Education in Germany
Education System
Today in Germany, most students attend school from age six to eighteen or nineteen.  The system varies throughout Germany because each Lander decides on their own educational policies.  Most children, however, first attend Grundshule from age six to nine.  They then spend two years determining what track they will take for their further education.  By age twelve they either enter Gymnasium, Realschule, or Hauptschule.  Students who attend Gymnasium take graduationa weeklong exam called the Abitur that entitles them to apply to university but does not guarantee their admittance.  University entrance is extremely competitive, and it depends on their average score.  Students attending the other two schools continue into trade apprenticeships or vocational schools.  Some German schools have begun to offer comprehensive high school programs that are similar to American high schools because the tracking system of postsecondary education reinforces the class system.
 
After the reunification of Germany, the East German education system restructured similar to the West German education system.  This was a complicated process, but the system is now working well in the former East Germany.  Children understand that achievement in school is necessary for success in society and a large proportion of them are advancing farther in education.  Gymnasium has gained popularity today, and 50% of young Germans take the Abitur exam.

Map of German Education System

Kindergarten Today
As of August 1996, every German child age three to six has a legal place in kindergarten.  Kindergarten has always been controversial in Germany because parents wanted to raise young children in the home, but it is finally an important part of education and uGerman Young Childses many Froebel methods to encourage childhood development.  It now replaces areas for spontaneous pGerman Young Child2lay that no longer exist in communities.  Parents have to plan children’s activities, and children of busy or poor parents don’t have enough opportunities to socialize with other children.  Therefore kindergartens have become an important place for socialization.
            Problems with the Education System
Germany is a nation that prides itself on its education system.  It has a 99% literacy rate for people over the age of fifteen.  However, when the Program for International Student Assessment tested a proportional group of German students in reading comprehension, math, and science to determine the education level of the entire population, they ranked Germany twenty fifth out of thirty two countries.  They believe that the early age at which Germans are separated by skill level contributes to this problem because the lowest level students are not advancing academically to a point that is comparable with other industrialized countries.  This probably results from the large population of immigrants and suggests that Germans need to adapt their education system to their changing population.
References

Christian Science Monitor.  2002.  "Germany: Schools that divide."  Retrieved November 12, 2004.  http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/1022/p11s01-lecl.htm

Colberg-Schrader, Hedi, and Pamela Oberhuemer.  1993.  “Early Childhood Education and Care in Germany.”  Pp. 56-77 in Educational Provision for Our Youngest Children: European Perspectives, edited by Tricia David.  London: Paul Cahpman Publishing Ltd.

Hahn, H.-J.  1998.  “Trends in Education and Society since Unification.”  Pp. 159-182 in Education and Society in Germany.  Oxford: Berg.

German Culture.  2004.  "German Society."  Retrieved November 12, 2004.  http://www.germanculture.com.ua/library/facts/bl_society.htm

German Federal Foreign Office.  2003.  “Facts About Germany.”  Retrieved October 23, 2004.  http://www.tatsachen-ueber-deutschland.de/453.0.html

Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia.  2004.  "Germany, Federal Republic of."  Microsoft Corporations.  Retrieved November 6, 2004.  http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761576917/Germany_Federal_Republic_of.html

Photos courtesy of the Associated Press via the Tulane Library
http://accuweather.ap.org/cgi-bin/aplaunch.pl

The purpose of this website is to inform viewers about the status of children in Germany. This site was created by Julie Bernzweig, Christina Carpenter, Sarah Mayhall, and Lorena Quintana as part of a collaborative web project for the first year writing seminar Children & Society at Tulane University taught by Professor April Brayfield.
Updated December 7, 2004