Germany

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Germany in a nutshell

Germany and its "Länder"

Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (German: Bundesrepublik Deutschland) is a country in Central Europe. The territory of Germany covers 357,021 km² and is influenced by a temperate seasonal climate.

With over 82 million inhabitants, it comprises the largest population among the member states of the European Union and is home to the third-highest number of international migrants worldwide.

The capital of Germany is Berlin.

Germany (Deutschland) is a Federal Republic consisting of sixteen states, known in German as Länder (singular Land). Since Land is the literal German word for "country", the term Bundesländer (federal states; singular Bundesland) is commonly used colloquially, as it is more specific, though technically incorrect within the corpus of German law. The peoples of the states are the nation of Germany. The governments of the states are part of the authority of Germany.

The states have many devolved powers including nearly full control of the education system including universities. Different states differ considerably as to how they exercise this control.

Under the Basic Law (Grundgesetz) the exercise of governmental powers and the fulfilment of governmental responsibility is incumbent upon the individual Länder as far as the Basic Law does not provide for or allow for any other arrangement. The Basic Law contains a few fundamental provisions on questions of education, culture and science: thus for example it guarantees the freedom of art and scholarship, research and teaching, the freedom of faith and creed, free choice of profession and of the place of training, equality before the law and the rights of parents. The entire school system is under the supervision of the state.

Unless the Basic Law awards legislative powers to the Federation, the Länder have the right to legislate. Within the education system, this applies to the school sector, the higher education sector, adult education and continuing education. Administration of the education system in these areas is almost exclusively a matter for the Länder.

States of Germany

The 16 Länder are called in English (and German if different):

1. Baden-Württemberg
2. Bavaria (Bayern)
3. Berlin - city-state
4. Brandenburg
5. Bremen - city-state
6. Hamburg - city-state
7. Hesse (Hessen)
8. Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
9. Lower Saxony (Niedersachsen)
10. North Rhine-Westphalia (Nordrhein-Westfalen)
11. Rhineland-Palatinate (Rheinland-Pfalz)
12. Saarland (French: Sarre)
13. Saxony (Sachsen)
14. Saxony-Anhalt (Sachsen-Anhalt)
15. Schleswig-Holstein
16. Thuringia (Thüringen)

Those states in bold have at least 5 million people (and of these, four have 10-20 million) - in other words, they are larger than many European countries.

Education in Country

Education in Germany include

• pre-primary education from 3 to 6 years of age
• compulsory education from 6 to 15 or 16 years of age (depending on the land)
• upper secondary education (including general education as well as vocational education and vocational training in the dual sytem)
• tertiary education

Preprimary education

Pre-primary education and care is part of the child and youth welfare sector. In most Länder, responsibility for pre-primary education and care lies with the social ministries. From three to six years, children can attend Kindergärten which are mainly run by non-public bodies (primarily churches and welfare associations) and to which parents are required to contribute, despite the allocation of major public subsidies and reliance on other funds.

Compulsory schooling

Full-time education is compulsory from between the ages of 6 and 15 or 16 (depending on the Land), and part-time education is compulsory until the age of 18 for those who do not attend a full-time school.

Grundschule(primary education)	6-10 years of age (6-12, Berlin & Brandenburg)
Lower secondary education Orientierungsstufe (‘orientation’ phase within the different school types) Gymnasium/Realschule/Hauptschule/Gesamtschule and types of schools offering several courses of education (Schularten mit mehreren Bildungsgängen)	10-12 years of age 10/12-15/16 years of age
Upper secondary education	15/16-18/19 years of age

All pupils in Germany enter the Grundschule which covers grades 1 to 4. The transition from the Grundschule (primary school) to one of the different lower secondary school types where pupils remain at least until the completion of their full-time compulsory education is dealt with differently depending on Land legislation. Following the primary school stage at which all children attend mixed-ability classes (grades 1 to 4, in Berlin and Brandenburg grades 1 to 6) the organisation of the secondary school system (grades 5/7 to 12/13) in the Länder is characterised by division into the various educational paths with their respective leaving certificates and qualifications for which different school types are responsible.

Secondary education includes four types of schools based on a pupil's ability as determined by teacher recommendations:

• the Gymnasium includes the most gifted children and prepares students for university studies;
• the Realschule has a broader range of emphasis for intermediary students;
• the Hauptschule prepares pupils for vocational education
• the Gesamtschule or comprehensive school combines the three approaches.

There are also Förderschulen (schools for the mentally challenged and physically challenged). One in 21 students attends a Förderschule.

Post-compulsory education and post secondary level education

Once pupils have completed compulsory schooling – generally when they reach the age of 15 – they move into upper secondary education. The type of school entered depends on the qualifications and entitlements obtained at the end of lower secondary education. The range of courses on offer includes full-time general education and vocational schools, as well as vocational training within the duales System (dual system). In order to enter a university, high school students are required to take the Abitur examination. The courses of education provided at vocational schools within the upper secondary level lead to a vocational qualification for skilled work as qualified staff, e.g. in the anerkannte Ausbildungsberufe (recognised occupations requiring formal training) or the assistant occupations; however, students possessing a diploma from a vocational school may also apply to enter higher education.

General upper secondary school (Gymnasiale Oberstufe) at the following school types: Gymnasium/Berufliches Gymnasium/Fachgymnasium/Gesamtschule	15/16-18/19 years of age
Vocational education and training Berufsfachschule (full-time vocational education) Fachoberschule (full time vocational education) duales System – Berufschule + Betrieb (dual system: part-time vocational school and part-time on-the-job training)	15/16-18 years of age 16-18 years of age 15/16-18/19 years of age
Post-secondary non-tertiary education Berufsfachschule Fachoberschule Abendgymnasium/Kolleg duales System – Berufschule + Betrieb (dual system: part-time vocational school and part-time on-the-job training)	19-22 years of age 18-19 years of age 20-35 years of age 19-22 years of age

for more detailed information see Eurydice, Organisation of the Education System in Germany, 2009/2010

On the German education system see also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_Germany

A glossary with explanation of different school types is available at http://www.kmk.org/fileadmin/doc/Dokumentation/Bildungswesen_en_pdfs/en-2009.pdf

Schools in Country

For a full list of school in Germany visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_schools_in_Germany

Further and Higher education

Higher education (HE) studies in Germany are offered at three types of Higher Education Institutions (HEI)

• Universitäten (Universities) including various specialized institutions, offer the whole range of academic disciplines. In the German tradition, universities focus in particular on basic research so that advanced stages of study have mainly theoretical orientation and research-oriented components.
• Fachhochschulen (Universities of Applied Sciences) concentrate their study programmes in engineering and other technical disciplines, business-related studies, social work, and design areas. The common mission of applied research and development implies a distinct application-oriented focus and professional character of studies, which include integrated and supervised work assignments in industry, enterprises or other relevant institutions.
• Kunst- und Musikhochschulen (Universities of Art/Music) offer studies for artistic careers in fine arts, performing arts and music; in such fields as directing, production, writing in theatre, film, and other media; and in a variety of design areas, architecture, media and communication.

Studies in all three types of institutions have traditionally been offered in integrated "long" (one-tier) programmes leading to Diplom- or Magister Artium degrees or completed by a Staatsprüfung (State Examination). Within the framework of the Bologna-Process one-tier study programmes are successively being replaced by a two-tier study system. Since 1998, a scheme of first- and second-level degree programmes (Bachelor and Master) was introduced to be offered parallel to or instead of integrated "long" programmes.

The Berufsakademie – offered by some Länder – forms part of the tertiary sector and combines academic training at a Studienakademie with practical in-company professional training in keeping with the principle of the dual system.

According to the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED), the Fachschulen, the Fachakademien in Bayern and the two- and three-year schools in the health sector (Schulen des Gesundheitswesens) are also part of the tertiary sector. Fachschulen are continuing vocational education institutions in the tertiary sector that, as a rule, require the completion of relevant vocational training in a recognised occupation requiring formal training and subsequent employment

Higher Education Institutions are either state or state-recognized institutions. In their operations, including the organization of studies and the designation and award of degrees, they are both subject to higher education legislation.

For detailed information on the German Higher Education System and the different types of higher education institution see http://www.daad.de/deutschland/hochschulen/hochschultypen/00414.en.html

Universities in Country

For a full list of Universities in Germany visit http://www.daad.de/deutschland/hochschulen/hochschulprofile/00597.en.html?show=liste

Administration and finance

In the Federal Republic of Germany, responsibility for the education system is conditioned by the federal structure of the State. According to the Basic Law (Grundgesetz), educational legislation and administration are primarily the responsibility of the Länder (in a system comprising the Land Ministries of Education, Cultural affairs and Science, the regional authorities (Bezirksregierung/Oberschulamt) and the lower-level school supervisory authorities (Schulamt). This particularly applies to the school system, higher education and the adult education/continuing education sector. The Länder cooperate with each other within the framework of the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of the Länder in the Federal Republic of Germany (abbr.: Kultusministerkonferenz – KMK) on matters of importance for all Länder. The responsibilities of the Federal Government in education are defined in the Basic Law. Among these responsibilities is the legislation concerning the admission to higher education institutions and the degrees they confer, as well as the financial assistance for individual training, including promotion of younger academic staff. The Basic Law also provides for particular forms of cooperation between the Federation and the Länder, such as that which occurs in the sector of the promotion of research. School supervisory authorities in each Land are responsible for inspection and exercise academic, legal and staff supervision within the school system. Each school has a teachers' council responsible for educational matters, and a school council (comprising teachers, parents and pupils), which decides on school regulations or disciplinary rules. The relative powers of these councils vary between the Länder. As regards initial training in the duales System (the dual system of vocational education and training in both the workplace and at school), which is experienced by two-thirds of all young people, the training in the workplace is financed by companies, and the school element by the Länder. The workplace activity follows nationally coordinated training regulations, while there are framework curricula for the school-based work which are adapted to these regulations and established by the Länder. Vocational training in the workplace is supervised by public-law corporations (such as chambers of industry and commerce, chambers of handicraft, etc.)

References

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