conference in their
112th session made public a new recommendation to recon
struct the organizational form and the content of grades
34
5 to 11 in the Gymnasium. These new results of educa
tional planning are known as Richtlinien und Empfehlungen
zur Ordnung des Unterrichts in den Klassen 5-11 der Gymna-
sien.
The Gymnasium of the
future
Considerable interest was aroused in Germany by a
conference on the Gymnasium and its reform held at the
Protestant Academy at Loccum in September, 1965. The pro
ceedings of this conference are important because they
provide an idea of the efforts being made at present to
change the Gymnasium. At this conference sharp differences
in opinion were expressed about what form the changes were
to assume. The universities, whose character and require
ments were responsible for the form of the traditional
Gymnasium of the nineteenth century, as well as large num
bers of grammar school teachers, are unwilling to abandon
the classical type, whose function is to turn out pupils
34Bilduna und Erziehuna (Bad Godesberg: Inter
Nationes, 1966), No. 7/8, p. 25.
105
qualified to study at the university. On the other hand,
reforming spirits such as the Gottingen professor Hartmut
von Hentig take education to mean something different? they
wish to emphasize its link with modern society and with
character training, and here increasing significance is
being attached to Anglo-Saxon ideas.
Hentig, for instance, spoke in favor of a general
Forderstufe (guidance and observation stage). This scheme
has up to now only been applied in West Berlin, Hamburg,
Bremen, Hesse, and Lower Saxony. Hentig also advocated
that the aim of the modern grammar school should be to turn
out "non-specialized" people, who would be equipped to
change their professions. A school education should enable
them to adapt themselves to changes in the world and in
society and make them familiar with the characteristics of
the world in which they work. Hentig proposed that German
grammar schools should teach more technology, statistics,
and social sciences, but also time- and labor-saving tech
niques such as typewriting and car-driving— all in all a
catalogue of revolutionary ideas for a German Gymnasium.
His opponent was Elisabeth von der Lieth, Hamburg,
who defended the established tripartite school system.
The system had long since ceased to be the symbol of an
106
out-dated class society, she said; instead, it had in its
favor the fact that it allowed useful distinctions to be
made among children with different types of ability, and
also a homogeneous school atmosphere which the comprehensive
school, with its constant changing among widely differing
courses, was unable to offer. The tripartite system had
clearer educational aims and could look after the interests
of pupils on a more personal level than the comprehensive
school, which is usually extremely large. Finally, it was
evident that society was in favor of three separate kinds
of education, she said.
According to the representative of the Donors1
Society for German Science, Dr. Nord, German industry was
far more interested in grammar school graduates with a
general education, and rejected premature specialization.
The increase in the numbers of pupils passing the maturity
examination should not by any means be achieved at the cost
of lowering standards in this examination. For this reason
he rejected the guidance and observation stage, as it in
terfered with the continuity of the nine-year curriculum at
the grammar school.
Speaking on behalf of university teachers, Professor
Rudolf Lennart of the Free University, Berlin, was able to
107
give an interesting account of grammar school graduates
nowadays. He praised their ability to express themselves
and their skill in discussion, which are often astonishingly
good, as well as their increased self-confidence and prac
tical knowledge of foreign languages. Modern teaching
methods and the more informal pupil-teacher relationship in
the grammar school of today appear to be having an effect
already. But Professor Lennert did not try to conceal the
disadvantages of this new type of pupil either: the balance
between book-learning and learning by means of personal
assimilation has shifted in favor of the latter method,
group work is over-emphasized, the importance of discussion
in school over-estimated; and the consequence is often a
skeptical view of science, frivolous criticism of opponents
in discussion, a lack of self-criticism, and inaccuracy in
thought and speech.
In some respects, therefore, developments may be
expected to overtake criticism of the grammar school. This
criticism, said Richard Langeheine, minister of education
in Lower Saxony, has always been uttered with a clear note
of conviction, as if failures in the attempt to reform
society could be made good by means of school reform.
Regarding the present violent controversy over
108
quality or quantity surrounding the maturity examination,
Herr Langeheine said that the grammar school of the future
had no choice: it will have to attempt to reconcile the
two.
One thing may be regarded as definite: the grammar
school is already heading for the future. Though progress
may still seem slow for reforming spirits, school children
today have far more opportunities to take subjects of their
own choice and inclination than the Gymnasium pupils of the
past. If late developers reveal abilities of an academic
nature, they have chances to make the transition from the
primary school or intermediate school to the grammar school.
It is hoped that this relaxing of the barriers, which even
twenty years ago was unthinkable, will ensure a constantly
increasing flow of pupils from other kinds of school to the
grammar school in order to pursue a secondary education.^
However, as it looks so far in 1966, there is no indication
that the tripartite school structure will be abandoned in
favor of a comprehensive high school that would unite "all
the children from all the people under one roof."
35Education in Germany. No. 11 (1965).
The Vocational Schools
The idea of adult education stems from Lasalle's
socialist organization, founded in 1863. It received a
great stimulus in 1875 from the foundation of the German
Socialist Party. A wide program of adult education was
evolved, and by 1914 a strong adult education movement was
playing a vital part in cultural life. It did not merely
want to disseminate knowledge, but mold the personal life
through the experience of values. In the Danish Folkehoj-
skolen, which were residential, and in the German evening
folk high schools (Volkshochschulen) this idea found its
significant expression (non-residential institutes).
"The State will consider the promotion of folk high
schools as one of its essential duties." This statement,
36
made by the Prussian Ministry xn 1919, is fully endorsed
in post-World War II Germany, and adult education has become
an important cornerstone of a modern society. Affluence and
a decrease in working hours have raised the importance of
adult education as an effective potential in the so-called
Zweiter Bildungsweg (second path to education). The
36R. H. Samuel, Education and Society in Modern
Germany (London: Routledge, Kegan, Paul Ltd., 1949), p.
143.
110
Volkshochschulen are often referred to as the "People's
University." In 1962 the German government reported the
existence of more than 1,100 of these institutions, in
addition to about thirty Heimvolkshochschulen, which are
domestic and serve as education centers for adults. In
1962, about 7,000,000 persons availed themselves of these
37
facilities. They are open to everyone without regard to
age, sex, race or religion. The effectiveness is shown by
steadily rising enrollment figures.
Since 1945 these institutions have been given a
special impetus. The most popular courses at the Volks
hochschulen are those which promise a tangible return, such
as foreign languages and domestic science. A young adult
might use them to "polish up" his knowledge to gain admis
sion to vocational schools which could allow him to con
tinue his education and finally, through the provisions
made for the "second path to education," he might be able
to enter a university.
Vocational education has always played an important
part in German education, and graduates of vocational
37The Press and Information Office of the Federal
Government of Germany, Facts about Germany (Wiesbaden:
Franz Steiner Verlag, 1964), pp. 309-314.
Ill
schools play an important role in modern German society.
The German economy needs them more than ever, because the
war has reduced the number of qualified persons and German
economy is highly dependent on the quality of the industrial
products manufactured.
Germany has a highly diversified and well-organized
system of vocational schools.
In no other European country is there such a well-
organized and extensive system of institutions for
providing training for all possible trades and voca
tions . They cover the entire range of industrial,
commercial, and professional skills. They endeavor
to provide for the needs of all types and ages of
workers from the child who leaves the elementary
school to the adult in the advanced vocational school
who plans to enter a university.
Vocational technical education in the Federal Re
public covers training for industries, trades, and tech
niques. The division reflects the historical development
from the medieval training (Guilde) to all forms of modern
techniques.
Differentiation is made between the vocational
schools (Berufsschulen), the specialized professional
schools (Berufsfachschulen), and technical schools
38Huebener, p. 56.
112
(Fachschulen and Hohere Fachschulen). The technical schools
differ from the vocational schools in that they allow for
general studies at the same time as specialized training is
given. They carry on the vocational training on a higher
level. Prerequisite for attendance are the completion of
vocational training and a minimum age of eighteen years.
The foreign reader will also find the distinction between
these schools given as Berufsschulen = part-time vocational
schools, Berufsfachschulen = full-time vocational schools,
and Fachschulen, Hohere Fachschulen and Ingenieurschulen =
advanced vocational schools. The advanced vocational
schools allow for differentiation between more than fifty
39
different vocations.
About 75 to 80 per cent of German children, after
having fulfilled the legal requirements of full-time atten
dance, go into employment connected with an apprenticeship.
According to law, they must receive part-time schooling up
to the age of eighteen. They may attend— in case of an
employment— part-time vocational schools or full-time voca
tional schools if they prefer to do so.
Lasalle's ideas about adult education (1863) and
39Facts about Germany, p. 309.
113
George Kerschensteiner's ideas gave the stimulus to the
continuous education of the young adult, which was made
compulsory in the Weimar Republic in 1919. Thus, Germany
was the first European nation to attach much importance to
this field, and Germany has continued to develop its system
of vocational technical training into a broad variety of
schools. The purpose and functioning of these schools,
their requirements, and certificates are described in
greater detail in Chapter VII so that the foreign reader
may be able to gain a better picture as well as to better
understand their impact on the "second path to education."
The schools under discussion are the following:
Berufsschulen, Berufsfachschulen, Berufsaufbauschulen,
Fachschulen, Hohere Fachschulen, and Ingenieurschulen.
The Berufsschule
Education is compulsory to the age of eighteen
years. Of this period, nine years are spent in a full-time
school of general education; the rest of the compulsory
period is to be spent in a part-time vocational school, the
so-called Berufsschule, where the students usually receive
instruction once a week. Attendance up to the eighteenth
year of age is compulsory for all those not enrolled in a
114
full-time school (vocational or secondary). It is the task
of the part-time vocational school to complete and reinforce
practical training gained in industry, trade, commerce,
agriculture, home economics, etc., by instruction especially
related to the future job and at the same time to provide a
further general education. Instruction of eight to twelve
period per week is given.
At the end of the training the student has to pass
an examination which is conducted by the appropriate handi
craft, industry, trade, or agricultural chamber. School
officials and representatives from the Chmaber form a joint
commission. A certificate is given in the form of a jour
neyman's or assistant's letter. Up to about 1958 (before
the effective innovation of the "second path to education"),
the education for about 75 per cent of German youth ended
here.
Vocational schools avoid any criticism of a lag
between the curriculum and the practical life situation
because they are closely linked with business and industry,
as demonstrated in a joint examination committee of teachers
and chamber members who set the standards and requirements.
However, Berufsschulen vary greatly in quality and
quantity of instruction. Full implementation of instruction
1X5
is sometimes not attained in certain rural communities.
These schools are supposed to add to the general education
of the adolescent and to supplement the practical experience
by supplying theoretical information. No entrance examina
tions are required. In larger cities, these schools work
quite effectively and satisfactorily to meet the needs of
the various vocations. This cannot be said of rural areas
and small communities, although exceptions are possible.
It is characteristic of the present situation that most of
the apprentices failing in the journeyman’s examination do
so not because of unsatisfactory practical knowledge, but
because their theoretical knowledge is inadequate. An
interesting experiment has been made in Baden-Wurttemberg
and is referred to as the "Constance model."
By order of the trade guild, with the approval of
the chambers of trade, all apprentices would be obliged
under this scheme to attend supplementary courses during
the years of their apprenticeship.
The timetable of the Constance model is as follows:
. . . four to six weeks of courses in the first year;
three weeks in the second year; two weeks in the third
year; one week in the fourth year. This means that
twelve weeks, with forty lessons a week, i.e., 480
lessons, are available, in which the apprentices are
taught by particularly experienced teaching staff.
f
116
What they learn is, so to speak, concentrated prac
tice. In the first year, for example, they receive
a basic training in the metal-working trades, com
pressed into four to six weeks. In the following
years of their apprenticeships they are made familiar
with special branches, which they would otherwise
have little if any experience of with the firms to
which they are apprenticed.40
Although this experiment has proved extremely suc
cessful, hitherto it has not been possible to extend this
system of courses owing to difficulties of accommodation.
Out of forty-five chambers of trade in the Federal
41
Republic, twenty-six already have their own collective
training establishments, in some cases with boarding-houses
attached. Apart from the chambers of trade, a number of
guilds and trade associations also have collective workshops
where continuation courses for apprentices, journeymen and
master-craftsmen are held.
The Berufsfachschule
The Berufsfachschule (full-time vocational school)
usually lasts two years. This type of school mainly pre
pares pupils for vocations in the field of commerce or
domestic science. Vocational instruction and practical
40Education in Germany. No. 9 (1965), 11.
41Deutsches Elektrohandwerk. XII (1966).
117
training are combined in the school itself. Its leaving
certificate often grants rights equivalent to those of the
Realschule. The Berufsfachschule is usually attended after
completion of the Volksschule or sometimes of the Real
schule . The most common form in this latter case is the
Hohere Handelsschule (secondary commercial school), which
has one year of studies.
Berufsfachschulen may be organized by industrial
organizations, by the communities or the cities. Many more
girls than boys attend these schools.
Berufsfachschulen provide thirty to forty hours of
instruction per week. Attendance is not compulsory, which
is an important distinction between the part-time and full
time vocational school. The students devote all their time
to their classes. Students are very rarely permitted to
engage in outside practical training. The curriculum does
not follow the pattern of the Berufsschule. The differences
between these two types are very distinct. The curriculum
of a one-year Berufsfachschule is given in Table 7. Since
the Hohere Handelsschule is the most common type of special
ized professional school, its curriculum has been chosen
for demonstration.
118
TABLE 7
CURRICULUM OF A ONE-YEAR HOHERE HANDELSSCHULE
Subject
Number of hours
a week
per semester
I II
Total
Commercial science and commer
cial correspondence 5 5 10
Commercial arithmetic 4 4 8
Bookkeeping 3 4 7
German 2 2 4
Social science 2 2 4
Economic geography 2 2 4
English 4 4 8
French 4 4 8
Economic history 1 1 2
Penmanship, shorthand and typing 6 6 12
Physical education 2 2 4
Total 35 36 71
Source: Erich Hylla and W. L. Wrinkle, Die Schulen in
Westeuropa (Bad Nauheim: Christian Verlag, 1953), p. 347.
The Berufsaufbauschule
The Berufsaufbauschule (vocational extension
school) has been developed during the last decade. Its aim
is to qualify young working people for the Hohere Fach-
schulen or Ingenieurschulen by additional general instruc
tion (including one obligatory modern foreign language).
Attendance is optional. There are: (1) part-time schools
lasting three or three and one-half years, attendance at
which is simultaneous with that of the Berufsschule, and
(2) full-time schools lasting one year or one and one-half
years. The school leaving certificate (Fachschulreife)
grants rights equivalent to those of the Realschule.
The Berufsaufbauschule will be discussed more fully
in Chapter VII. It may, however, be mentioned here that
this type of school developed out of educational planning
after World War II and was adopted in all Lander of the
Federal Republic by recommendation of the Standing Con
ference .
The Fachschule
The Fachschule (technical school) provides the pupil
with a higher qualification in his chosen vocation after
completion of vocational training. Its organization and
120
duration vary: instruction may be on a part-time or full
time basis; the length of training is between one year and
two and one-half years. The school leaving certificate
generally gives the qualification of a "master of trade."
Among the most common types of Fachschule are Techniker-
schule (school for technicians), Meisterschule (school for
master craftsmen), Fachschule fur Kindergartnerinnen (school
for Kindergarten teachers), and Landwirtschaftsschule
(school of agriculture).
Attendance at a Fachschule is not obligatory. Its
purpose is to complete vocational training on a voluntary
basis, and it accepts students who have completed the first
stage of their training. It is therefore usually a condi
tion for admission that the student should be at least
eighteen years old and should have had practical experience.
These schools match the variety of occupations character
istic in the modern economic structure. The most important
of these types of school are those for agriculture, land
girls, horticulture, forestry, foremanship, building, min
ing, engineering, navigation, subjects of particular concern
to women, and welfare work, as well as schools for the care
of children and for the nursing of the sick.
All Fachschulen aim at preparing their students for
121
responsible positions in industrial or social life. For
this reason, time is allowed for extending the general
education at the same time as the specialized training is
being given. The purpose of a Fachschule is to raise the
standard of the student's theoretical and practical know
ledge. In emphasizing more general education, an effort is
being made to equate the school leaving certificate with a
Realschule leaving certificate.
The Hohere Fachschule
The Hohere Fachschule (advanced technical school,
immediately below university level, having already some
characteristics of higher education) is a full-time school
usually lasting three years. Entrance requirements gener
ally are the completion of vocational training or sufficient
practical experience as well as a general education of at
least ten years as provided by the Realschule or equivalent
institutions. The special importance of these schools lies
in the field of commerce and social work. Students having
completed the Hohere Fachschule are admitted to the corres
ponding faculties of universities. The most common types
of Hohere Fachschule are Hohere Wirtschaftsfachschule (ad
vanced school of economics) and Hohere Fachschule fur
122
Sozialarbeit (advanced school of social work).
The Inctenieurschule
Access to the Ingenieurschule (college of engineer
ing) is possible under the same conditions as those of the
Hohere Fachschule. The course of studies comprises three
years in any one of the seventeen recognized special cours
es (Fachrichtungen); graduates are entitled to be called
engineers. Graduates of engineering colleges are permitted
to continue their studies at technical universities. After
completion of the college the student is entitled to the
title of Ingenieur.
It has been necessary, as in other countries, to
make a distinction between university-trained engineers who
are educated in Technische Hochschulen which have university
status and non-university-trained engineers who receive
their training in the above-named Ingenieurschulen. In
status these institutions rank between the Technische Hoch
schulen and the Hohere Fachschulen. The Technische Hoch-
schule has a clear university level, the Hohere Fachschule
is immediately below. The leaving certificate of the Hohere
Fachschule as well as the leaving certificate of the In-
genieurschule grant the student the right to admission to
123
the corresponding faculties of the technical university.
In order to meet the criticism that the university-trained
engineer who is entitled to the title Diplorn-Ingenieur
(Dipl.-Ing.) has a specialized education and lacks general
education, in recent years courses in the humanities have
been introduced at the Technische Hochschulen. In 1966,
the technical university of Braunschweig, one of the oldest
and best institutions of this kind, reported the establish
ment of a Philosophische Fakultat.
Some information on enrollment figures may be added
42
here. For the winter semester of 1965-66, the 120 state
and twelve private, state-recognized colleges of engineer
ing in the Federal Republic reported record numbers of
students: 60,616 is the total (though only 796 of them are
women students). This represents an increase of more than
2,000 by comparison with the previous year.
The Standing Conference reported for 1961 the
existence of 8,683 schools of the vocational technical type.
In 1967 an increase is planned to 10,155 schools, which
43
would be a gain of 17 per cent.
42A11 figures are taken from Education in Germany.
No. 12 (1965), 15.
43Bedarfsfeststellungf 1961-1970. p. 77, diagram 1.
124
A decisive factor in vocational school training is
the schoolroom shortage. This is due not only to destruc
tion during the war but also to stagnation in the building
of schools in the period prior to the second World War, the
increase in population after the war, and higher educational
demands. In the vocational schools in 1961, with a total of
208,000 classrooms, there was a shortage of about 28,000
rooms, and this was in spite of the fact that during the
period 1949 to 1959, when there was increased building
activity, some 7,500 million DM ($1,786 million) had been
spent on school buildings, which represented an addition of
about 75,000 classrooms. According to the statement of
Lander Ministers of Culture, by 1970 100,000 more classrooms
44
and 100,000 special rooms will be required.
Foreign observers, looking at this extended network
of vocational schools, raise the criticism that the special
ized vocational training was favored over general education.
These critics must be accepted as describing facts. However,
a definite change can be noted since the system of voca
tional schools after World War II has been incorporated in
44press and Information Office of the Federal Gov
ernment of Germany, Science and Education (Essen: Indus-
triedruck, 1964), p. 23.
/'
r
125
the "second path to education."
Summary
Chapter IV analyzes the current system of education
in the Federal Republic. The material presented traces the
background and development of the Volksschule, the Real
schule, the Gymnasium and the vocational schools. The
significance of this detailed description is that it will
afford the reader an opportunity to understand the organi
zation of the German school system and its relationship to
current problems in German education today.
CHAPTER V
THE TEACHING PROFESSION
Historical Development
Teacher training— although in a very limited sense—
goes back into the fifteenth century when the newly arisen
middle class of merchants, on one hand, and the highly
skilled artisans and guild-masters, on the other hand,
called for the services of teachers. However, for the story
of teacher training we also have to turn back to Prussia,
which provided an excellent corps of the so-called Prussian
"school-master," and give credit to Prussia as the first
state to place the preparation of teachers on a genuinely
professional level. During the course of German history,
Prussia and the Weimar Republic laid the foundations in
German teacher training. Under the inspiration of Pesta-
lozzi, Prussia built into its educational system normal
schools (Lehrerseminar) which greatly influenced the course
of teacher training. All other German states followed
126
Prussia's lead.
After the defeat by Napoleon, the severe terms of
the Treaty of Tilsit (1807) stirred a gigantic effort to
rebuild the Prussian state and the Prussian educational
system. The first condition for the improvement of the
schools was the improvement of teachers, and greatest atten
tion was given to teacher training. In 1810 the "examen
pro facultate docendi," the examination for the secondary
schoolteacher's certificate, was established and teaching
was recognized as an independent profession. A high stand
ard insured the selection of teachers of sound academic
training.
Qualifications and requirements for teachers were
carefully regulated. In 1823 all candidates had to pass an
examination in history, geography, mathematics, French and
Hebrew, in addition to Greek, Latin, and German. In 1824
philosophy was added, and in 1826 the examination was sup
plemented by the requirement of a probationary year (Probe-
jahr) during which candidates were to be trained in the art
of teaching. At this time the teaching profession enjoyed
a position of dignity and social status that it had never
before had. In 1893 a second probation year was added, thus
requiring two years in professional training after passing
128
the state examination.
The training for elementary schoolteachers was done
in normal schools, called Seminare. Candidates were select
ed on completion of the elementary schools and began their
training in Praparanden Anstalten for three years. Then
they were admitted to normal schools (Seminare), which were
maintained by the state. Here the three-year course was
devoted to a review of the subjects of the elementary
schools, methods of teaching and participation in the prac
tice schools. This efficient preparation turned out the
highly skilled schoolmaster, and, as Kandel concludes:
Germany had succeeded in developing a system for the
preparation of teachers which was probably the most
efficient that the world has seen with the exception
of that of the Jesuits, if efficiency is defined as
the adoption of means to secure clearly formulated
ends.1
The Weimar Republic
According to principles for higher education, the
republican Constitution of 1919 provided that the training
of teachers was to be done on the university level. The
preparation of elementary schoolteachers was changed. The
^-Isaac Kandel, Essays in Comparative Education.
Studies of the International Institute of Teachers College,
No. 11 (New York: Columbia University, 1930), p. 565.
129
normal schools were closed and the academic training for
elementary teachers--still an important issue on the educa
tional scene in Germany today— was introduced. The profes
sional preparation was placed on the university level and
replaced the training in the old normal schools. The Abitur
certificate was required for the training for elementary
schoolteachers. The privilege of academic training was not
very long enjoyed by the elementary schoolteachers. In the
Third Reich, Hitler declared academic training unnecessary
for elementary schoolteachers and abandoned it. Instead,
he introduced teacher training colleges that admitted pupils
from the elementary level for a five-year course of train-
ing, pupils from the Mittelschulen for a three-year course,
and pupils from a Gymnasium for a one-year course of
training.
The preparation for secondary schoolteachers in the
Weimar Republic required at least eight semesters in a
university with examinations in two subject matter areas.
Courses in education were required. Applications for ad
mission to the examination required a full statement of the
candidate’s life, his subjects studied and his proof of
having attended two seminars. He was required to write two
theses— one in his major subject and one in philosophy. If
130
the subject was a foreign language, the thesis had to be
written in the appropriate language, a requirement still
prevailing in German education for every language teacher.
The examination was divided into a written and an oral part.
Poor grades in the written examination eliminated a candi
date entirely. The candidates had to display independence
and judgment in their field, acquaintance with the litera
ture, and ability to express themselves in good German.
Success entitled the candidate to admission for the two
preparatory years.
The main features of these requirements are still
much the same in Germany today.
The Present Education of Teachers
, T h s . . training of the elementary
school teacher
The Nazis had denied to the elementary teacher
access to higher education and abandoned the principle of
university training. As soon as the schools were reopened
after World War II, teacher training became an important
issue. The training for elementary school teachers was
placed on the university level, though in separate institu
tions. This principle had been adopted in all Lander,
131
though the names for these institutions differ in the
various Lander. Padagogische Hochschule is the term in
Lower Saxony, Padagogisches Institut in North Rhine-West-
phalia, and Hochschule fur Erziehung in Hesse.
Most of these institutions are coeducational and
interprofessional, although there do exist separate insti
tutions for men and women and for Catholics and Protestants.
In Hamburg the pedagogical institute is closely connected
with the university. This example has been followed by the
state of Hesse. The teacher training institutions were
connected with the universities at Frankfurt, Giessen and
Marburg and are called Hochschule fur Erziehung.
Academic teacher training for elementary teachers
was one of the most debated issues after World War II and
was attacked especially by professional secondary teacher
organizations, who feared a loss of reputation. The gulf
between the university-trained secondary school teachers
and the non-university-trained elementary teachers reflects
a clearly marked division in German society and misses the
range of ideological and social differences that inevitably
still exist. A recommendation by the Standing Conference,
adopted by the Land legislatures, settled the question in
favor of the elementary school teacher. Credit must be
132
given to the German Teachers' Association, which pushed this
question until it was finally taken up by the Standing Con
ference .
Teachers in elementary schools must have passed the
first and second teachers' examinations. They are trained
at teacher training institutions with university rank. To
gain admission it is necessary to have the Abitur certifi
cate. However, measures were taken in all Lander to make
it possible for qualified persons without the high school
diploma to enter the profession. Twelve per cent of those
who were admitted did not have the Abitur.
The course of study is to give the candidate a
thorough knowledge of educational philosophy and psychology,
in general and subject matter methods, and a solid prepara
tion in one academic subject of his choice. The length of
training is six semesters. According to figures released
by the Press and Information Office of the Federal Govern
ment of Germany in 1964, there were about seventy teacher
training institutions with an enrollment of 40,000 students,
of whom 2,300 declared their wish to teach in vocational
schools.
During the study the practical training is done in
a Praktikum, which is divided into two periods. A six-week
133
term is to be spent in a school in a rural area and a four-
week term is to be served in a city school. Both terms are
to be served during university vacation. Some Lander, for
example Lower Saxony, require only the first period to be
taken during vacation; the second term may be served during
the semester. The supervision is jointly done by the insti
tution itself and by the school authorities. The practicum
is not limited to classroom observation, but practical
teaching by the candidate himself is required. The practi
cum is offered in schools especially selected for that pur
pose. Gradually, highly qualified teachers have been
staffed at these schools, which are generally called
Instituts-Schulen. Administrators and teachers must be
willing to coordinate their work with the teacher education
program. The foregoing applies, however, mostly for schools
located in the same city as the teacher training institu
tion.
At the end of six semesters the student takes his
examination and after successful completion is assigned to
a school where he teachers on a probationary basis. He is
under special supervision of a Mentor (master teacher), who
is partly responsible for the candidate's progress. He also
is usually appointed to the Priifungskommission (examination
134
committee). The candidate has a reduced teaching load and
is compelled to attend a Lehrer-Arbeitsgemeinschaft once a
week. He has to perform sample lessons and is subject to
criticism by his colleagues, his mentor, and the head of
the Arbeitsgemeinschaft. This in-service training is
carried on under the supervision of his Schulrat (superin
tendent) .
After having successfully passed the two-year pro
bationary period, he may apply for admission to the final
examination, which is called Zweite Lehrerpriifung, in con
trast to the Erste Lehrerpriifung after the end of his
studies at the teacher training college. He submits a
thesis that must be related to a problem in educational
practice, whether in general or connected with a specific
subject matter. He has to file a report about his experi
ences during the in-service training and must perform three
trial lessons, one of which is selected by the examiners.
A following oral examination in the afternoon covers the
practical aspects of teaching, school administration,
methods and political education. The report and the thesis
are also questioned. The main focus, however, is placed on
the sample lessons, the organization and form of which the
candidate has to defend on methodical and philosophical
135
grounds. If he passes this Zweite Lehrerpriifung, which is
more comprehensive and rigid than the Erste Lehrerpriifung
and embraces the theoretical and practical aspects of teach
ing, he is eligible for permanent appointment in the Land
service, thus becoming a Land employee.
If the candidate fails the examination, he may take
it a second time after a year has elapsed. In case of a
second failure he will be dismissed from the civil service.
From the first date of his appointment as a probationary
teacher he is a civil servant and enjoys the same privileges
as the fully certified teacher. The method of application
for a position at a certain school that the candidate has
chosen himself and in which he wishes to teach is unknown
*
in Germany. The young teacher is assigned to a school,
usually in a rural area, so that these rural schools get
their share of qualified teachers, as well as the cities in
which the teacher training institution is located. He may
apply for transfer at a later time. Principals are selected
from experienced teachers and proposed for promotion by the
Schulrat (superintendent). After giving evidence of abili
ty, teachers are also eligible for appointments in school
administration, in school inspection or for transfer to the
Ministry of Education, The organization of the probationary
136
period is under heavy attack in nearly all the Lander, with
Lower Saxony as its strongest supporter. The German Teach
ers Organization has also become a spokesman for this issue.
The teachers want a better organized training— theoretical
and practical— during the probationary period. The Lehrer-
arbeitsgemeinschaft does not function adequately to meet
the needs. A similar organizational form like the Studien-
Seminar, which conducts the probationary years of a second
ary teacher, is being required by the teacher organization
for the elementary teacher as well. A special training for
the teaching staff at the future Seminars is being asked
for, so that the training may be conducted at a higher
scientific and theoretical level. Hamburg, as a pioneer in
educational planning, has followed this advice and placed
the probationary period under close supervision of the
pedagogical institute at the Hamburg university.
The training of Realschullehrer
Teachers for intermediate schools are trained in
two alternative ways. They may be university-trained in
two subjects or may be advanced elementary teachers who
passed the examination for the Realschule. They must hold
a teaching qualification for two subjects. Most of the
137
intermediate school staff belongs to the second group.
After 1960 some Lander established special insti
tutes for the future Realschullehrer within the "faculties
of philosophy" at the universities. After having done six
to eight semesters of university study, the examination for
this career can be taken. The institute at the University
of Gottingen has become the leading and best equipped in
stitute in the Land of Lower Saxony. As in the case of in-
service training, after two to three years of probationary
teaching, the final practical and theoretical examination
can be taken. After the successful completion, the candi
date is promoted to Realschullehrer and is eligible for
permanent appointment.
Technical teacher training
Women kindergarten teachers, who rank as specialists
in early childhood education and not as teachers, are
trained in advanced full-time vocational schools. All voca
tional teachers meet strict requirements of practical ex
perience in their future teaching subject. All teachers at
advanced vocational schools (Fachschulen) must have com
pleted their studies at an institution for higher learning
or at a university. All other vocational school teachers
138
are trained at institutes for vocational teaching. In
general, the teaching staff in vocational and technical
schools (Berufsschulen, Berufsfachschulen, Fachschulen,
Wirtschaftoberschulen) consists of full-time, part-time,
and auxiliary teachers, together with workshop instructors.
The full-time teachers have had practical experience
in their own sphere of work and an academic training as
vocational school teachers lasting four to six semesters,
at a vocational training college or, in the case of certi
ficated commercial teachers, of eight semesters at a uni
versity faculty of economics. After the first teachers'
examination they teach for one or two years at a part-time
or full-time vocational training school; they then take the
second Land examination and are thereafter appointed as
teachers in agriculture, industrial, or commercial training
schools. The part-time teachers give only a limited number
of hours of instruction. The auxiliary teachers are spe
cialists other than established teachers, in the fields of
agriculture, handicrafts, industry and trade, or else en
gineers. Full-time teachers, with appropriate qualifica
tions, can become heads of departments, headmasters or
school inspectors.
139
The training of the secondary
school teacher
German university students usually specialize as
soon as they enter a higher institution. Prospective
teachers must therefore select their teaching subjects. A
principle adopted by the Standing Conference of the Minis
ters of Education is that the teacher's combination of
teaching subjects should be limited to the area of languages
and history or to the sciences and mathematics. Only
religion and geography can be combined with either one of
these two fields of specialization. Even physical education
teachers have to be qualified to teach one academic subject.
Prospective secondary school teachers are trained
at the universities in the so-called "faculties of philoso
phy" or "faculties of science" in accordance with their
major area of specialization. Usually teachers of art,
music, and physical education are trained in higher insti
tutions which are separate institutions. Many students—
following an established pattern in German universities—
take part of their work at the university other than the
one at which they plan to finish their studies. Foreign
language teachers usually go abroad to perfect the language
they want to teach.
140
The German concept of a university offers a strictly
theoretical approach to teacher education. Any time after
the completion of the sixth semester, the student is allowed
to take the preliminary examination known as the Philo-
sophikum. The completion of two seminars in philosophy and
education is required before being admitted to the Philo-
sophikum.
To counterbalance the mainly theoretical university
program, the Standing Conference recommended a Praktikum, a
principle of which has been adopted in nearly all Lander.
The Praktikum includes two four-week periods in which the
prospective teacher has to serve at a school, the purpose
of which is to introduce the candidate to school work. The
practical training is left to the Studienseminar which fol
lows the final examination, whereas the Praktikum precedes
the Land examination. Before being admitted to the final
examination the student must have successfully met the
following prerequisites:
1. Registration for at least eight semesters.
2. Completion of the Philosophikum, including parti
cipation in seminars as specified in the state's regu
lations .
3. Certification of participation in the specified
number of subject-matter seminars.
4. Evidence of having served the practicum, if en
forced in the state concerned.
141
5. A thesis on a topic generally chosen by the can
didate and approved by his professor.^
The examination itself consists of written and oral
parts in each of the candidate's two chosen subjects. Can
didates who pass the examination are appointed to service
at a secondary school as a Studienreferendar and receive
additional practical and theoretical training for two years
at a Studienseminar. These seminars are independent of the
universities and under supervision of the school authori
ties . The young teachers are supervised by experienced
teachers and by a Fachleiter working in his academic sub
ject. Because of the great shortage of teaching personnel,
these young teachers often are assigned to take the place
of sick teachers. The Studienreferendar has a low teaching
load to facilitate his preparation and education at the
Seminar. Special days are set aside for mutual visitations
and discussions. At the end of the two-year training period
the candidate may apply for the final professional examina
tion which will grant him the right to permanent employment
and qualifies him for a regular teaching position. Studien-
rat is the title for a high school teacher. The final
^Walter Hahn, "West Germany's Secondary School
Teachers' Preparation," Comparative Education Review. IX,
No. 3 (October, 1965), 349.
142
examination itself concludes the probation period of two
years. Although the requirements differ from Land to Land,
in general the examination embraces three parts: (1) an
oral examination, dealing with general methods, child psy
chology, and the teaching methods of the candidate's subject
fields; (2) two or three sample lessons; and (3) a thesis
dealing with a general educational problem or with a subject
matter problem. Some Lander also require an examination in
political education and civics.
Criticism has been made of the Praktikum period in
the university training, and much controversy is going on
with respect to the examinations in philosophy and educa
tion for the Philosophikum. The Philosophikum is under
heavy attack and statements have been made that these exami
nations should be abolished and be left to the Studien-
seminar, which is better equipped for training in these
fields. There are efforts visible in most of the Lander to
strengthen the seminars by also strengthening the training
of seminar staffs. One specific proposal is to include
comparative education in the preparation of teachers. Also,
more demonstration teaching by subject-matter specialists
was referred to as desirable to facilitate a better prac
tical training. Reform plans for teacher education are
143
proliferating rapidly. It seems that the German public is
beginning to realize that the ultimate success of an educa
tional system depends on its teachers. Basic to all reform
proposals is the severe teacher shortage, which is referred
to as "one of the most alarming subjects in the discussion
3
of educational policy."
Social Status and Pav of Teachers
All public school teachers in Germany are Land
employees and civil servants. They are paid on the basis
of a statewide salary schedule (see Table 8).
The legislation covering the rights and benefits of
teachers is complex. Provisions for transfer, pension, and
disability allowances are uniform within a Land. Teachers
hold positions of security and are not dismissable. The
main privilege is the security of tenure. Once accepted by
the Kultusministerium and placed on the payroll, the teacher
can render his service without fear of dismissal until he
may retire at the age of sixty-five. Women may retire at
sixty-three. It is nearly impossible to dismiss a teacher
except for criminal reasons or to prove that he is
^Werner Heldmann, "Die Bildungskatastrophe in der
Bundesrepublik," Die Welt. July 18, 1964, p. 17.
144
TABLE 8
RANGE OF TEACHERS' SALARIES IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS
Category School Basic Salary Range
Teacher Volksschule DM 820-1310
Principal Volksschule DM 904-1444
Teacher Realschule DM 904-1444
Principal Realschule DM 1011-1551
Teacher Oberschule DM 1086-1794
Principal Oberschule DM 1245-2001
Teacher Berufsschule or DM 904-1444
Principal Berufsfachschule DM 1114-1846
(after 24 years)
Monthly district housing allowances are paid as follows:
Category School Single Married
Teacher Volksschule S 166 DM 220 DM
Principal Volksschule A 140 DM 187 DM
Teacher Realschule
11 I I
Principal Realschule
I I II
Teacher Oberschule
I I I I
Principal Oberschule
II I I
Teacher Berufsschule or
I I I I
Principal Berufs fachschule
I I M
145
hopelessly incompetent.
As a Land employee the teacher is a civil servant
and enjoys all the rights that go with this status, but must
obey public service regulations. Special allowances are
paid according to the number of children, and every teacher
is entitled to a paid sick leave in case of severe illness.
A teacher can be transferred to another post at his
own request, not losing his retirement years, which will be
transferred and are fully accepted by the other Land. If
a transfer within the Land is suggested or requested by the
school authority, it cannot be made without the teacher's
consent unless it is proven to be necessary on organiza
tional and educational grounds or for disciplinary reasons.
Appointment to permanent positions is made by the Land
Ministry. Before being appointed the teacher has to sign a
loyalty oath.
Since each Land has its own salary scale, Lower
Saxony has been taken as typical. The other Lander offer
similar salary schedules. Basic monthly salaries shown are
those of January 1, 1965, as are the monthly housing allow
ances. Districts are classified as follows: S = large
cities, A = towns and smaller communities. In addition,
teachers of all ranks shown in Table 8 receive the
146
4
following monthly family allowances:
Number of Children
1 2 3 4 5 6
S 244 DM 275 DM 306 DM 337 DM 368 DM 408 DM
A 210 DM 239 DM 268 DM 297 DM 326 DM 364 DM
The salaries provide a living on a middle class
level, although they are not high. Extra employment is not
forbidden by law, but the teacher has to secure approval of
the school authorities. In comparing this schedule with
the United States, one must realize that the purchasing
power of the Deutsche Mark is higher than the official
exchange value of 4 DM = $1.00.
There is a wide range of professional organizations.
Usually these are separate organizations of elementary,
vocational, intermediate, and high school teachers. Each
organization publishes its own professional journal. Al
though the teacher organizations are restricted in member
ship and suspicious of each other, many teachers of these
different organizations have joined the over-all teachers'
union, the Gewerkschaft Erziehung und Wissenschaft, referred
4Niedersachsische Lehrerzeituna. No. 3 (March 15,
1965), 11.
147
to as G.E.W., which represents the teaching profession in
negotiations with the Government.
The Teachers Union has been successful in upgrading
the general pay scale for teachers, the biggest increase of
which was enjoyed by the elementary teachers. The very
slim difference in comparison to the more demanding educa
tion of high school teachers has become the focus of their
complaints. High school teachers regard themselves as
underpaid. As a consequence, this profession has the most
alarming shortage of teachers, which endangers the proper
training of the youth.
Student teachers, originally aiming for a career in
high school teaching, often retreat from this goal and
settle for a credential for intermediate or elementary
teaching. Their argument is that the effort is not worth
the outcome in financial terms. A longer study period is
no longer considered an investment in the future. Student
teachers, when interviewed, reveal frankly that it is not
5
worthwhile: "Es lohnt sich nicht." A survey of the un
satisfactory situation reveals a shortage of 37,000
^Bodo Muller, "Die Universitat und die Neuorganisa-
tion der Lehrerbildung," Die Hohere Schule. December, 1966,
p. 308.
148
elementary teachers and an 18.3 per cent deficit of high
school teachers in I960, and a predicted shortage of 84,000
elementary teachers and a deficit of 22 per cent for high
school teachers in 1970. In every Land the lack of teach
ers, especially of teachers of high schools, has become a
serious issue and a matter of highest priority for all
educational planning.
In spite of the secure status, there has been a
great deal of unrest and political activity in the West
German teaching profession. Since the reopening of schools
in 1945, teachers have complained that education has been
neglected and not enough consideration has been given to
improvement.
They complain that the importance of education as
a future investment is not realized by the Government or by
the public. They point out that funds are not adequate to
permit the schools to function properly and fulfill their
educational responsibility. Although the gross national
product has jumped from $24.5 billion to $112.2 billion in
7
the last fifteen years, this development is not reflected
6Bedarfsfeststellunq. 1961-1970.
7Per Spiegel. December 9, 1966, p. 35.
149
in the amount of money spent for education. The funds for
education in every Land budget as well as in the national
budget are totally insufficient and in no way related to
the importance of education.
The Chairman of the West German Teachers Organiza
tion has warned again and again that the Government should
not neglect the matter of education, but show by educational
planning and reform proposals that it realizes the impor
tance of education for the future welfare of the German
state and thus consider education as the best investment.
The Government did not take this attitude. As compared
with other nations, the Bundesrepublik of Germany has spent
considerably less money on education than other nations.
In France and the Soviet Union, state and industry spend
about 2.4 per cent of the gross national product on science
and research, in the United Kingdom 2.7 per cent, in the
United States 2.9 per cent, in the Federal Republic only
1.2 per cent. In the Federal Republic private donations for
science average 1 DM = 25 cents per person per year, in the
United States 15 DM = $3.75, and in the United Kingdom
10 DM = $2.50.8
8Facts about Germany, p. 329.
150
For a comparison, the figures being spent for edu
cation by various nations may be seen in Table 1. The
figures reveal the percentage of the gross national product.
The close relationship between public schools and
teacher education institutions, which is characteristic of
the United States, cannot be found in Germany. The educa
tion departments of German universities are more interested
in the philosophy and history of education rather than in
helping to solve the everyday problems. Therefore, the
educational activity of a professor as a consultant engag
ing to meet the challenges of problems of all kinds within
9
the schools and the school districts is literally unknown.
About two-thirds of German teachers are men. The
percentage of men teachers in secondary and vocational
education is higher than in elementary education. Men are
often employed in girls' schools, whereas boys' schools are
usually staffed by men teachers. The principals of girls'
schools are usually women. In coeducational schools, how
ever, men headmasters are preferred. The percentage of
women principals is very small.
9John F. Cramer and George S. Brown, Contemporary
Education. A comparative study of national systems (New
York: Harcourt, Brace and World, Inc., 1965), p. 484.
151
In 1963 there were 266,737 established full-time
teachers, of whom 118,567 were women, at all schools in the
Federal Republic, including West Berlin. An additional
26,051 women teachers were employed on a temporary or part-
time basis. In recent years there has been a particular
increase in the proportion of women employed at elementary
schools; in 1963 49.4 per cent of the staffs at these
schools were women (compared with 42.4 per cent in 1958).
At intermediate schools the proportion of women teachers
was 43.7 per cent, at grammar schools 30.9 per cent, and at
vocational schools 38.5 per cent.
It may be foreseen, by the way, that the trend
towards more women teachers will continue, particularly in
the elementary schools.
^unwary
Chapter V deals with the role of the teaching pro
fession in the Federal Republic. Specific note was made of
its historical development, its training programs and the
social and economic status of the profession today. Since
the teacher is seen as an integral part of the total edu
cational enterprise, and as a most essential factor in
every school reform, a thorough consideration seemed
152
appropriate. The German public and its educational leaders
have not yet fully realized that the schools are only as
good and productive as the teachers they train.
CHAPTER VI
THE PROCESS OF CHANGE
The First Reform Scheme on the Reorganization
of the German School System:
The Rahmenolan
Introduction
The German Committee for Education (Deutscher Aus-
schuss fur das Erziehungs- und Bildungswesen) consisted of
a body which was jointly appointed by the Federal Government
and the eleven Lander governments. The purpose for its
establishment in 1953 was the furthering of German education
by means of advice and recommendations. It was a signifi
cant step toward systematic educational planning in West
Germany. In July, 1965, after twelve years of meritorious
activity, the committee was dissolved to give way to the
German Bildungsrat, another especially appointed body for
educational planning which, however, had a clearer outline
of its purpose and more legislative powers.
153
154
The nature, extent and responsibilities of the
German Committee for Education were left, entirely open.
The Committee's unclarified position was unusual and con
trasted with the regulated order characteristic of German
government bodies. No official body felt responsible for
the work and functioning of the Committee, a fact which
seriously hampered its effectiveness. The membership com
position reflected the idea that these persons should be
the representatives of the German citizenry rather than
spokesmen for special groups.
They included seven professors (five of whom were
in education), one physician, one person from the radio
management, one director of an institute for social work,
three principals and four public administrators. Helmut
Becker, a leading educator, objected to the absence of a
sociologist in such a body, and the German Chamber of
Industry and Commerce regretted the absence of an economist.
The Gymnasium teachers protested the absence of a Gymnasium
specialist on the Committee and thus labeled the Rahraenplan,
the big reform scheme published by the Committee, as "a
prejudice against the Gymnasium."
The Rahmenplan was the only broadly publicized re
port, although the Committee published about twenty reports,
155
recommendations and memoranda. The Committee was operating
under severe limitations; it did not enjoy recognition from
the Standing Conference, nor was it well regarded or known
by the public. Although the Committee was created by the
government, it lacked the authority of a governmental body.
A leading newspaper (Siiddeutsche Zeitung) attributed the
relative ineffectiveness of the Committee to the fact that
"the German public, including their parliamentary delegates,
are not used to accept leadership from a citizens' group,"
as opposed to Anglo-Saxon tradition.
Ursula Springer concludes:
The isolated position assigned to the Committee, fur
thermore, demonstrates that regarding educational
affairs the problem of effective functional relations
between public, politicians and administrators has
not yet been resolved in West-Germany. The public
has no direct influence on the educational authori
ties, but has to voice its interests through its
political spokesmen. The question of how far public
claims should be heeded in decisions on school organ
ization poses the familiar problem of balance between
inexpert popular versus expert professional control.
General scope and design of
the Rahmenplan
In 1959 the Committee published an extensive reform
proposal for the reorganization of the German school system.
^ “ Springer, "West German School Reform in Social and
Political Context," p. 212.
V
156
The Rahmenplan, a fifty-five page treatise, aroused much
public discussion on the reform of the German school system
of an intensity never before experienced in the Federal
Republic. The Rahmenplan stands out as the first result of
educational planning in the Federal Republic and should
therefore find its place in this study.
When one analyzes the plan and bears in mind the
requirements of the modern industrial society and the per
manent school reform achieved in other European countries,
the Rahmenplan appears by comparison more and more conser
vative. However, what were the conditions which German
schools must satisfy in the opinion of the Committee?
1. The structure of the school system must help to
preserve the intellectual unity of the nation and
establish the general awareness of this unity on a
broad basis.
2. The obligation to establish social equality and
the increased demands of modern society render it
necessary to offer every child the opportunity cor
responding to his intelligence and ability.
3. Our specialized society requires different
levels of education among members of the future
generation
The Committee attempted to combine these conditions with
the traditional school system. Contrary to the school
^"Legacy of the German Committee for Education," in
Education in Germany. No. 11 (1965), 17.
157
reforms in the Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian nations, which
favor a comprehensive school, the Committee clung to the
tripartite structure of education, with courses of varying
lengths according to the type of school.
In regard to the Gymnasium, the Committee recom
mended two different, clearly defined types.
1. A grammar school with seven-year courses. which
after three years would have a "science stream" (with Eng
lish and French as languages) and a "language or arts
stream" (with English, Latin, and French); economics would
also form part of the school curriculum.
2. An academic type of grammar school, following
directly after four years at primary school and lasting for
nine years; in the last four years there would be a "French"
or "modern language stream" (taking Latin, English, and
French), and a "Greek" or "classical stream" (taking Latin,
English, and Greek).
The reasons for these two types of grammar school
are based on the Committee's conception of education:
The grammar school of today serves a double function:
on the one hand it must cover the constantly increas
ing demand by modern civilization for qualified people;
on the other hand it must continue to serve its old
educational function of handing down our classical
heritage of European culture from one generation to
158
the next. . . . For we must not purchase our entry
into the world of technology by cutting down our
intellectual and historical horizons.-*
The Studienschule (grades 5-13) was designed for a
very small elite. Its main emphasis was on the study of
classical studies, to transmit the "classical heritage of
our culture," and was reserved for those who desired an
education in "humanistic values." The reforms provided
that only the especially bright students should be allowed
to attend this nine-year Gymnasium. They suggested that
the entrance examination should be "so difficult that
4
roughly 3 per cent of all children will succeed it." This
Studienschule had all the features of the classical Gymna
sium and was designed for especially gifted students as an
elite institution. Only these 3 per cent would be allowed
to enter this new school after the first four years of the
Grundschule, thus being exempted from attending the Forder-
stufe, another feature of the Rahmenplan.
The Forderstufe was the heart of the reform scheme
and a true innovation in the tripartite school system.
These transition grades embraced grades 5 and 6. In this
guidance and observation stage, as it was referred to, the
3J 2 £ Lid., P. 18. P. 48.
159
children would stay together except for special academic
courses; with the help of these courses it would be deter
mined to which branch of secondary education a student
should be sent. The French cycle d1 observation gave stimu
lus to this innovation, which became the center of attack
by the Gymnasium teachers as well as by most parents. The
Forderstufe was planned to extend the basic schooling to
six years and provide for the "late bloomer" a chance to
attend secondary education. The Forderstufe, a clearly
liberal feature of the plan, contradicted in essence the
Studienschule, viewed as a clear concession to conservatism,
thus reflecting the inconsistencies and different views on
education held by the members of the Committee themselves.
The Realschule was considered a link between ele
mentary and secondary education and a more expanded scale
was strongly recommended by the Rahmenplan reforms; also,
the introduction of a ninth year of full-time compulsory
education was recommended, thus expanding the elementary
school, the upper grades of which were called Hauptschule
in the reform plan, to include grade 9. Herbert Enderwitz
reported: "It was not a revolutionary document. Neverthe-
160
5
less it was furiously attacked by the traditionalists."
The main features of the plan, the Forderstufe and
the Studienschule, were publicized and debated in nearly
all newspapers. Radio commentators and television programs
contributed to the furor.
A severe restriction of the plan was that it com
pletely omitted evening schools, part-time and full-time
vocational schools and deliberately centered its efforts on
the public schools of the general type. The matters of
1 1 internal school reform," considered by many as inseparable
from external school reorganization, were not touched; the
important matters of curriculum were not dealt with; no
reference was made to such an important question as coedu
cation, and the Rahmenplan deliberately avoided the field
of religion in education.
Non-German educationists criticized the lack of
training in science and the overemphasis on classical
studies, and stated
that the traditional conception of classical-humanistic
education is not a sufficient base for a truly human
education for today and tomorrow. A strong influx of
5Herbert Enderwitz, "Two German Educational Reform
Schemes," Comparative Education Review. VII, No. 1 (June,
1963), 47.
161
science is considered indispensable.
Although individual features of the plan were ac
cepted, in general the Rahmenplan received a negative ac
ceptance. Although this main publication of the German
Committee on Education was not a success, there were in
direct benefits that are worth mentioning. As Ursula
Springer stated:
It was a new experience to Germans that the broad
public was invited to express opinions on a major
issue of educational planning, an issue that has
traditionally been considered a matter for experts
and government authorities to judge and decide.7
Attitudes toward Education, an Intangible
Force in Educational Planning
Economic growth and education
The economic development after 1945 prompted rapid
ly rising living standards in the Federal Republic. Sta
tistics attest to the country's economic growth, which is
often referred to as the Wirtschaftswunder ("economic
miracle").
£
Unesco Institute for Education, "The Rahmenplan,
through the Eyes of Non-German Educationists," a preliminary
report (Hamburg, 1960). Mimeographed.
7Springer, p. 230.
162
The average income for private households had in-
Q
creased by 142 per cent between 1950 and 1960. Average
weekly wages for industrial workers nearly doubled in this
time. Between 1961 and 1962 the real gain in salaries for
9
workers was 4 to 5 per cent.
These widespread increases made available to working
class families goods that were typical for middle class
standards of living, and thus the criteria of middle class
standards became available for lower class families. From
an economic point of view, the "lower class" was disappear
ing. The equalization of material opportunities made Ger
many develop into an "economic democracy." Did these socio
economic changes bring about changes in the attitudes of
"lower class" families toward educational concepts? Had
the economic equalizing trend an effect on the educational
aspirations of parents for their children?
Ursula Springer, in reviewing the question of
whether and to what extent postwar socioeconomic changes
had an impact on the attitudes toward education, came to
®Bundesministerium fur Wirtschaft, "Leistung in
Zahlen" (Bonn, July, 1961).
^Presse- und Informationsmat der Bundesregierung,
"Deutsche Politik 1962" (Bonn, 1962), p. 189.
163
the following conclusion:
The pronounced socio-economic changes in postwar
West-Germany, which accompanied the rapid growth of
industrialization prosperity, have not prompted
significant demands for changing the traditional
multi-track system. Despite the equalitarian trends
evident in the growing consumption of middle class
goods and services, the system of unequal education
al and career chances is maintained, although with
less emphasis on social class perpetuation and more
emphasis on preparation for different work functions.
The tripartite system, that is, one school system
for the "upper class," one school type for the "middle
class" (in Germany: civil servants and salaried employees),
and one school type for the masses is through historical
development so deeply rooted in the mind of the German
public that the population, which in the economic sector is
so eager to attain middle class patterns, does not object
to this system as being opposed to the democratic ideal of
an equal chance for everybody. Schelsky, a well-known
German sociologist, makes it very clear that today, as in
the past, social prestige in Germany rests less on wealth
than on rank of position based on education. "The attend
ance of a certain school type is a confirmation of a certain
10Springer, p. 126.
164
social status or rank," and he concludes, "the system of
parallel school types serves to perpetuate the existing
class differences."^
Attitudes and their impact
on educational concents
For decades the proportion of children from the
industrial and agricultural working classes receiving
secondary education was low, remaining almost constant at
the national average of 5 per cent. Research was conducted
to shed light on the reasons. Studies to explore the atti
tudes of German working class families toward education
revealed a negative attitude toward institutions of second
ary and higher learning.
The good economic situation in the labor market
served as a deterrent factor, as did the inability of work
ing class families to renounce an immediate reward in favor
of a long-term one. False concepts also proved to be a
reason for negative attitudes. As a whole, the studies
revealed a negative attitude toward education, much of which
was founded on misinformation. Obviously the mass media
^Helmut Schelsky, Schule und Erziehung in der in-
dustriellen Gesellschaft {Wurzburg: Werkbund Verlag, 1959),
p . 13,
165
have not yet been able to supply adequate and correct in
formation on educational matters. If the government and
school authorities really wish to help that section of the
German people which up to now has not made use of its edu
cational opportunities, then more thorough information about
new educational opportunities, types of schools, lateral
transfer, etc., should be given to the working class fami
lies .
Research on the attitudes of workers toward the
value of secondary education was done by Professor Robert
Hitpass, Koln. The small number of working class children—
national average 5 per cent— that achieved Abitur success
was the impetus for his research in the state of North
Rhine-Westphalia.
In the large industrial city of Duisburg Hitpass
began with a quantitative survey of ability in forty-eight
elementary school classes in the fifth school year.
(Transfer to the secondary schools takes place after four
years.) Hitpass discovered that "an average of about 20
per cent of young people with the necessary ability for a
secondary school education did remain at elementary
166
12
school." He discovered that two-thirds of those 20 per
cent that did remain in elementary school came from working
class families. He then turned to the question of the
motives which restrain working class parents from allowing
their children to receive a secondary school education.
Hitpass concentrated his analysis of motives on a
random sample of 100 sets of parents from the industrial
working classes.
Group I (fifty couples) were the parents of young
people previously tested by Hitpass who, despite their ob
vious ability, were prevented by their parents from attend
ing grammar schools. Group II (fifty couples) were working
class parents with one or more sons at grammar school or
university.
The net monthly income of both groups did not differ
substantially--730 DM and 750 DM. He asked, "Does the
children's education mean material sacrifices?" and found
that of the fifty couples in Group I who refused to allow
their children to attend grammar school, forty have
12Joseph Hitpass, Einstellunoen der Industriearbei-
terschaft zu hoherer Bilduncr: eine Motivuntersuchung
(Ratingen: A. Henn Verlag, 1965), as quoted in Education
in Germany. No. 9 (1965), 33.
167
television, and twenty an automobile. Of the parents in
Group II, only thirty have television, only ten a car.
The largest proportion of parents (twenty-eight out
of fifty) in the second group said their annual expenditure
on extras like books and materials for their children at
school amounted to 200 to 249 DM a year.
tuition fees. When questioning parents, the interviewers
were astonished to discover that many of the "anti-educa
tion" parents were unaware of this fact. False ideas were
also held as to the percentage of children from their own
class attending secondary schools. Hitpass supplies the
13
following table:
No Land schools in the Federal Republic charge
Actual and Estimated Proportions of Abitur
Successes from Different Classes of
the Population per Age-Group
Occupations Actual Proportion Estimated Proportion
Group I Group II
1. Graduates and
other leading occupa
tions
2. Civil servants
and salaried employees
3. Workers
38%
57%
5%
30%
40%
30%
30%
40%
30%
13lfeid., p. 33.
168
He reports that many working class people showed
"grotesque ideas about grammar schools and grammar school
14
teachers." Grammar schools were regarded as schools "only
for children who work hard," or "only for children whose
parents were at grammar school too and can help them," "only
for higher class people who are going on to university to
become doctors or something like that." Grammar school
teachers were imagined by those parents to be "super-
15
intelligent, conceited and unjust."
Parents who already had some experience of grammar
school reacted differently; nevertheless, Professor Hitpass
concluded: "School authorities still have a great deal of
work before them to enlighten the people and correct their
16
image of the Grammar School." Their attitude can roughly
be summarized as follows: "I am working class, my son does
not need to become more than I am." Such parents wait
impatiently for their children to leave elementary school
and contribute as soon as possible to the family income.
Often the fathers have a positive attitude toward
the value of their own occupation. They know what their
14Ibid.
16Ibid.
P. 34.
169
sons will be able to achieve in the same profession. They
do not know this if their sons enter graduate professions.
Many parents, as the study revealed, were afraid of
the material sacrifices they would have to make if their
children stayed at school longer. Education was not seen
as a future investment. But this fear in itself was not
the only decisive factor in restraining their children from
secondary education. Hitpass stressed the well-known fact
that with most working class families the relative extent
of their prosperity has meanwhile grown so much that mater
ial motives are no longer a decisive factor in their nega
tive attitude toward secondary education. He discovered
that false concepts played a decisive role. What did deter
working class people was the idea that a grammar school
education must automatically be followed by a university
education, which will last for an indefinite period of time
and prove enormously expensive. For centuries the Gymnasium
was definitely the college preparatory school, and this
thinking is deeply rooted in the minds of the people.
Many parents in Group II assured the interviewers
that they had only decided to "take the risk of educating
their children" because the teachers had gone on to them
about it and gradually persuaded them. For most of the
170
parents, who had to do without a secondary education in
their own youth for financial reasons, the dominant tendency
was that their children should acquire "importance and
17
social prestige by means of education."
Hitpass found in his study that social class proved
to be a deterrent factor. It seemed that the fear of taking
the risk of giving their children a grammar school education
was often increased by the knowledge that they were making
themselves unpopular, perhaps even ridiculous, among their
workmates and neighbors. "Our neighbors think we are
swell-headed; they are only waiting for things to go wrong."
(This is only one comment among many, all of them similar
18
in content.) "My workmates say: 'You won't get any
thanks for it.'" "Graduates' children have an easier time
of it; they can express themselves better to start with,
and that makes a big difference."
Frequent mention was made of cramped living and
working conditions. Another deterrent factor was the dis
tance to school in cases where parents lived on the out
skirts of towns or working-class estates where there are
still no grammar schools. Many people said:
17Ibid.. p. 36.
18Iki£.
171
The problem of education has been neglected in Germany
as a result of the last war. More has been done in
other countries. They have more family allowances,
and tuition materials like books and so on are paid
for by the state.
In his research on the effects of geographical
structure on education in the Land of Hesse (see Chapter
VII), Robert Geipel discovered an interesting phenomenon.
In two areas, centers of prosperity in Hesse (the central
Rhine-Main region and the region around the city of Kassel),
where all prerequisites for attendance at grammar schools
appeared to be present, he found also a low grammar school
attendance. He hypothesized as an obstructive factor the
obvious inability of lower class families to renounce an
immediate reward in favor of a long-term one. In these two
areas the factories paid well and "at a time of full employ
ment and prosperity make parents blind to the purpose and
20
value of a long-term school education."
Studies on the cost of a university education re
vealed that there are only a very few graduate professions
in which the average graduate is able to stand on his own
19Ibid.
20Reprinted in Education in Germany. No. 9 (1965),
29 .
172
21
feet before the age of twenty-nine, whereas the quick
earnings attract both parents and youth. As an example,
the offer of a firm is given here:
1. 123 EM monthly as "help for education"
2. A well-organized, modern apprenticeship
3. Social security
4. Guaranteed chances for advancement
5. Good salaries
6. Tenure after termination of service
Thus, he concluded, the good economic situation on the labor
market served as a deterrent factor for the advancement of
education as well.
In the November, 1966 issue of the Allgemeine
Deutsche Lehrerzeituna under the headline "Is the German
Worker Opposed to Education?" the complex of the low at
tendance of children from working class families in second
ary education was reviewed. Every second person employed
in the Federal Republic has the status of a worker. How
ever, only 5.2 per cent of all students in higher education
come from this stratum. In other words, one-half of the
population supplies only one-twentieth of all students,
2lReprinted in Education in Germany. No. 5 (1966),
8 .
173
whereas the upper stratum, forming only 5 per cent of the
total population, contributes 25 per cent of all students.
Another interesting comparison was made. There are
about 1,000,000 farmhands in the Federal Republic. From
these families came— during one semester— a total of eighty
students at all German institutions of higher education.
On the other side, there are also about 1,000,000 civil
servants in the Federal Republic. Out of these families—
during one semester— came 52,199 students at institutions
of higher learning. The article underlines the fact that
these figures do not arouse the least concern; on the con
trary, they are considered normal and many people find
absolutely nothing astonishing about them.
Gymnasium teachers in particular take these figures
as proof that there are no "untapped talent reserves." They
argue that they already have enough low-gifted students in
their classes and that there is no way to raise the number
of Abitur graduates. Professor Rolf Dahrendorf, American-
educated sociologist, opposed this attitude vehemently. He
was of the opinion that the constant discussion of gifted
ness is nothing else than a welcome pretext to divert the
attention of the public from the social reasons for the low
chances for education provided for children from the
174
working class families.
Professor Popitz, Freiburg, expressed his opinion
with the following thoughts:
Let us assume that four out of five children from
the upper class are highly gifted by inheritance,
and only one out of five children from the lower
class are highly gifted by inheritance. Even with
such a high discrepancy of assumed inherited in
telligence, a simple calculation shows that there
should be two and a half times as many children
from the lower class than from the upper class
among the highly gifted. However, nine times as
many children from the upper class as compared to
the lower class participate in higher education.
Are German children from working-class families
more stupid than children from the upper class,
or are there other, hidden reasons for this dis
crepancy?
Dahrendorf emphatically advocated that if one-half
of the total population contributes only one-twentieth to
the total student body in the Federal Republic, common
sense alone should arouse serious doubts as to whether the
social class corresponds to that of intelligence.
Hitpass found out that "two-thirds of all children
that clearly showed the ability for secondary education (as
tested by aptitude tests), but stayed in elementary schools,
22
came from working-class families."
22Hitpass, p. 17.
175
Seven decades ago 0.1 per cent of the students
attending universities came from lower class families. Be
tween the first and second World Wars a percentage of 2.2
was reported, and in 1955 the released figure was 4.7 per
cent. In 1965, the percentage was 5.2. Dahrendorf came to
the conclusion that the reason was by no means less intel
ligence, but "the German worker is not in favor of educa
tion and the German high school and university is not in
favor of the German worker." He thoroughly reviewed that
question in his book, Children from Working Class Families
23
at German Universities. He pointed out that in the past
it had been more a financial decision if a working class
family encouraged their children to continue their educa
tion and showed a favorable attitude toward education.
Today, however, he emphasized this could not be taken as a
reason any longer. Wages have risen to such a degree that
a university study could be financed if it were really
wanted. The reasons today are different. The worker lacks
a sense of long-term planning, and is not willing to give
up immediate rewards in favor of long-term rewards. He
23Rolf Dahrendorf, Arbeiterkinder an deutschen
Universitaten (Tubingen: J. C. B. Mohr Verlag, 1966).
176
decides against the long-term investment of a university
education, the results of which he cannot foresee. Child
ren, in full agreement with their parents, prefer immediate
earnings. But more decisive is the fact that workers are
separated from the institutions of higher learning by a
large social distance.
These findings parallel the findings of L. M. Miller
and Frank Riessman:
. . . that a pragmatic orientation is one of the
themes of the working class subculture. By this
they mean that with working class people what counts
is the tangible end results of actions not the plan
ning of action or the preoccupation with means, still
less abstract intellectual speculations not oriented
to immediate, practical ends.^
Cohen and Hodges speak about "anti-intellectuality"
* as a characteristic of the lower blue-collar class, a char
acteristic that also seemed true for the German lower class
people.
Dahrendorf uses an interesting comparison:
For many workers universities are about as real as
monasteries are for Protestants. They exist, some
^4Albert K. Cohen and Harold M. Hodges, "Character
istics of the Lower-Blue-Collar-Class," Social Problems. X
(Spring, 1963), 303-334, as reprinted in David W. Martin
and Norman L. Friedman, Readings in Sociology of Education
(New York: Selected Academic Readings, Inc., n.d.), p. 16A.
177
names are familiar, it is known that people live
there, but a connection to one's own life that might
elicit a motive to participate in that other world
is lacking.
He posed some aggressive questions to the German
public and the educational authorities. He asked: Is there
a correlation between the teaching methods, the test selec
tions, the high stress on verbal achievement and the ideal
of humanist education in the German Gymnasium on one side
and the high dropout percentage of children from working-
class families on the other? "Does the school, the teacher,
the administrator really want the child from a 'bad environ-
26
ment' and a 'poor milieu'?"
Reviewing this question, Professor Popitz concluded:
"Our high schools are bourgeois schools, oriented and
catered to the bourgeoisie, ideologically as well as insti-
27
tutionally." He pointed out that in these schools, the
students from lower class families are subject to a one
sided adjustment pressure, the right of which nobody has
doubted up to now. But the adjustment pressure that could
be elicited by the lower class families is, to be sure,
25"ist der deutsche Arbeiter bildungsfeindlich?"
Allaerneine Deutsche Lehrerzeituna (November, 1966), n.p.
26I22id.
27lfeifl.
178
rejected and considered as an unreasonable imputation to
lower the standards.
In summary, he comes to the conclusion that many
false concepts about educational institutions, perpetuated
through centuries, are partly responsible for the obviously
negative attitude of German workers toward education. On
the other hand, false concepts about the intellectual
abilities of students from working class families are
equally responsible for these attitudes. Both sides need
to adjust their concepts based on much misinformation.
Educational Policy in Political Context
The Federal Republic has no central ministry of
education, but each Land has its own Minister for Cultural
Affairs. Education is included in the term "cultural af
fairs /"“but plays a major part in the duties and responsi
bilities of the minister. This post is a political appoint
ment. Very seldom is an educator the Minister for Cultural
Affairs. This important office is usually given to an emi
nent person of the majority party. Thus cultural policy,
especially educational policy, is dominated by political
programs. Each party has its own educational program, and
the parties differ greatly in their advocated educational
179
goals. Five of the Lander have Social Democrat governments.
They are the cities of Berlin, Hamburg, and Bremen, plus
Hesse and Lower Saxony. The CDU forms the governments of
Schleswig-Holstein and North Rhine-Westphalia and the Lander
in the southwest of the Federal Republic, Rhineland-Palati-
nate, the Saar and Baden-Wurttemberg, while the government
of Bavaria is formed by the CSU (refers to 1966). The
political aims of the CDU determine the policy of the Fed
eral Government, and their educational program will deter
mine the policy of the Federal Republic. In the Lander,
however, the majority parties will determine educational
planning, and no minister will find it possible to ignore
his party's ideas on educational policy— even if they might
be detrimental to nationally advocated goals.
When for the first time in seventeen years of con
tinuous CDU government there appeared to be the possibility
of a change in government (1965), the debates on educational
issues were extremely lively. Every party had made educa
tion its big election campaign. In some cases their slogans
were formulated in soothing tones, pointing out the suc
cesses of the Government; in other cases— particularly on
the side of the SPD, which has been in opposition for
years— the slogans were aggressive. One of the SPD's
180
election pamphlets, for instance, which attacked the Federal
Government's policy on education, was entitled "Neglect,
Postponements, Delay." The Social Democrats drafted immed
iate programs of aid for education and promised their voters
"A better chance in life through education," while the
Christian Democrats and Free Democrats favored slogans of
the type "Prosperity through education."
"The German people must be aware that education and
research possess the same significance for our nation as
the social problem of the nineteenth century," said Federal
Chancellor Erhard on entering office. The SPD meant the
same thing when they declared that the reform of educational
policy was "the most important joint task facing our na
tion." Not to be outdone, the FDP assured voters in one of
their election pamphlets that "the society of today is in
28
the process of becoming an educated society."
All the parties were thus unanimous on this point,
as well as on the practice of measuring German educational
institutions, numbers of school children and students
alongside those of other European countries. All parties
in the Federal Republic demanded: We must not allow a
28"Educational Policy after the Election," Educa
tion in Germany. No. 11 (1965), 1.
181
return to a nationalistic educational policy. On the other
hand we must see that Germany is no longer backward in cer
tain fields of science, research, and school education.
There was, however, no unanimity regarding the ways
and means of accomplishing this aim. All parties are
striving to achieve better coordination between federal,
state and local authorities, and more effective educational
planning, which it is hoped will be ensured in the future
by a newly created body, the Bildungsrat (Council of Educa
tion). At any rate, however, neither of the major parties
is willing to entrust much more responsibility to the fed
eral government, which in any case already controls an im
portant part of science policy through the Federal Ministry
for Science and Research. The fact that other solutions of
a federative nature can also be effective is shown above
all by the example of the Wissenschaftsrat (Council of
Science and Research); here federal and Land authorities
have been working for years in peaceful harmony on problems
of university reform, university expansion, and aid for
research. In general, the advantages of the federative
system seem to be valued more highly.
One argument repeatedly put forward is that if there
were a Federal Ministry of Education, many decisions would
182
have to be based on the state of development in the most
backward regions.
Other arguments frequently heard state that educa
tional experiments usually require a small field of appli
cation. If they were imposed by government decree on one
Land this Land might resist, while the others would com
plain that they had been passed over.
Another argument is that educational expenditure can
be more safely entrusted to the Land governments than to the
Federal Government, because they are then not so exposed to
sudden extensive cuts, which can be caused on a national
level as a result of changes in the economic or social
situation, or in the sphere of foreign affairs. From ex
perience people are aware that in such cases a national
budget always makes the first cuts in educational and cul
tural expenditure.
Many German politicians tend to consider the de
centralization of educational policy in the pluralistic
society a blessing. In education in particular it can be
seen that this decentralization favors more intensive de
velopments in local regions. A deputy in any particular
Land parliament will be more energetic in advocating aid
for schools in the local region with which he is familiar
183
than a federal deputy in the Bundestag could possibly be.
Finally, it must be borne in mind that in the
Lander under their control the Social Democrats can develop
their own educational aims and enjoy their own successes.
This would be impossible under a Federal Ministry of Edu
cation controlled by the Christian Democrats. The same
thing would undoubtedly apply if the positions were re
versed.
In the course of the years that have passed since
1945, the educational policies of the various Lander, or,
in other words, the educational programs of the political
parties, grew closer together through the realities of
everyday life than the parties would like to admit.
As an example, we illustrate the issue of the
Mittelpunktschule. These schools, where primary school
pupils from several small communities are brought by bus to
one centrally situated school, were only to be found in
Lander with SPD governments. The Catholic Church had mis
givings about "removing the school from the village," and
the CDU took the same line. Now even in Lander with CDU
governments schools of this kind have been proliferating,
even though they have in some cases been given different
names.
184
Another case in point is the Forderstufe (the guid
ance and observation stage). This scheme, providing for
children in their fifth and sixth school years to attend
school together, means that the decision on each pupil's
ability and the type of school he should attend is post
poned for two years. In the first place the Forderstufe
was an idea produced by the German Committee for Education,
which was only taken up by SPD politicians. The CDU tended
more toward the conservative attitude of many parents and
grammar school teachers, who feared the Forderstufe would
result in bright children being held back, while at the
same time a reduction in grammar school standards would
result. Meanwhile, however, the positive results of experi
ments with the Forderstufe have led to more and more experi
ments being conducted, even in CDU-governed Lander.
One of the CDU's domains, up to a short while ago,
was the denominational school. The Social Democrats were
passionate advocates of the nondenominational school, in
which children of the two major denominations (Catholic
and Protestant), each of which include about half the popu
lation, are educated together. However, a few months
before the national elections in 1965, the SPD government
of Lower Saxony concluded a concordat with the Catholic
185
Church which guaranteed that denominational schools shall
be permitted for Catholics in this Land, particularly in
regions where the Catholics are in the majority. At the
moment, therefore, only the FDP is holding on to the prin
ciple of the nondenominational school.
A still hotly-disputed issue is the controversy on
the horizontal or vertical structure of the school system.
This dispute strikes at the roots of the traditional school
system. The politicians of the CDU are unwilling to aban
don the tripartite, vertical school system, particularly
since the rigidity of this system has been relaxed through
possibilities of transferring from one type of school to
another. SPD politicians tend to favor the Gesamtschule or
comprehensive school, on the Anglo-Saxon pattern, although
this is far more the case with Social Democrats in the
Bundestag than in the Land parliaments. They point to the
successful school experiments, but in spite of vocal sup
port the comprehensive school has not been generally intro
duced in the Lander controlled by the SPD. It is quite
feasible that one of these days an enterprising CDU minister
will begin similar experiments in his Land.
The sphere of German educational policy has split
wide open. One might say that educational policy in
186
Germany today is marked by ideological relaxation. The
ministries of education of the eleven Lander, who maintain
a joint secretariat and meet at intervals of about two
months to coordinate measures and planning, have proved
that material collaboration is possible regardless of all
29
ideological differences.
From 1945 to 1960 educational policy in the Federal
Republic was characterized by ideological involvement,
endless debates on speculative grounds as to the justifi
cation of educational goals, public defense of the tri
partite school system, small step approaches and a strict
adherence to cultural federalism. In 1961 this stagnation
in educational planning slowly gave way to a new, pragmatic
approach to educational issues. Up to then only the
Arbeitsgemeinschaft Deutscher Lehrerverbande (West German
Teachers Association) had based their reform plans and
their pleas to Government and public on empirical evidence.
In 1960 two empirical studies were published by them giving
statistical evidence about forthcoming shortages of teach
ers, school enrollments, school expenditures, and manpower
^Education in Germany. No. 11 (1965), 2-8.
30
needs. Another group, the Ettlinger Kreis, consisting of
independent citizens interested in educational reforms,
financed two further empirical research studies on school
problems.31
The OECD Conference held in Washington, D. C. in
1961 clearly revealed advances of many countries over the
Federal Republic in terms of school expenditures in rela
tion to the national gross income and the expenditures per
pupil. Out of a group of twenty participating countries
the Federal Republic ranked thirteenth (see Table 1).
What actions did the educational authorities take?
For the first time the Standing Conference based planning
on statistical data gathered through empirical research.
They worked out long-range plans up to 1970 which were pub
lished by the Standing Conference in 1963 under the title
"Report of Needs 1961-1970."
The simple, striking data changed public passivity
■^Joachim Knebel and Janpeter Kob, "Der quantita
tive und qualitative Nachwuchsbedarf in der industriellen
Gesellschaft," MUND SERIE (Frankfurt, 196 0); Friedrich
Edding, "Die Schulausgaben 1960-1970," MUND (Frankfurt,
1960).
3Carnap and Edding, Der relative Schulbesuch . . .
Ettlinger Kreis, Beitraae zum Problem des Lehrermanaels an
den Volksschulen in den Landern der Bundesreoublik (Wein-
heim: Carl Freudenberg, 1963).
188
and resistance into public demand for improvement.
Friedrich Edding, one of the most prominent men on
the educational scene, called this new procedure in educa
tional planning "a revolutionary event." The report covers
future expenditure per student, future enrollment figures
for all types of schools, plants and teachers needed, the
distribution of financial responsibility between the Federal
Government, the Lander and local communities, finance and
investment, the ratio of expenditures to the gross national
product and comparisons to the expenditures of other states.
The brochure is a comprehensive survey of future educational
needs and signifies a decisive turn in German educational
planning.
Two major trends are clearly visible in this report:
first, away from small-step approaches to long-range educa
tional planning, and second, away from cultural federalism
to planning on a nationwide scale. The socioeconomic de
velopments and their impact on manpower problems, as demon
strated in a few empirical studies (made since 1960) and a
comprehensive survey of the school conditions (undertaken
in 1962) have moved the ministers of education to a drastic
turn toward initiative in reform planning. The Standing
Conference announced an official support of empirical
189
research, "an intensification and expansion of school sta
tistics should be undertaken on the Lander and the Federal
32
level," which clearly indicates the turn to active coor
dinated planning. The public reaction to the ministers'
report was positive and encouraging. No one could well
quarrel with these soberly presented facts. The German
public, with resistive attitudes deeply rooted in historical
traditions, was much in need of thorough information.
The development of new educational paths will have
to be worked out by the Federal Government, the Lander, and
the communities, by educational experts, economists, and
scholars and scientists in other fields working together.
It will also be more necessary than heretofore to try out
new educational forms in pragmatic experiments and to in
crease the exchange of information about the results of such
experiments.
That the Government and the eleven Lander were
willing to continue long-range coordinated educational
planning was shown in the establishment of a special body
for nationwide educational planning.
32»Report of the 93rd Plenary Session of the Stand
ing Conference," published in Bilduna und Erziehuna. XVI,
No. 3/4 (March/April, 1963), 237.
190
On July 15, 1965, the German Council of Education
(Bildungsrat) was set up. It came into being as the result
of an administrative agreement between the federal and Land
authorities. The Council will consist of a Committee of
Education and a Government Committee (Bildungskommission
and Regierungskommission), and is to cooperate closely with
the Wissenschaftsrat (Science and Research Council) set up
in 1957.
Professor Weichmann, Chairman of the Prime Minis
ters' Conference, said:
It is hoped that the German Council of Education
works out practicable proposals that accord with the
actual state of affairs and take into account politi
cal and financial realities. It is to be hoped that
despite the overwhelming number of demands made of
the state, the political parties will, at all stages
of executive and legislative government, really ac
cord education the importance which as the foundation
of our spiritual and economic future it deserves.^
It is hoped that these new attitudes toward educa
tional planning may result in significant reforms in all
areas of German education.
Summary
Chapter VI studies the process of change in postwar
3^Education in Germany. No. 9 (1965), 5.
191
Germany. It particularly points out the negative attitude
of the German public— and parents in general— to the needs
of educational reforms and the importance of education for
the German youth of today. It stresses the extent of public
participation in policy making and the impact of economic
affluence on the process of educational changes. Three
significant points are made: (1) the lack of interest of
the German people in the Rahmenplan, (2) the desire for
economic security as opposed to educational opportunity,
and (3) the political entanglement of the educational pro
gram in current German politics.
CHAPTER VII
CURRENT ISSUES IN WEST GERMAN EDUCATION
The Untapped Talent Reserve
Introduction
The small number of Abitur successes achieved by
working class children (national average, 1965, 5.2 per
cent) and the unfavorable comparison with the number of
children attending high schools in other countries (Ger
many, 15.3 per cent; France, 30.8 per cent; Norway, 37.5
per cent; United States, 71 per cent) has caused much con
cern in the Federal Republic.
In reviewing the question: Why does Germany have
such a low percentage of Abitur graduates?, many reasons
were given: the psychologically unfavorable early separa
tion (after the 4th grade), the parents’ unwillingness to
risk the failure of their children, the rigid requirements
in the grammar school, the persuasive economic situation on
192
193
the labor market, and the many misconceptions about the
value of education. Sociologists like Rolf Dahrendorf
accused the educational authorities of a "waste of our
educational resources." Terms like "the untapped pools of
ability" or "untapped talent reserves" were coined. Em
pirical research was done as never before to shed light on
the question as to whether social class was an obstructive
factor against education, an accusation that was proclaimed
by many educationally-minded people for many years but
always denied by Land authorities and the Government.
A few years ago the discovery by Friedrich Edding
of the connections between economic growth and investment
in education, for instance, aroused consternation among
experts and surprise among politicians. Today the same
people are, if one may use such an image, the bloodhounds
of the ministries of education. The hunt for the "brains"
has started.
Educational research experts in Germany at the
moment are endeavoring, by means of a variety of methods
and from a variety of starting points, to investigate the
phenomenon of the relationship between social class and
intelligence in order to discover where to get hold of the
intellectual and industrial leaders of tomorrow, without
194
whom a modern state cannot exist. In short, the discussion
about the "untapped talent reserve" is fully under way.
Result of educational
researgh
In regard to this question, research was done in
the Land of Baden-Wurttemberg. In adjacent rural areas in
Baden-Wiirttemberg the percentage of pupils at secondary
schools was particularly low. In these "backward" regions,
which are especially lacking in adequate transport facili
ties, intelligence tests have been conducted for the Minis
try of Education and Cultural Affairs by the psychologist
Dr. Aurin of the State Institute of Education at Stuttgart,
together with a team of psychologists and students from the
teacher training colleges. All children in their fourth
and fifth years at elementary school were examined to see
if they had the aptitude for a secondary school education.
The most important results of the tests reveal that about
40 per cent of the children possessed the necessary ability
to attend secondary school (18 per cent grammar school and
22 per cent intermediate school).
In 1964 only 13 per cent of the elementary school
population had transferred to secondary schools. The study
gave further proof of the hypothesis of the so-called
195
untapped talent reserve in rural areas. In Stuttgart 70
per cent of the children transferred to secondary schools
after their fourth year at elementary schools; the per
centage in remote rural areas only amounted to 20 per
cent.^
Dr. Aurin came to the conclusion that the fear of
failure was an important deterrent factor that held the
industrial and agricultural workers back from sending their
children to secondary education. "What holds them back is
the fear that their children may turn out to be failures at
this 'difficult1 school, thus, perhaps, disgracing them in
2
the eyes of the village,"
Wolfgang Albrecht found in his research in the Land
of Baden-Wurttemberg that only 40 per cent of the children
that entered the high school reached the Abitur. The bulk
of the dropouts came from lower class families; the ones
who stayed in school were children of upper and middle class
parents. He concluded; "The education of the children is
3
in direct relation to the education of the parents." In
^■Education in Germany. No. 9 (1965), 8.
^"students Campaign on Behalf of Education," Educa
tion in Germany. No. 5 (1966), 13.
3"Das Gymnasium— eine Standesschule?" Die Hohere
196
number 5 of his findings he stated: "Parents are obstacles
to secondary education because of old fashioned beliefs.
4
They think university study is only for the 'upper class.'1 1
Theodor Bojus in similar research found proof that there is
"a clear disadvantage of children in rural areas as com
pared to urban areas."5 In sixteen out of sixty-four com
munities, insufficient provisions were made to enable the
children to attend high schools (the distance to school was
too far for a ten-year-old child).
Robert Geipel made a pilot study on the effects of
geographical structure on education in the Land of Hesse.
For the first time a Land in the Federal Republic has been
surveyed from the standpoint of the effects of geographical
structure on education. Besides the fact that the teacher
training college, of which Geipel is a professor, was lo
cated in Hesse, he justified the choice of Hesse for this
study because
it possesses active and passive areas, industrial
conurbations as well as remote rural areas, which
Schule. No. 6 (1964).
4Ibid.
^"Bildungsangebot und Begabungsreserven," Die Hohere
Schule. No. 6 (1964).
197
adjoin one another in conveniently sized units. They
thus offer model instances of all the problems which
in other states of the Federal Republic are spread
over far wider regions and therefore produce a more
one-sided effect for the average of the state as a
whole
A survey was made of the proportions of pupils ob
taining their Abitur in the different local communities of
Hesse. That does not sound particularly sensational, but
in fact it is; for thanks to this survey, the catchword
"drop in educational standards" has finally been deprived
of its force, after haunting Germany's educational policy
for some time and causing considerable annoyance. This was
possible because the figures previously available for the
various spheres of education were based only on averages
for whole Lander or, at best, county districts. These
average figures had given people the impression that the
Lander could be arranged in order and given good and bad
marks for their efforts in the field of education. It was
natural that politicians should play off Lander with Chris
tian Democrat governments against Lander with Social Demo
crat governments. In lists of this kind Hesse is almost at
the top of the class. After Berlin, it has the highest
6Robert Geipel, Structure of Education from the
Point of View of Social Areas (Frankfurt: Diesterweg Ver-
lag, 1965).
'198
percentage of pupils obtaining their Abitur in the whole of
the Federal Republic; last year th^ figure was 10 per cent
of the total population in the same age-group. But it is
precisely this model state that has received the following
testimonial, for instance, from Professor Geipel: in the
last ten years more than a third of all the local communi
ties in Hesse have failed to produce a single pupil with
the Abitur. In Hesse, 834 local communities out of 2,7 00
never produced a pupil with Abitur success. This fact
probably shocked those responsible for educational policy
in the Hesse Ministry of Education just as much as it
shocked the interviewer. Only when the communities were
regarded as a whole did these subsidiary answers produce
the plastic image which will be taken as a basis for school
planning in Hesse. Thus an indication is given of the
manifold nature of the problem of educational planning. In
order to make it comprehensible, we must describe the method
employed in the investigation.
The first method of assessment revealed the range
of the individual grammar schools. The areas from which
their pupils came became recognizable by means of quantita
tive absolute statistics. Maps revealed the spheres of
influence of the grammar school localities, as well as
199
areas where education was in a backward state.
The second process of tabulating the information
made the basis of inquiry the local community where the
53,000 pupils lived, instead of where their school was
situated; thus the relative percentage of pupils with the
Abitur was calculated per local community.
In order to avoid districts being wrongly evaluated
in regard to their level of education, a further method of
assessment was employed, whereby the percentage of the
year-groups obtaining their Abitur between 1960 and 1964 was
compared to the same age-groups (fifteen- to twenty-year-
olds) revealed by the 1961 census. This control calcula
tion resulted in the educational "no-man's-land," as Pro
fessor Geipel termed it, increasing by an additional 293
communities for a total of 1,127, which is 42 per cent of
all the communities in the Land of Hesse.
The educational geographer pursued the causes for
the lack of Abitur successes. Even a person who is not
accustomed to "thinking in terms of areas" can recognize
the connection between lack of interest in education on the
one hand and rail distances on the other. In the words of
Professor Geipel, "education is also a question of
200
7
distances." His research also gave proof to the hitherto
denied point: "The proportion of pupils who obtain the
Abitur is closely connected with the social status of the
population."®
The average national and Land figures are known:
for Hesse they are as follows: 4.9 per cent came from
working class homes, 2.2 per cent were the children of far
mers and agricultural workers, 39 per cent of nongraduate
civil servants and salaried employees, and 31 per cent of
graduates; 18 per cent alone came from the group comprising
teachers, clergymen and doctors.
Students campaign on behalf
of education
The representatives of the Eighth German Student
Conference, held in April, 1965 in Bonn, after viewing the
complex of German education, asserted that "the educational
system upholds a class structure that is no longer adequate
9
to the requirements of our age of technology."
This, they said, was the reason why the pools of
Education in Germany. No. 9 (1965), 26.
9Ifeid ., P. 17.
201
ability were not being made use of. Loud and clear came the
demand: "university places for working-class childrenl"^
Figures were adduced to prove that the shortage of teachers
in the Federal Republic was assuming threatening propor
tions, while the number of pupils obtaining the certificate
of maturity and the proportion of pupils receiving full-time
education was unsatisfactory. A revolutionary plan was
born. The students decided to "go into the country." In
small towns and villages they planned to organize lectures
and discussions and carry on a "campaign for education";
they hoped to persuade parents to send their children to
secondary schools or allow them to attend institutes of
higher education. The efforts of these "apostles of working
class education," as they were called,
would be praiseworthy enough if they achieved nothing
else apart from reducing not merely the gulf which
lies between the population and educational institu
tions but also the social gulf that separates the
students from the working population.^
Reactions among the public were divided when the
"Verband Deutscher Studentenschaften" (the German students'
representative body) called upon students at institutes of
higher education in Germany to take part in demonstrations
10Ibid., p. 16.
11lbid.
202
aimed at exposing the weak points in the German educational
system (too few grammar school pupils reaching university
entrance level, and too few children of agricultural and
industrial workers at grammar school and university). Some
people welcomed the sudden interest in educational policy
shown by the younger generation, while others considered
the students' banners "too cheap," and doubted that their
words would ever be followed by deeds.
Students at the University of Freiburg demonstrated
that what they said was intended to be taken seriously.
They started a student campaign in rural areas, known as
"Student auf's Land." The students taking part in the cam
paign on behalf of education received a thorough preparation
for their task. The idea was to encourage people living in
remote rural areas of the Black Forest, and also workers in
industrial regions, to send their children to secondary
schools and to illustrate the necessity of the most thor
ough school and vocational education possible for the world
of tomorrow. From September, 1965 to March, 1966, the
Freiburg students held lectures in 400 communities with
total audiences of about 18,000 people. The students found
sympathetic listeners and made many converts to their point
of view.
203
Averages for the whole Land showed that the rush
to secondary schools generally increased rapidly, reaching
38 per cent as compared with only 30.5 per cent in 1963;
15.6 per cent decided in favor of intermediate schools,
22.4 per cent for grammar schools. In South Baden, the
region selected by the students for their campaign, inter
mediate schools reported 32.7 per cent more entries at the
beginning of the new school year than in the previous year.
South Baden, which had hitherto been considered particularly
backward in the field of school education, has thus far
exceeded the average for the Land of Baden-Wurttemberg as
a whole, where the general increase in intermediate school
entries was 15.3 per cent.
The students found by experience that farmers in
South Baden were more easily persuaded to let their children
go to intermediate school than to grammar school, which is
usually situated further away from home. One reason was
that transport facilities are poor, but there is also the
fact that an intermediate school education is shorter than
a grammar school education, and consequently easier for
parents to accept. Thus the number of new entries to inter
mediate schools increased by more than 100 per cent in some
of the rural areas visited by the students. These
204
individual instances, however, should not necessarily be
taken as indicative of the general situation. The students
from Freiburg University were not alone in their efforts on
behalf of children with ability in Baden-Wurttemberg. In
recent months this Land has carried on the campaign to make
people "educationally minded" with particular energy. The
Minister of Education himself spent weeks visiting the most
remote Black Forest villages, in order to arouse people's
interest in education and at the same time learn of their
worries and objections for himself. But whatever the main
reason for the increased number of entries in the secondary
schools, the students have certainly played their part.
The rush for places at the grammar schools meant
that the Ministry of Education was faced with a new problem
almost without knowing it: the shortage of school buildings
and grammar school teachers in Baden-Wurttemberg assumed
threatening proportions. Already emergency measures had to
be considered, such as the introduction of double shifts in
some schools. In order to alleviate the shortage of grammar
school teachers, it was proposed to set up a shortened
three-year course of studies for some grammar school teach
ers; those taking this special course would be qualified to
teach in junior and intermediate grammar school classes.
205
The example of the Freiburg students had been fol
lowed by other students in Saarbriicken, Tubingen, Heidel
berg, Stuttgart, Miinchen, Ludwigsburg, Weingarten and
12
Karlsruhe. The main goal was to give the parents complete
information on available educational facilities, but above
all to make working class parents grasp the value of a
longer school education for their children.
The Freiburg students did not consider their mission
completed. They have taken to heart the complaints made by
many parents who were afraid that their children might fail
at grammar school because they themselves cannot help them
with their homework, owing to lack of time or their own
educational deficiencies. At the suggestion of a grammar
school headmaster in Breisach, they at once provided ten
students, who in groups of two take turns supervising the
pupils at this school when they do their homework in the
afternoon. They did not provide coaching lessons, but
simply started to ensure that the pupils could concentrate
on their written'exercises without being disturbed. One
hour was available for this purpose. A pupil who had failed
to understand something could discuss it with his classmates
12,,Zeitungsschau," Die Hohere Schule (January,
1967), p. 23.
206
outside the classroom. These experiments had been under
way since the beginning of 1966. The pupils' performances,
according to their teachers, have shown a very considerable
improvement. Out of seventeen who were originally classi
fied as "unsatisfactory," only three pupils are left. The
Freiburg students, justifiably proud of such success, asked
the Minister for Cultural Affairs for Baden-Wurttemberg,
Professor Wilhelm Hahn, to encourage similar experiments in
other high schools of the Land.
In the meantime, North Rhine-Westphalia, Bavaria,
and Hamburg have followed the example and announced that
pupils in the junior grammar school classes are in future
to be given additional or supplementary lessons free of
charge in the afternoons if they want them.
This is intended, above all, as a concession to
pupils whose parents were not at grammar school themselves,
so that they cannot help their children with their homework.
Often it is precisely these parents who are not in a finan
cial position to pay for private coaching lessons.
In Bavaria the supplementary lessons are to be given
first of all at one-third of all Land grammar schools. They
i
will generally be in German, mathematics, and the chief
foreign language.
207
In Hamburg the experiments now being carried out
with additional lessons in English and mathematics have been
so successful that the scheme is to be extended to all
grammar schools.
It cannot be said that German students had previous
ly attracted attention on account of their interest in pub
lic affairs. This state of affairs now appears to be chang
ing. In general, one can say that for the first time in
about 100 years students are showing the desire to become
active in public and are coming out with claims and demands
of a general political nature. The theme of their confer
ence, "How much is the young generation worth to the state?"
had been embodied, not without some feeling for the general
political topic of the moment, in the general discussion on
educational planning and German education as a whole.
On a ten-point program adopted by the student body
they demanded:
1. More importance to be attached to educational
policy, 2. Planning and financing of education on a
national scale, 3. Comprehensive propaganda for edu
cation, 4. Surmounting of difficulties in deciding
which authorities are competent for cultural and
educational policy, 5. Immediate establishment of a
Council of Education, 6. Setting up of a horizontally
streamed comprehensive school system, 7. Rationaliza
tion of courses of study, 8. Expansion of what is
known as the "Zweite Bildungsweg," 9. Full use to be
made of pools of ability, 10. Comprehensive system
2 08
13
of training grants on a standardized, national scale."
In recent months the German public has had the
opportunity of concerning itself with the mentality of Ger
man students in the sixties. When the students in the be
ginning of their Eighth German Student Conference (April
25-29, 1965) posed the widely publicized question: How much
is the young generation worth to the state? the students
received a great deal of unfriendly comment. They were
dubbed "young drones" and "the nation's problem children"
in the leading articles of the most important daily news
papers. The Federal Minister of Science and Research, Hans
Lenz, asserted that the sweat of honest men was still super
ior to the anger of young men.^
The students' efforts were not exhausted in decla
mations. Their well-planned, seriously persuaded "campaign
for education" has resulted in one of the most significant
successes in the effort to raise the number of Abitur grad
uates .
The search for the "pools of ability" and the wish
to tap the "untapped talent reserve" has found manifold
^"Students in the Federal Republic," Education in
Germany. No. 9 (1965), 16.
14Ibid.
209
support. It forms a main feature in German educational
planning in 1966. Paul Mikat (North Rhine-Westphalia) con
cluded:
Naturally the reform of our educational system is not
just a question of investment. Financial aid can al
ways create only a framework within which the internal
reform can be accomplished. The reason why this re
form is so difficult, however, is that it requires of
us a sacrifice that is perhaps even greater than the
financial one— the giving up of outmoded ideas, which
for a variety of reasons we only let go of unwillingly.
Our need is for intensive planning and objective dis
cussion if we wish to survive along with the other
nations. For a nation that does not equip itself in
tellectually today throws away its chances of success
in the future.^
The campaign for the untapped talent resources had
many tangible results. It led to the establishment of
Mittelpunktsschulen to give a better education to children
from rural areas, as well as to a special concern for this
problem among the educational authorities. It resulted in
better provisions for the lateral transfer and in more
funds and greater support for the "second path to educa
tion." It resulted in a change in educational planning from
small-step approaches to long-range planning and from a
stage of Land planning to coordinated planning on a national
15"The German Bildungsrat and Educational Reform,"
Education in Germany. No. 9 (1965), 3.
210
level. It resulted in a nationwide recognition of the
teacher shortage, which had grown to "threatening propor
tions," and it stirred great efforts to raise the number of
Abitur graduates. It resulted in a nationwide campaign to
make parents "educationally minded" and to encourage lower
class families to let their children take part in secondary
and higher education. It resulted in the effort to remove
the gulf between the social classes and to change an out
dated mode of thinking that separated more than 50 per cent
of the population from institutions of higher learning.
The Second Path to Education
Introduction
when it became evident that the traditional branches
of school organization were so firmly established in the
mind of the German public that people objected to basic
changes like the introduction of the comprehensive high
school, German educational planners thought of means of
providing access to university education other than through
the Gymnasium.
In 1960 only 5 per cent of all German pupils of the
corresponding age group finished the Gymnasium. In 1963
only 7.4 per cent received the Abitur. In 1964 this number
211
had risen to 9.8 per cent. Needless to say, ardent attacks
centered on these low percentages. One way to raise the
numbers of university students was to provide other avenues
to higher education than through the Gymnasium alone.
Gifted young students are to be provided with a specialized
and general education qualifying them for admittance to the
university by means of what is called a "second path to
education" (Der zweite Bildungsweg) during their vocational
training, whereby they will "climb" from one school level
to another via a series of examinations. Through this ex
tended net of vocational schools, organized by educational
planners after World War II as a "ladder-education," tal
ented young people who did not go through the traditional
secondary education are encouraged to continue their educa
tion, to make use of the educational value inherent in pro
fessional life and finally to be able to enter the univer
sity .
Various attempts are being made at present to pro
vide educational facilities for particularly efficient
people who are actually pursuing their occupations, as well
as especially gifted persons whose talents came to light
later in life. These attempts are referred to in public as
the "second avenue of education." The intention is that,
i
212
within the framework of vocational training, a phased se
quence shall be introduced when the vocational training
comes to an end, greater attention being paid to general
education with a vocational bearing. It should be possible
at the end of each phase either to go straight into a
practical occupation or to advance to the next higher phase
of training until university studies are concluded.
Complete recognition has been given to the first
stage by the skeleton agreement of the Permanent Conference
of the Lander Ministers of Culture of September, 1959, on
the establishment of vocational development schools (Berufs
aufbauschule) within the scope of vocational schools. When
these schools take the form of day schools, instruction
will be given for three or four terms at the rate of
thirty-five hours a week; in the form of evening schools
they will give seven terms' instruction at the rate of
twelve hours a week. This agreement also considers imple
mentation of the further development of the present devel
opment courses and those to be arranged later. The final
certificate invests the bearer with the qualifications
bestowed by that of specialist schools and is equivalent to
the final certificate of the intermediate school, Real-
schule. The name of this type of new school is
213
Berufsaufbauschule.
Substantial efforts are being made to develop the
whole field of vocational training in a manner to increase
the ability, knowledge and proficiency of students for
further studies.
In comparing school attendance in vocational schools
in 1961 and 1970, the Standing Conference predicts a dif-
16
ference of 23.1 per cent. It is believed that this number
will increase to the extent that the idea of gaining access
to higher education through the "second path to education"
catches on in the mind of the youth.
Vocational extension schools, the decisive stage in
what is known as "Der zweite Bildungsweg," are enjoying
growing popularity. The latest statistics (for the year
1964) give a total of about 50,000 pupils participating in
vocational extension courses throughout the Federal Repub
lic. This figure is likely to be exceeded in the near
17
future.
Some idea of the trend of developments is provided
by a report recently published by the Bavarian State
16Bedarfsfestste1lung. 1961-1970. p. 77.
17Education in Germany. No. 5 (1966), 22.
214
Department of Statistics (Statistische Berichte des
Bayerischen Statistischen Landesamtes), "Die Berufsaufbau-
schulen in Bayern im Schuljahr 1965/66; vom 28.3.1966."
The report only applies to the Land of Bavaria, of course,
but the surprisingly rapid expansion of this type of school
last year, as shown by this report, is probably indicative
of the trend in other parts of the Federal Republic which
have not yet produced any detailed statistics.
In 1959 there were only fourteen vocational exten
sion schools in Bavaria, with barely 1,000 pupils. When
the survey was conducted (the key date being November 15,
1965) there were already seventy-one schools with 8,206
■ i 18
pupiIs.
A report published by the Federal Institute of Labor
Exchange and Unemployment Insurance at Nuremberg states:
"The young people's ideas on their choice of a career are
influenced more and more heavily by the opportunities for
advancement and further education in the different profes-
, , 19
sions.
The numbers of pupils who, after completing their
18Ibid.
^ Education in Germany. No. 9 (1965), 13.
215
general education at the elementary school, want to continue
at a full-time vocational school has steadily increased in
recent years. Eight out of ten pupils consult vocational
guidance experts in order to get advice for a later choice
of good career. Special information offices of this kind,
called Berufsberatung, are spread out all over the Federal
Republic. A clear upward trend was revealed for the white-
collar professions. In 1951 only 2.1 per cent of the boys
and 6.3 per cent of the girls were seeking such a choice
and showed interest in further education. In 1965 the
number had risen to 12 per cent for boys and 25 per cent
• i 20
for girls.
An institution which also provides this "second
educational avenue" is the Institut zur Erlangung der Hoch-
schulreife, a boarding school for gifted elementary scholars
which accepts them after they have completed their training
and prepares them in three years for their university
entrance examination. This institution, also called Kolleg,
is an outcome of postwar educational planning and plays an
important role in gaining access to higher education. The
Kollegs are highly subsidized by the Lander and the
20it>ia., P. 14.
216
Federal Government. They provide able young people, who
otherwise would not go through the established forms of
secondary education, with an opportunity of preparing for
the Abitur. This new institution has quickly gained sig
nificance in the effort to open new avenues to the univer
sity. The course of study is at a high level. Usually the
successful completion of vocational training is an entrance
requirement. These newly founded institutions have spread
rapidly and, more important, the idea has taken hold in the
mind of the youth.
Since the second path to education has become an
important factor in the efforts of the Federal Republic to
raise the number of students qualifying for university
admission, it will be examined in all eleven Lander of the
Federal Republic.
Eleven case studies
Baden-Wurttemberg.— The people of this Land (number
ing 7,505,900, 50 per cent of which are Protestants and
41.7 per cent Catholics) have been extremely active in the
field of education. Its efforts were centered on various
aspects of education but focused on vocational training by
establishing new avenues by means of which a child could
217
gain access to higher education.
Baden-Wiirttemberg had in 1958 a total of 1,194
21
Berufsschulen, 411 Berufsfachschulen and 278 Fachschulen.
It established six new Berufsaufbauschulen between 1958 and
1961. This new type of school has been established in many
Lander by recommendation of the Standing Conference. It
serves as a link between elementary and secondary education
by granting a certificate equal to the Realschule leaving
certificate. Upon successful completion of the Berufsfach-
schule the student is admitted to an institute of higher
learning, the Hohere Fachschule, which is immediately below
university level. After completion of this school, the
student may enter the corresponding faculty of a university.
The Berufsaufbauschule thus also serves as a link to higher
education and has been regarded as the most fruitful outcome
of educational planning in the realm of the second path to
education. This new opportunity was taken advantage of by
3.3 per cent of all students already in vocational training.
In 1958 there were seven Ingenieurschulen, and by
1961 this number had increased to nine. Educational plan
ning provides for three more of such institutions. The
^All figures from: Standing Conference, Kultur-
politik der Lander (Stuttgart: Klett Verlag, 1961).
218
leaving degree grants the holder access to technical uni
versities .
In 196 0 Baden-Wurttemberg had five Hohere Fachschu-
len. It established a new one in Mannheim, called Wirt-
schaftshochschule Mannheim, and educational planning en
visions two more. The special institutions for higher edu
cation, such as Musikhochschulen and regular universities,
are not mentioned here as they fall within the realm of
higher education.
Baden-Wurttemberg increased the number of teaching
personnel in vocational-technical schools by 34 per cent.
In 1960, for example, it provided scholarship grants to 15
per cent of students already in training.
It further established a Kolleg at the University
of Heidelberg for foreign students which provides intensive
training in the German language, thus qualifying the student
for admission to the university.
It may be of interest to the foreign reader that
these accomplishments were achieved through the active
leadership of the former Governor, Georg Kiesinger, the
German Chancellor now in office. Forty per cent of the Land
budget was spent for education (1960 figure).
219
Bavaria.— This Land, with 9,324,000 inhabitants
(72 per cent of which are Catholic and 26 per cent Protes
tant), spent 20.3 per cent of its budget for education
(196 0 figure). Educational planning focused on the support
of Fachschulen and Ingenieurschulen. Bavaria has always
had a broad variety of Fachschulen to foster arts, crafts,
and applied arts. These schools of arts and crafts are
spread out all over the country, even in the most remote
areas. Bavaria is mainly an agricultural and mountainous
area, and a substantial part of her Land income stems from
the large number of tourists attracted by the beauty of the
countryside. Like no other Land, Bavaria has always had
special schools for wood-carving, embroidery, violin-
building, pottery, glass-blowing, textile manufacture and
the like. In November, 1958, Bavaria had 345 Fachschulen
and twelve Ingenieurschulen. Between 1958 and 1961, the
facilities were expanded in such a way that 45 per cent
more students could be admitted. Two more Ingenieurschulen
are being planned.
Bremen.— Bremen, the smallest Land in the Federal
Republic of Germany, has 683,000 inhabitants (85 per cent
Protestant, 10 per cent Catholic). It has been a city-state
220
since the glorious days of the Hanseatic League and re
mained independent until modern times.
Bremen, in spite of its smallness, has proved its
strong interest in the educational scene. In 1953 Bremen
had three Hohere Fachschulen, one of which, the Institute
for Oceanography, has gained fame beyond the borders of
Germany. In i960 Bremen established three more institutions
of this kind. In 1958 there were fifteen Berufsschulen and
thirteen Berufsfachschulen. The most interesting new phase
of educational planning in Bremen, however, lies in the
field of elementary education and secondary education.
Substantial support for adequate lateral transfer is given.
Besides the above-mentioned institutions, Bremen had
seventeen Fachschulen in 1961. In 1960, 22 per cent of the
Land budget was earmarked for education.
Hamburg.— With 1,815,400 inhabitants (80 per cent
Protestant, 6.5 per cent Catholic), Hamburg is one of the
most progressive Lander in every respect, and education is
no exception. Hamburg has been a forerunner in the field,
providing university training for elementary teachers and
conducting pilot studies in all areas of elementary-
secondary, vocational and higher education. Like Baden-
Wurttemberg, it established a Kolleg for foreign students
to prepare them for university entrance. Hamburg has
thirty-eight Berufsschulen and, in accordance with the
recommendations of the Standing Conference, included the
establishment of Berufsaufbauschulen in its educational
planning program. In 1961, Hamburg could report the intro
duction of five schools of this new type. There were
thirty-eight part-time vocational schools, and special
emphasis was given to expanding the full-time vocational
schools. In 1960 there were three times as many teachers
in these schools than in 1949. In 1961 Hamburg had estab
lished thirty-three Berufsfachschulen. The main type of
school in this field was that which gave training in the
field of commerce. This is quite understandable in view of
Hamburg's strong commitment in commerce and all fields of
trade. Hamburg is the largest seaport and the only city
to provide a foreign language in the elementary schools.
From 1955 to 1961 Hamburg expanded the facilities in the
Ingenieurschulen by 60 per cent and, in 1954, established
a new type of school, "evening colleges for engineering"
that train the students in five years to become engineers.
During the day they work in their professions. This new
type of school is considered an important part of the
222
second path to education and a real link between elementary
and secondary and a step to higher education, since the
learning certificate grants university entrance.
Hamburg's educational planner introduced several
new provisions to assure every student access to higher
education. One new provision allows the student— after
completing the full-time vocational school (two years of
study)--to enter advanced technical schools (three years of
study) and, following that, to enter the corresponding
faculty at a university. Another provision allows the
student--after completing the part-time vocational school
(three years)— to enter a full-time vocational school of
the evening type. After the successful completion of this
school, the student is admitted to the newly established
evening colleges. The leaving certificate entitles the
holder to university admission. With these new provisions,
Hamburg truly has contributed to educational planning.
Every student can gain access to higher education if he
cares to strive for it.
Hesse.--This Land, with 4,676,400 inhabitants (6 5
per cent Protestant and 32 per cent Catholic), spent 22.6
per cent of its budget for education (196 0 figures).
223
Hesse does its educational planning within four-year
plans, the first of which covered the years 1955 to 1958,
the second the years 1959 to 1962. Hesse is the only Land
that charges no tuition in universities and colleges. The
focal point of educational planning was the reorganization
of the elementary school, which led to the separation be
tween the Grundschule (grades 1-4) and the Hauptschule
(grades 5-9) and made Hesse a pioneer in the field of the
reorganization of the Volksschule.
In the field of vocational-technical training, which
forms the nucleus of the second path to education, the fol
lowing achievements can be reported.
In 195 0 Hesse had 486 teachers working in the vari
ous types of vocational schools. In 1954 the number had
increased to 2,459, in 1958 had reached 2,979, and in 1960
Hesse announced the number of teaching personnel was 3,307.
Hesse made long-range plans to improve its educational sys
tem. Already as early as 1956, Hesse established a special
committee for educational planning which regularly reported
to the Governor, the Minister for Cultural Affairs, and the
Minister of Finance as well as informing the public about
its plans and suggestions. In the fiscal year 1960 Hesse
set aside 210,000 DM of the budget for Schulversuche
224
(experimental schools). It took the lead in experimenting
with the lateral transfer from one school type to the other,
and was the first Land to try the five-day school.
In the field of vocational-technical training, Hesse
also worked with long-range plans. In 1959 there were 105
Berufsschulen, eighty-three Berufsfachschulen and forty-one
Fachschulen. In 1960 the number of Berufsschulen jumped
from eighty-three to eighty-seven, and the number of Fach
schulen from forty-one to forty-six. Hesse has experimented
with all types of vocational schools. Within the second
path to education, it did not establish separate Berufsauf-
bauschulen as a link to higher education, but established
special classes with the same purpose. In 1960 Hesse re
ported the existence of 139 such classes.
Hesse has nine colleges of engineering, and in 1959
and 1960 established two Kollegs that lead young adults to
the Abitur in two-and-one-half year courses. The Land fully
carried the cost for these two institutions. In the fiscal
year 1960 Hesse earmarked 22.6 per cent of the budget for
education.
Lower Saxony.— This Land, with 6,526,300 inhabitants
(77.4 per cent Protestant and 18.8 per cent Catholic),
225
borders the East German Republic. It has focused its in
terest on expanding higher education, especially its six
colleges. Lower Saxony is troubled with financial problems
because of the steady influx of refugees from the East Ger
man Republic. In the field of vocational-technical educa
tion, it has focused on the innovation of Berufsaufbau-
schulen. In 1961 there existed forty-six schools of this
type, but by 1966 the Minister reported the existence of
ninety-two.
North Rhine-Westphalia.— This is the most populous
Land in the Federal Republic, with 15,653,000 inhabitants
(52 per cent Catholic and 44 per cent Protestant). It has
put most effort into expanding and supporting its five uni
versities by providing adequate financing and sufficient
teaching staff. This includes the support of ten institu
tions, called Abendgymnasium, which are designed to provide
access to the Abitur and higher education for the youngsters
who did not complete high school by means of specially de
signed evening classes.
In 1959, North Rhine-Westphalia had 410 Berufs
schulen (twelve of which were privately run), seventy-five
Berufsaufbauschulen, and 400 Berufsfachschulen.
226
In 1956 North Rhine-Westphalia had nine colleges
of engineering, and by 1959 this number had increased to
twelve. Because of the industrial character of the Land,
the demand for engineers is heavy. Private donors contrib
uted generously to the financing and setup of additional
Ingenieurschulen. North Rhine-Westphalia has the highest
number of Hohere Fachschulen. Forty were reported for 1960,
eleven of which were privately administered. An even higher
number of private institutions was reported in the field of
Fachschulen. These technical schools provide the pupil with
a higher qualification after the completion of his voca
tional training. Of the 486 Fachschulen, 193 were private
institutions. North Rhine-Westphalia has the greatest num
ber of private schools in the vocational-technical field.
Educational planning in this Land provides good opportuni
ties in the second path to education, thus helping the
student to gain access to higher education.
In 1960 North Rhine-Westphalia spent 23.7 per cent
of its budget for education.
Rhineland-Palatinate.— This Land of 3,337,365 in
habitants (58 per cent Catholic, 41 per cent Protestant) has
given substantial help to its communities in establishing
227
new plants. Up to 80 per cent of the building costs are
carried by the Land. This resulted in the establishment of
many new plants, especially in rural areas. In 1960
Rhineland-Palatinate had seventy-nine Berufsschulen and 151
Fachschulen. Special emphasis was given to providing sup
port for the establishment of Berufsaufbauschulen in ac
cordance with the recommendations of the Standing Confer
ence, which was adopted by the Land legislature as one of
the first within the Federal Republic.
In 1960 there were sixteen Berufsaufbauschulen on
a part-time basis (three years), thus giving special atten
tion to the needs of the full-time working youngster who
strives for further education. Educational planning, in
establishing sixteen schools of this kind, really provided
an effective link between elementary and higher education.
The leaving certificate grants the right to enter the
Hohere Fachschule and, following that, the corresponding
faculty of the university. Rhineland-Palatinate further
reports the existence of seventy-four Berufsfachschulen and
eight colleges of engineering in the year 1960.
Saarland.— This Land, with 1,150,000 inhabitants
(74 per cent Catholic and 25.3 Protestant), has the closest
228
connection with neighboring France, of which it was once a
part. French can be taken as an optional language in all
elementary schools, and all examinations taken at the newly
established university (1948) are accepted by French uni
versities. Saarland has a broad variety of colleges for
applied arts and four Hohere Fachschulen. Within the second
path to education, it established eleven Berufsaufbauschulen
in 1960 and educational planning already provided for two
more in 1961.
There were thirty-five Berufsfachschulen, four of
which were private, and seventy-five Berufsschulen. These
figures are for the fiscal year 1960.
Schleswig-Holstein.— This Land, with 2,284,600 in
habitants (88 per cent Protestant, 6 per cent Catholic), is
predominantly agricultural. Between the years 1814 and
1938, the compulsory full-time elementary school included
nine grades, and thus the ninth year was reintroduced in
1947 without public resistance such as that encountered in
other Lander.
In Schleswig-Holstein there were fifty-eight Berufs
schulen in 1960. As early as 1947, the establishment of
Berufsaufbauschulen made Schleswig-Holstein the center of
229
the earliest educational innovations in the field of voca
tional-technical training. Because of its geographic situ
ation, Schleswig-Holstein had always had a close cultural
connection with the Nordic countries, especially Denmark.
It adopted the Danish folkhighschools and established six
domestic schools of this kind. These six Heimvolkshoch-
schulen form an essential part of adult education. The
large number of 168 Volkshochschulen is a considerable
achievement for this small Land.
Besides the Gymnasium, the two main avenues to
higher education in Schleswig-Holstein are the extension of
vocational schools and the Volkshochschulen.
Berlin.— Berlin, with 2,211,300 inhabitants (74 per
cent Protestant, 11.2 per cent Catholic), has been the
leader in educational innovations in nearly all spheres of
education. It is the only Land in the Federal Republic to
establish a comprehensive high school on an experimental
basis, and its educational system approximates the American
system. Educational planning has always taken special cog
nizance of Berlin's situation as a bridge between East and
West.
In the field of vocational-technical training,
230
however, educational planning followed the established
pattern in the Federal Republic. In 1959 there were fifty-
nine Berufsschulen, thirty-eight Berufsfachschulen, seven
teen Fachschulen, and three colleges of engineering. The
lateral transfer is well established in all branches of
existing schools and Berlin's educational planners pro
vided for special classes to gain the Abitur. The second
path to education is very actively supported.
The Problem of Teacher Shortage
The general situation
On November 26, 1966, the GEW protested in Koln a
proposal of the Government to tie the teacher salary scale
to the pay scale of other personnel in the civil service.
The spokesman of the West German Teachers Union, Professor
Rodenstein, argued that this tie would reduce the attrac
tiveness of the teaching profession even more and that it
bore no relation to the different education of teachers as
compared with other civil servants. In a time of severe
teacher shortage, this governmental proposal could be re
garded as educational sabotage. It furthermore violated
Article 75 of the German Constitution and raised severe
doubts of the honesty of the governmental educational
231
policy.
The Land of Hamburg made it known that it would
appeal to the Bundesverfassungsgericht (highest court of
the Federal Republic) if the Government tried to push its
suggestion through in the Bundestag (German Parliament).
The proposal of the Government, which has its source in the
attempt to balance the budget for 1967, contradicts Article
75 of the Basic Law of the Federal Republic, which gives
the Lander cultural autonomy. By law, the German Budget
must balance and the estimates for 1967 showed a deficit of
22
$1.5 billion. The German Teachers Union declared that the
teachers are underpaid and that the salaries are already
12 per cent behind the scales of comparable professions.
The German Government has not yet fully realized the unity
and complexity of all educational planning measures and the
interrelationship of problems, such as the teacher shortage
with the unsatisfactory compensation; the problem of teacher
recruitment and the deteriorating social prestige with the
often referred to "crisis in education," declared the GEW
expert Franz Woschech.
The Cultural Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia
22"West Germany," Time. LXXXVIII, No. 24 (December
9, 1966), 37.
232
reported in 1962 that in 1961 one-quarter of all teaching
23
positions were unfilled.
In 1951 there were 126,400 qualified teachers
24
available, but in 19 59 only 126,300. The figures show
clearly that no measures were taken to increase the number
of teaching personnel. The West German Teachers Union,
however, had warned the Government and did not cease to
appeal to the Bundestag to set aside sufficient funds for
better teacher training and better salaries to combat a
predicted teacher shortage. Publications and proposals
reveal this clearly. The figures that show the teacher
shortage for all eleven Lander are given in Table 9.
The Teachers Union of Lower Saxony complained in a
report to the legislative body (Niedersachsischer Landtag)
that the expenditure for the teacher training institutions
in comparison to other Lander was lowest in Lower Saxony.
North Rhine-Westphalia spent 392 EM for every student in
1965, Schleswig-Holstein 103 DM and Lower Saxony 63 DM.
The Teachers Union emphasized that it was impossible to
provide an adequate training when hampered by severe lack
23Probsting, Beitrace zum Problem des Lehrermanqels
an den Volksschulen in den Landern der Bundesreoublik. p. 9.
24£bijDL., p. 12.
TABLE 9
PREDICTED SHORTAGE OF TEACHERS FOR 1970 (ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS ONLY)
Land
Teachers
Available
in 1960
Teachers
Available
in 1970
Teachers
Needed
in 1970
Deficit of
Teachers
in 1970
Schleswig-Holstein 6,531 6,700 8,640 1,940
Hamburg 4,820 5,900 5,900
—
Lower Saxony 18,279 20,800 28,500 7,650
Bremen 1,976 2,400 2,560 160
North Rhine-Westphalia 33,715 35,700 65,420 29,700
Hesse 12,546 1,600 20,800 4,800
Rhineland-Palatinate 9,375 11,800 16,100 4,270
Baden-Wiirttemberg 19,865 23,000 40,700 17,700
Bavaria 27,359 28,200 45,000 16,800
Saarland 3,072 4,200 5,040 870
West Berlin 4,482 4,700 4,700
—
83,890
Source: Probsting, p. 20.
ro
u>
to
of finances.
A study of the actual and predicted teacher shortage
in the high schools published in 1963 provides the following
data: In 1962 there was a lack of 18.3 per cent Gymnasium
teachers in all eleven Lander of the Federal Republic. In
the humanities, 10.8 per cent of teaching positions could
not be filled and in the natural sciences and mathematics
the shortage amounted to 13.6 per cent. The greatest need
for teachers was in Lower Saxony. Here 30.4 per cent of
teachers were lacking, in comparison to 21 per cent in North
Rhine-Westphalia and 26.4 per cent in Baden-Wurttemberg.
For 197 0 a lack of 16,000 qualified teachers is
predicted, which is 22 per cent of the needed high school
teacher profession. The figures within the Lander differ,
but Lower Saxony has the greatest predicted shortage (39
per cent), followed by Baden-Wurttemberg (30 per cent) and
North Rhine-Westphalia (27 per cent). The greatest lack
will be in the field of natural sciences and mathematics.
Here a shortage of 28.7 per cent has been predicted, as
25
compared to a lack of 9.3 per cent in the humanities.
^Heinz j. Kramer and Hans Heckel, Per Lehrermanae1
an den Hoheren Schulen in der Bundesrepublik (Weinheim:
Carl Fteudenberg, 1963), pp. 6-7.
235
According to data published by the Standing Confer
ence of fjie Ministers for Cultural Affairs (Bedarfsfest-
stelluna 1961-1970). there was a deficit of 37,000 ele
mentary teachers in the Federal Republic in 1960. By 1970
there will be a need for 240,000 teachers. This is an in
crease of 40,000 teachers. However, it is predicted that
in 1970 one-third of all teaching positions will be un
filled. A lack of 84,000 teachers is predicted.
A case studv:__Lower Saxonv
Educational planning to overcome th6 teacher short
age has taken various forms in the eleven Lander. Lower
Saxony took the following measures.
An educational planning committee set up by the
Minister of Education to deal with the problems of teacher
shortage and teacher training came up with new measures
(1965). The commission's proposals for combatting the
shortage of elementary school teachers were numerous: more
people in other occupations should be persuaded to qualify
as teachers; they could be assisted by family scholarship
grants; and applicants without the certificate of maturity
should be given the opportunity to acquire this preliminary
knowledge with the aid of special courses.
236
A further suggestion is that the probationary
period for grammar school teachers should be reformed, so
that it would be possible for the Referendar to do more
regular teaching and carry a heavier load. The commission
further recommended that more facilities should be created
for teachers to transfer from one type of school to another.
It is proposed that intermediate school teachers should also
be employed in grammar schools, and eventually be able to
obtain the qualification of Studienrat after a period of
additional study, perhaps through a correspondence college.
A further suggestion is to admit students with the
Realschule leaving certificate and students after having
finished the 10th grade of a high school to a teacher
training college for a course of studies for five years.
They would then be qualified to teach in the Grundschule
(grades 1-4).
Female teachers of physical education should be ad
mitted without Abitur requirements.
Married female teachers should be re-employed with
half the teaching load. This special suggestion has met
opposition because of the problems involved in the civil
service status. To employ qualified persons as teaching
assistants is a further proposal that has met opposition
237
within the teaching profession itself.
Nqne of the proposals suggest a shortening of the
length of the time for training. Six semesters is the re
quired amount of time.
The educational planning committee suggested further
the employment of administrative personnel to free the
principal for teaching duties. It must be remembered that
a principal in a German school is not an administrator, but
a teacher who was promoted after having given sufficient
evidence of outstanding teaching abilities. If promoted,
his teaching load is reduced (minimum amount of a teaching
load is six hours a week) and he is burdened with adminis
trative work. The acceptance of this proposal would mean a
considerable increase in the supply of highly qualified
teachers.
A further suggestion is the employment of substi
tutes to fill in in case of illness. Substitutes in the
American sense of the term are not known in the German
school system. In case of illness, teachers in the same
school have to take on additional teaching loads.
A further suggestion of the educational planning
committee was to speed up the introduction of Mittelpunkts-
schulen, which would free an additional number of teachers.
This measure would include the bussing of children from
small villages in rural areas to larger villages, thus dis
solving the nearly sacrosanct community school in the vil
lages . Supporters of this plan point to the better equip
ment and greater funds that could be concentrated in one
big school, thus giving a better education to children from
rural areas than has been possible up to now. They point
to the successful experimental schools and urge the Land
legislature to back this development. Opponents of this
educational plan maintain that the loss of the community
school is a greater disadvantage. Hesse has successfully
implemented these schools in its educational system. It
seems that the opposition to the bussing of children loses
ground in comparison to the possible better equipment of
schools and thus better education of the children.
Sociologists, asked to comment on the issue of dis
solving the community schools, have given strongest support
to these educational reform plans by pointing out that the
social structure of the village has changed in the age of
mass education and that there is no longer a self-contained
village that would need the community school.
Outlook
The Teachers Union argued that the proper perspec
tive for the importance of education is lacking in the Gov
ernment as well as in the German public. Furthermore, it
argued that the Lander still have not realized that the
problem of teacher supply is not a separate Land problem
that could be solved with Land means, but that it has become
a nationwide issue. As long as there is no cooperation in
combatting this educational catastrophe, and as long as the
Land Ministers in joint effort with the Government do not
focus on this problem in nationwide educational planning,
there will be no basic change in the situation.
The teacher shortage in West Germany has become "one
of the most alarming subjects in the discussion of educa-
26
tional policy." It is not an issue restricted to one
Land; all Lander alike are confronted with this problem, and
they follow a variety of approaches to its solution. Educa
tional planning and reform proposals try to combat the
severe situation.
The problem of recruitment has been serious owing to
the war. After the war the lack of teachers was especially
^^Werner Heldmann, "Die Bildungskatastrophe in der
Bundesrepublik," Die Welt. July 18, 1964, p. 17.
240
serious in elementary schools and in secondary education in
the subjects where candidates would readily find remunera
tive employment in other occupations within the quickly
expanding economy. The changes that produced the higher
educational standards of recruitment and training for ele
mentary teachers showed a positive effect on the status of
the profession.
But the nationwide growing recognition of the im
portance of education for economic advancement and national
security through the improvement of a nation's resources is
not really matched yet by public recognition that the
schools are as good as the teachers that are in them. The
teacher shortage presents a severe obstacle to educational
planning, and seriously affects the coordinated long-range
plans to establish Mittelpunktschulen and to supply a denser
net of schools to raise the low percentage of Abitur gradu
ates. How can these suggestions be put into practice if
the teachers are lacking to staff these schools?
The nationwide campaign on education, as a signifi
cant factor of the mid-sixties which produced noticeable
changes in educational planning as well as in attitudes
toward education has, however, not yet resulted in the
acceptance of the idea that the schools are as good as the
241
teachers In them, which would form the basis for effective
procedures to combat the threatening teacher shortage in
the Federal Republic of West Germany.
Summary
Chapter VII attempts to assess in greater detail
three basic problems that are the focus of reform plans or
the center of attacks in current West German education.
Three issues were reviewed: the issue of the untapped
talent reserves, the second path to education, and the
teacher shortage, which has been referred to as "one of the
most alarming subjects in the discussion of educational
policy." These three issues were chosen for review not only
because of the writer's own estimate of their importance,
but because they were given top priority by numerous teach
ers and also were the first three choices of educational
experts asked to name the three most important issues of
education in Germany today.
The material studied reveals that these three issues
are closely connected, although this might not be obvious to
the foreign reader at first glance. They represent the
major weak spot in German education: the structural form
of the educational system.
242
The desperate search for the "untapped talent re
source," the measures taken to combat teacher shortages,
the attempts to raise the number of Abitur graduates by
means of the second path to education— all three issues are
closely connected and show in its last consequence the need
for reforms in the structural form of the educational system
of West Germany.
CHAPTER VIII
FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS
In this final chapter the findings are given, con
clusions are drawn and recommendations are offered. The
purpose of the study, questions to be answered and the
general procedure followed are restated.
The Problem and Procedure
Statement of the problem
The purpose of this study was to analyze the process
of educational change in the Federal Republic of Germany and
to identify the measures initiated to improve the develop
ment of education.
Purpose of the investigation
The purpose of the investigation was threefold.
1. To examine the present status of education in
the Federal Republic of Germany.
243
244
2. To gain an understanding of problems and issues
affecting education in West Germany.
3. To identify the process of educational change
in the Federal Republic of Germany.
More specifically, the study was set up to answer
the following questions:
1. What are the social, cultural, political and
economic conditions in the Federal Republic of Germany?
2. What is the present status of education in the
Federal Republic?
3. How does educational planning provide for the
development of the German educational system?
4. What is done to bring education to bear on the
problems of modern life in a changing society?
5. What is done to meet the increasing demands for
qualified persons in an industrial society?
6. What political and socioeconomic factors deter
mined educational changes in the Federal Republic of Ger
many?
7. What are the proposals for structural changes
in the educational system?
8. Does the diversity of educational systems in the
Federal Republic create problems?
245
9. Do educational agencies, political parties, or
pressure groups exert an influence on education?
10. What are today's most pressing issues and prob
lems in education?
The procedure
The descriptive method was used in this study be
cause of its advantages in isolating, defining and analyz
ing issues and problems and in arriving at constructive
recommendations.
Primary and secondary sources were used to identify
the purposes and distinctive features of German education.
Whenever possible, the former were given precedence. Visits
to West German schools, universities, research institutions,
libraries, professional organizations? personal interviews
with recognized authorities in the field of education,
numerous discussions with teachers and administrators, and
several years of direct observation as a teacher in the
West German school system helped to provide orientation to
the problem.
A survey of Federal and Lander government laws,
decrees, research studies, proceedings of professional
associations, governmental reports and statistics as well
246
as the publications of the Documentation and Information
Center, Bonn, provided helpful information.
Regular subscription to and perusal of German news
papers, periodicals and professional papers to keep informed
on developments and trends became part of the total research
effort.
Findings
The large amount of material studied yielded numer
ous findings which are discussed in detail in the preceding
chapters. For the benefit of the reader who is exploring
the field of German education for the first time, only
findings of a broader nature will be given here.
The investigation showed that the Federal Republic
of Germany has been undergoing a period of transition in its
effort to adapt its educational system to the changing needs
of society.
The material studied revealed that West Germany is
faced with many problems which are closely connected, al
though this might not be obvious at first glance. They all
point up the major weak spot in the German educational sys
tem today: the tripartite school system which, with its
highly selective secondary education, does not fulfill the
247
constitutional promise of equality of educational oppor
tunity .
The tripartite school system
The Federal Republic of Germany has a tripartite
school system and an extended network of vocational schools.
The elementary schools are the major institutions for the
education of the majority of German children. According to
data available for 1964, 69.2 per cent of students graduated
from elementary schools, 16.5 per cent from intermediate
schools, and 7.4 per cent from secondary schools. The edu
cational goal of the Volksschule is to develop the total
personality of the student and prepare him for vocational
life. The Realschule is an institution of more advanced
general education oriented toward the intermediate levels
of administrative, technical, and commercial occupations,
and seems well suited for the growing number of students
striving for white-collar occupations. It runs parallel to
the Volksschule and the Gymnasium and is by no means a link
between these two institutions in the sense of the succes
sive stages of the American junior high school. It termi
nates with the tenth grade, at the end of which the student
receives the Realschule diploma.
248
The Gymnasium education is very selective in charac
ter. The course of study is nine years, and failure is
common. The Gymnasium has three different streams and does
not practice promotion by subject. The educational goal of
the Gymnasium is to transmit the classical heritage in the
tradition of humanistic idealism. A Gymnasium education
carries high social prestige, and the leaving certificate,
the Abitur, qualifies the holder for university admission.
No tuition fees are charged in the German public schools
since the close of World War II. Germany also has a highly
diversified and well-organized system of vocational schools.
Differentiation is made between part-time vocational
schools, full-time vocational schools, and advanced full
time vocational schools. The system of vocational schools
has been augmented by what is known as the second path to
education, by means of which a student qualified for uni
versity entrance other than through the established form of
secondary education.
Negative attitudes., , . p f parent?
In relation to this tripartite school system, it was
found that the proportion of pupils obtaining the Abitur is
closely connected with the social status of the population
and that school attendance is an influential factor in
determining career chances and social status. No resentment
was found over the restricted chances of attaining secondary
education, although in Germany today social prestige still
rests less on wealth than on rank of position based on edu
cation. Research further revealed that the German parents,
especially those from the lower strata of the society, did
not see education as an investment for the future. On the
whole, the material studied warranted the conclusion that a
large percentage of the German population, especially the
lower strata, are not in favor of education but exhibit
negative attitudes toward its value.
The good economic situation in the labor market
served as a deterrent factor, as well as the inability of
working class families to renounce an immediate reward in
favor of a long-term one. False concepts and fear of fail
ure also were factors contributing toward negative atti
tudes. Therefore, the biggest resistance toward educational
innovations rests in the negative attitudes of parents
toward education.
250
The "untapped talent reserves"
The issue of the "untapped talent reserves" revealed
that educational planning had not taken into account the
rural areas of the country, and that insufficient measures
were taken to mobilize the latent abilities of German youth
in these areas. Research showed that "education was a mat
ter of distance," that even in "progressive" Lander many
communities (834 out of 2,700 in one Land) never produced a
pupil with Abitur success, and that the existing schools in
these rural areas did not provide equal opportunities. For
example, in sixteen out of sixty-four communities tested,
no provisions were made to ensure high school attendance.
Inadequate transportation facilities in rural areas con
tributed to the fact that only 20 per cent of the children
transferred to secondary education, although research showed
that from the remaining student body, 40 per cent possessed
the necessary intellectual capacity. It can be said that
educational planning in Germany has not fully taken into
account the potential talents of all segments and classes
of the German people, nor were adequate measures taken to
mobilize the total intellectual manpower of the nation.
Germany produced only 9.8 per cent Abitur graduates, whereas
the United States showed a high school attendance of 71 per
251
cent. This problem of the low number of Abitur graduates
is associated with another issue found in German education,
the severe shortage of teachers.
The, teacher shortage
It was found that Germany at present is undergoing
a period of severe teacher shortage. In 1966 this shortage
was referred to as "one of the most alarming subjects in
the discussion of educational policy." As a possible cause,
the Teachers Union proclaimed that the schedule for teacher
salaries was 12 per cent behind the scales of comparable
professions, and the low percentage of Abitur graduates was
seen as another cause. A comparison showed no increase in
the number of accredited teachers over a ten-year period
(1950-1959), remaining at the level of 126,400 teachers.
As there was a shortage of 18.3 per cent Gymnasium teachers
in 1963, a lack of 22 per cent is predicted for 1970. In
1960 there was a deficit of 37,000 teachers in the element
ary schools, and for the year 1970 a deficit of 84,000
teachers is predicted. Although each Land has set up com
mittees to combat the shortage of teachers, no coordinated
measures on a nationwide level were initiated by the Stand
ing Conference,
decentralisation q, £ . .education
The Basic Law of the Federal Republic places the
responsibility for education with the Lander. The supreme
authority in educational matters is the Minister for Cul
tural Affairs, who has control of the administration of the
public school system. A truly new innovation was the es
tablishment of the Standing Conference of the Ministers for
Cultural Affairs in 1949, a permanent body with the chair
manship changing annually and maintaining a head office in
Bonn. The Standing Conference has been successful in
reaching agreement on a wide range of common problems in
the Lander. However, as the Kultusminister is a political
appointment, educational policy is dominated by the majority
party in every Land, and education is closely associated
with and effected by the change of political power in the
Land. The public has no direct influence on educational
policy, but must voice its interests through political
spokesmen. The political parties hold the view that the
federative structure of the Federal Republic does not impede
educational planning and support the decentralization of
education. It was found that from 1945 to 1960, educational
policy in the Federal Republic was characterized by ideo
logical involvement, cultural federalism and small-step
253
approaches. Since 1963 there seems to be a trend toward a
more pragmatic approach and coordinated long-range planning
as educational policy became centered in the area of sta
tistical data and empirical research. However, no final
conclusion could be reached on the advantages or disadvan
tages of carrying out educational work on two levels, the
Federal Government and the Lander. Problems are so in flux
that no final judgment can be pronounced.
Conclusions
The following conclusions appear to be supported by
the findings of this investigation.
,LacK of recognition impgr.tanga.. fli education
The total destruction of the Third Reich in 1945
and the subsequent establishment of the German Federal Re
public has affected the educational system of the German
people. The tremendous effort to rebuild a country has
produced a nation of people whose primary object was to
rebuild their country economically and politically. All
other goals, educational included, were of secondary prior
ity. However, since 1963 there have been some indications
that the German people are slowly awakening to the impor-
254
tance of education for the future economic, social, and
industrial development of the Federal Republic.
Refusal to abandon the tri
partite school system
The present structure of the German school system,
which does not serve to break down the barriers between the
social classes but rather upholds a class structure, seems
deeply rooted in the mind of the German people. Centuries
of social tradition and social stratification have left
their imprint on the thinking of German parents and children
alike, who obviously consider education a privilege and
exclusive property of the upper class instead of a birth
right of all, based on intellectual ability. The high con
centration of youth in the vocational schools and the rising
enrollment figures in the Realschule seem to indicate the
need for extended schooling beyond the existing levels.
Since the Volksschule is limited in its scope, the Real
schule poorly supported and the Gymnasium definitely direct
ed to academic training, the time-honored structural form
of the educational system with its lack of adequate stream
ing seems no longer capable of doing justice to the demands
being made on young people today and in the future. How
ever, all material studied warrants the conclusion that
255
there is no indication that the tripartite German school
system will be abandoned in favor of a comprehensive high
school that would unite all the children from all the people
under one roof.
Lack o£ belief in education
There seems to be a lack of belief in education.
More consideration is given to hard facts and forces which
are apt to shape life today and tomorrow. The German parent
has not developed sufficient awareness of the importance of
education as a means of social mobility. The lower strata
especially seem to regard a secondary education as useless
for their children. Widespread salary increases made
available to them goods that were typical for a middle class
standard of living. The economic equalizing trends did not
affect the educational ambitions of parents for their chil
dren. Better living standards could be achieved by money
as well as by education. The postwar prosperity seems to
have negatively influenced the attitude which valued educa
tion as a means of social mobility. It seems justified to
conclude that these attitudes, as intangible forces, play a
decisive role in the process of change and represent a
serious obstacle in the struggle of the Germans to adapt
256
their educational system to the changing needs of their
society.
Recommendations
The historical analysis of the German school system
brings to light three major recommendations, which are im
portant if modern Germany is to succeed in Western Europe.
First, the Federal and Land governments must in
crease their financial support for the German school system.
In comparison to other nations, its ranking as thirteenth
is tragic. Its dependence upon a skilled citizenry, highly
adaptable to technical change, is vital to the economic
growth of the country. Its position as the balance of power
in Western Europe requires a population with the ability to
strive for the highest intellectual attainment in a free
educational system, regardless of class or background. The
financial support must be directed toward the improvement
and construction of both rural and city school facilities.
More teacher training institutions must be built and the
existing ones modernized. Operational capital for the
teacher training program must be substantially increased so
that the nation can overcome the severe teacher shortage
which now exists. Financial assistance in the form of
257
scholarships must be instituted so that students may realize
to the fullest extent their individual capacities in a
modern and changing society.
Second, although financial reform is necessary, it
will not solve the problem by itself. Along with the finan
cial reforms must go a comprehensive public information
program to re-educate the German public in regard to the
goals and objectives of a free education, so that the mental
barriers separating the common man from the educational
establishment can be lifted. The German people must be
convinced of the long-range benefits of education for their
children, instead of striving for middle class economic
achievement for them. The key to awakening the people will
be their involvement in educational planning, especially at
the local level. The German people must learn to feel that
the schools are a part of their total community and the
most significant hope for their future. The German people
must take the initiative in demanding and helping in this
modernization, since they are partners and investors in the
country's most valuable resource— its youth.
Third, the German tripartite school system must be
reconstructed to serve the needs of all segments of the
German population. Reconstruction should break down the
258
selective character and elite nature of the secondary edu
cation in Germany, as well as increase the opportunities
for the common man. Though there has been some relaxation
in the barriers between the three types of schools, there
has not been the articulation necessary for students to
easily cross lines in their educational career. To succeed
in this goal, a comprehensive educational system should be
inaugurated which can take care of all the students, from
all strata of society, and guarantee them the fulfillment
of the constitutional promise of equality of educational
opportunity for all.
G L O S S A R Y
259
GLOSSARY
Abitur
Akademiker
Altsprachliches
Gymnasium
Arbeitsgemeinschaft
deutscher Lehrer-
verbande
Arbeitsunterricht
The required grammar-school leaving
examination; the certificate of matur
ity. The Abitur certificate is a pre
requisite for university admission.
Any person who has attended a university
or equivalent institution; carries dis
tinct social prestige and is frequently
used in official as well as informal
context.
The Gymnasium type with emphasis on
classical studies.
The West German Teachers' Association.
A form of instruction that aims at
active participation on the part of the
students; chiefly advocated by G.
Kerschensteiner.
26 0
Ausschuss
Ber u f s au fbau-
schule
Berufsfach-
schule
Berufsschule
bilden
Bildung
Bildungsrat
Bildungswesen
261
Committee.
A vocational development school, newly
created to serve as a link to the ad
vanced vocational schools. The leaving
certificate is equivalent to the Real
schule certificate.
The full-time vocational school, usually
lasting two years. This type of school
mainly prepares pupils for vocations in
the field of commerce or domestic sci
ence . Vocational instruction and prac
tical training are combined in the
school itself.
The part-time vocational school.
To cultivate, educate.
Education; forming of the personality
through education, especially through
the medium of the cultural heritage.
Education in the sense of cultivation.
German Council for Education, created in
1965; a consultative body for educa
tional planning.
Educational system.
Bildungsziel
Bundesrat
Bundestag
Deutsche Por-
schungsgemein-
schaft
Deutscher Aus-
schuss fur das
Erziehungs- und
Bildungswesen
Einheitsschule
erziehen
Erziehung
Goal of education, the essence of edu
cational values and goals of a group, a
nation, or a historical period? e.g.,
the Greek Kalok&gathia.
Upper house of the Federal parliament,
consisting of delegates of the Lander
governments. Not popularly elected as
United States senators are.
Lower house of the Federal parliament?
members are popularly elected.
The independent German Research Asso
ciation .
German Committee for Education, ap
pointed in 1959, independent body for
educational planning. Published the
Rahmenplan in 1959.
Common comprehensive school through all
grades? advocated in the Weimar Repub
lic.
To bring up, to aim.
Education, in the sense of instruction
and training.
FachsChule
Fakultat
Forderstufe
Gesamtunter-
richt
Gewerkschaft Er-
ziehung und
Wissenschaft
Grundgesetz
Grundschule
263
Technical school. Provides the pupil
with a higher qualification in his
chosen vocation after completion of
vocational training. Its organization
and duration differ; instruction may be
on a part-time or full-time basis; the
length of training is between one year
and two and one-half years.
Component faculties of a university,
each of which has a dean elected for a
period of one year.
Guidance and observation stage (from
fordern, to promote) comprising grades
5 and 6, similar to the French cycle
d'observation. A recommendation of the
Rahmenplan.
Integrated program of instruction fol
lowed in the Volksschulen.
The West German Teachers' Union. Re
ferred to as GEW.
Basic Law, Constitution of the Federal
Republic of Germany.
Primary school, grades 1-4 or 5.
Gymnasium
Hauptschule
He ima tkunde
Hochschule
Hohere Fach-
schule
Hohere Schule
Humanistisches
Gymnasium
Ingenieurschule
Kolleg
264
Secondary school of academic character,
comprising grades 5-13.
Literally "main school." Infrequently
used to denote the upper section of a
Volksschule (grades 5-9).
Knowledge of environment. An all-
embracing study of the child's environ
ment in which the other subjects are
integrated.
Not a high school, but a university or
other institution of higher learning,
such as Hochschule fur Musik.
An advanced technical school, immedi
ately below university level.
High school or secondary school. Still
much in use, although Gymnasium is the
official term.
The Gymnasium with a classical program
starting with Latin for the ten-year-old
pupils; has great prestige.
College of engineering.
Residential institute established after
1945 to prepare young adults for the
Ku ltur au s s chus s
Kulturhoheit
Kulturpolit ik
Kultusminister
Kultusminister-
konferenz
Kurzschuljahre
265
Abitur.
Committee of a party or government body
for educational and other cultural
affairs.
Unofficial but often used term for the
"cultural sovereignty" of the Lander.
The sector of internal politics that
deals with educational questions? fre
quently influenced by politics.
The Minister for Cultural Affairs, whose
main responsibility is education. There
is no federal Kultusminister.
The Standing Committee of the Ministers
of Education and Cultural Affairs, often
referred to as "Standing Conference."
Refers to the change of the beginning
date of the school year. The new start
is on September 1, 1967, instead of
April, 1968. This means two short
school terms from April 13, 1966 to
November 30, 1966, and from December 1,
1966, to July 21, 1967.
Lander
Mathematisch-
Naturwissen-
schaftliches
Gymnas ium
Mittelpunkts-
s chule
Mittelschule
Mittlere Reife
Neusprachliches
Gymnasium
Oberstufe
Padagogische
Hochschule
266
The states of the Federal Republic.
Education is a Lander (state) responsi
bility .
Gymnasium type with emphasis on natural
sciences and mathematics.
Consolidated school in rural areas
comprising grades 5-9 of the elementary
school; created after 1945.
Intermediate school of a semi-academic
character (one foreign language), grades
5-10, called by its original name,
Realschule.
"Middle maturity," a certificate ob
tained after a complete Mittel-(Real-)
schule course. Mittlere Reife is a re
quirement for many semi-professional
schools.
Gymnasium type with emphasis on modern
languages.
Upper section of any school.
A teacher training college, after 1945
on the university level.
Philologe
Philologen-
verband
Praktikum
-Rahmenplan
Realschule
Regierungs-
bezirk
Rektor
Richtlinien
267
Customarily used for university-trained
Gymnasium teachers, although the term
itself actually refers to linguistics.
Association of Gymnasium teachers.
A period of practical teaching required
before the Land examination for every
teacher.
Literally "framework plan"; a plan for
West German school reform designed in
1959 by the German Committee for Educa
tion .
Mittelschule. The official term, also
used in the Rahmenplan.
Government district; each Land is
divided into four or five Regierungs-
bezirke.
The head of a university. Generally
elected for one year by the faculty, he
represents the university and presides
over the administration and the teaching
staff.
Guidelines for the curriculum which sire
Staatsbeamter
Staatsexamen
Studienrat
Studienschule
Studienseminar
268
issued by ministries of education to be
closely followed by school administra
tions .
(State) civil servant, a position of
social prestige and great economic
security. Nowadays all teachers are
Staatsbeamter with pension rights, etc.
State examination concluding university
studies.
Official term for a Gymnasium teacher
who, after probationary years as Refe-
rendar and Assessor, has gained perma
nent employment.
Proposed special Gymnasium (in the
Rahmenplan design) for highly gifted
pupils, emphasizing classical studies
as the present humanistische Gymnasium
does.
Seminars for the practical and theoreti
cal training of teachers in a Gymnasium
after having completed the state exami
nation and before taking the final
examination.
Technische Hoch
schule
Volksschule
Volksschul-
lehrer
Volksschul-
oberstufe
Weltans chauung
Westdeutsche
Rektoren-
konferenz
Wissenschafts-
minister
Wissenschafts-
rat
269
Technical university.
Elementary school, school for the mas
ses, for the first four years attended
by all children, then continued through
grade 9 by those who do not transfer to
a secondary school.
A coliege-trained teacher at an ele
mentary school.
The upper level of the Volksschule,
comprising grades 5-9.
The philosophical and religious princi
ples of denominations, groups, and in
dividuals .
West German Committee of University
Presidents which is to represent the
universities at national and inter
national levels.
A newly created cabinet post for
scientific research to coordinate edu
cation and research in higher education
(1965).
Science Council, created in 1957,
Der zweite
Bildungsweg
270
includes members of the Federal Govern
ment, the Lander, and laymen and acade
micians appointed by the President of
the Republic.
The second path to education. Refers
to the process of reaching the Abitur
certificate other than through the
established Gymnasium. The net of
vocational schools are implemented in
this second path to education, also
referred to lately as "ladder educa
tion." Talented young people who did
not go through the traditional second
ary education are encouraged to continue
their education, to make use of the
educational value inherent in profes
sional life and finally be able to enter
the university.
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271
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Creator Assmann, Ingeborg (author)

Core Title West German Education In Transition

Degree Doctor of Philosophy

Degree Program Education

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag education, history of,OAI-PMH Harvest

Language English

Contributor Digitized by ProQuest (provenance)

Advisor Martin, David W. (committee chair), Lasswell, Thomas E. (committee member), McIntrye, Robert B. (committee member)

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c18-586728

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