The Protestant Reformation and Rise of Public Education
In many ways, public education in Germany can be traced back to the Protestant Revolution of the 16th century. At this time, dissatisfaction with an increasingly decadent church had begun to boil over and was ultimately expressed by Martin Luther’s Ninety-Five Theses in 1517.
Extolling the “priesthood of all believers,” Lutherans placed a great deal of emphasis on one’s individual path to salvation (Source 1). A major component of this newfound religious individualism involved reading the bible. However, reading the bible required literacy and this was not a skill many peasants possessed in the 16th century. To Luther and other protestants leaders, the solution was the state (Source 2, p.193). By imploring individual state leaders to establish schools which students of all class had to attend, Luther and his followers had, in effect, helped to set up one of the first public school systems in Europe (Source 2, p.193).
For the leaders of these states, there was an added incentive to these new schools. Despite their expense, they represented a way in which governments could reach and help to shape its citizens (Source 2, p.195). This effect would be realized in 17th and 18th century as discussed below.
Education in Prussia and Early Modern Germany
In one of history’s more unique chain of events, the fall of the Prussian army to the forces of Napoleon in 1806 is often seen as the birth of the modern German education system (Source 3, p.202). Though Germany itself was not founded until 1871, the humiliation of defeat at the hands of the French set about a process of educational reform in Prussia (later part of northern Germany). The end result of these reforms was not only military conquest over France but the establishment of a public education system which the world would view as a model for their own public schooling systems (Source 3, p.202).
One of the main forces behind the Prussian reform campaign was William von Humboldt. Building on enlightenment ideals of German philosophers such as Schiller, Goethe, Herder and others, von Humboldt reorganized the education system in a way that stressed the school’s role in creating a moral society (Source 3, p. 203). Under von Humboldt, the Gymnasium, which had been one of the most academically advanced primary/secondary schools in Germany, was transformed into a highly-selective institution for the training of civil servants and students capable of passing the newly instituted university entrance exam, the Abitur (Source 3, p. 203).
Following the creation of the Abitur, entrance into the civil service or any of the Humboldt’s research-oriented universities was quickly tied to passage of this exam. The result this increased investment in education was twofold: a better functioning government and a more disciplined populace (Source 2, p. 195).
After the unification of the Germany states into a single country in 1871, von Humboldt’s educational model was adopted throughout the nation (Source 3, p. 203). However, around this same time, a less intellectual educational reform took place within the German system. In stark contrast to von Humboldt’s focus on enlightenment ideals, Georg Kerschensteiner, saw great value in providing students with more practical, vocationally-oriented training (Source 3, p. 203). What emerged was a system of upper-secondary education that fused academic instruction with workplace experience in an effort to produce students capable of effectively contributing to the rapidly industrializing nation.
By the end of the 19th century, the system of public education in Germany looked much like it does today. Schooling for children aged 6-15 is compulsory. After the age of 10, students are tracked into one of three secondary schools:
– Gymnasium: academically advanced and grounded in classical languages as well as the study of history and philosophy. Students from these schools complete secondary school with the Abitur which serves as the entry exam into university (Source 3, p. 204).
– Realschule: less academically rigorous than the gymnasium. Designed for children of the emerging middle class with graduates typically transitioning into more technically advanced vocational training schemes for jobs such as technicians and low-level civil servants (Source 1, p. 204).
– Volksschule: the lowest level of secondary schooling. Learning at this level is typically more oriented towards more practical studies. Students generally transition from these schools into working-class jobs (Source 3, p.203)
With a few exceptions, this system endured until the end of the Second World War. While under Hitler the decentralized nature of the school system was changed to a centralized structure, this change was reversed with the collapse of the Third Reich as discussed below (Source 3, p.204).
Education After World War II
Following the end of the Second World War, Germany was divided into two separate states. This division represented a divergence between the east and west in terms of education systems. In West Germany, the traditional system with its tripartite secondary school endured though with some alterations. Namely, the lower-track Volksschule was transformed into the Hauptschule though it still remained the lowest, most vocationally-oriented secondary track (Source 3, p. 206).
In East Germany, a comprehensive education system was adopted whereby the three tracks from the older tripartite system were condensed into one single-track school so as to promote social equality (Source 4, p. 332). The divergence between the two countries would have a significant impact when the Berlin Wall collapsed. Despite evidence that the East German system was more successful at integrating low-achieving students, the reunification of Germany resulted in the re-adoption of a racked secondary school system (Source 5, p. 19). As discussed below, the negative effects of Germany’s tracked system would be made clear soon after reunification.
Another significant change from the post-war period occurred in 1957 when Germany and five other European countries signed the Treaty of Rome. While initially intended as an economic union, this “European Economic Committee” would eventually blossom into the European Union. For the German education system, the rise of the EU would have tremendous implications and lead to several dramatic changes. Especially in the field of higher education, many changes brought on by EU membership would pit von Humboldt’s humanistic and research-oriented vision of higher education against a more standardized (and less time-intensive) global norm (Source 6).
Another significant event in the post-war period relates to immigration. Following the war, Germany did not have enough laborers needed to fuel its rebuilding economy. To resolve this, guest workers from southern Europe, Turkey and North Africa were invited into Germany. Though these workers were never intended as long-term citizens, many never left Germany and instead chose to settle with their families (Source 3, p. 206). As described below, educating these diverse new citizens would prove challenge to an education system that prized homogeneity above all.
Source 3; Source 4; Source 5; Source 6
Education in Contemporary Germany
As alluded to above, the end of the 20th century was a difficult time for the education system in Germany. The challenges of reintegrating the eastern states into the system were hardly dealt with when more bad news arrived.
In the year 2000, 15 year-old students throughout Germany took the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) exam for the first time. One year later, the results came back only to show that German students were significantly underperforming their international peers. The news was not taken well and came to be known collectively as the “PISA Shock” (Source 3, p. 208).
Across the board, German students scored below the OECD average on math, reading, and science. Additionally, the exam results highlighted a number of troubling facts about the growing achievement gap between the rich and poor as well as native-born and immigrant students. With immense pressure to reform from parents and politicians alike, Germany undertook a protracted effort to overhaul the education system and improve results (Source 3, p. 207).
To date, educational reform remains a major issue in contemporary Germany. Despite pressure to improve test scores, dismantling the tripartite system of the 19th century has proven challenging. Nevertheless, some basic reforms have been successfully carried out. Some states have begun closing the Hauptschule in favor of a two-track secondary school system while access to higher education has been expanded (Source 7). The result has been a consistent increase in performance of German students on subsequent PISA exams. However, as the most recent results illustrate achievement gaps still exist and the work is not done (Source 8).
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