Germany from Re.ViCa

Partners situated in Germany:

Fernuniversität in Hagen (DE)

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.

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.

German education policy

Responsibility for German education system lies primarily with the "Länder" while the federal government only has a minor role. Within the Federal Government, the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung – BMBF) is primarily responsible for the Federation's areas of responsibility. This ministry was created as the Federal Ministry of Education and Science in 1969 in connection with the amendment to the Basic Law, which gave the Federation additional responsibilities in the educational sector. It was then merged in 1995 with the Federal Ministry of Research and Technology.

Wherever necessary, consultations between Federation and Länder take place in the Bundesrat, the Commission of the Federation and the Länder for Educational Planning and Research Promotion (Bund- Länder-Kommission für Bildungsplanung und Forschungsförderung – BLK), the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs (Kultusministerkonferenz – KMK), the Science Council (Wissenschaftsrat) and the Planning Committee for the Construction of Higher Education Institutions.

Although Germany has had a history of a strong educational system, recent PISA student assessments revealed a weakness in certain subjects. In a test of 43 countries in the year 2000, Germany ranked 21st in reading and 20th in both mathematics and the natural sciences, prompting calls for reform and dominating the political debate for the last years.

Also as a result of this, fundamental changes are currently being implemented in the German education system. In this context, special importance is attached to the various efforts for quality assurance and quality development in the school sector, teacher training and the higher education sector. In the school sector, the introduction of national educational standards and the establishment of the Institute for Educational Progress (Institut zur Qualitätsentwicklung im Bildungswesen – IQB) marked the beginning of a paradigm shift towards an output-oriented control of the education system. In June 2006, the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs adopted a comprehensive strategy for educational monitoring. The global concept for the monitoring and further development of educational processes consists of four interconnected areas: International comparative studies of pupil achievement, the central review of the achievement of educational standards in a comparison between the Länder, comparative studies in order to review the efficiency of individual schools within the Länder, and the joint education reporting of the Federation and the Länder.

Other central themes in education policy are for example: integration of imigrants (e.g. by improvement of German language skills), all-day school and the membered educational system. Big issues concerning higher education are: equal opportunities, tuition fees and the so called initiative of excellence that benefits only a few universities.

Description of the Educational System in Germany

Optional kindergarten education is provided for all children between three and six years old, after which school attendance is compulsory for nine or ten years. In Germany, students are graded on a scale of one through six, one being high and six being very low, or failing. Home-schooling is not permitted in any of the German Bundesländer except rare cases. Primary education usually lasts for four years (six in Berlin) and public schools are not stratified at this stage. In contrast, 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, and 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.

In order to enter a university, high school students are required to take the Abitur examination; however, students possessing a diploma from a vocational school may also apply to enter. A special system of apprenticeship called Duale Ausbildung allows pupils in vocational training to learn in a company as well as in a state-run school.

The Education System in Germany

In 2006, 415,000 graduates received the general qualification for university entrance which is approximately 43% of the typical age cohort of the population.

For detailled information see http://www.kmk.org/dossier/organisation.pdf.

Higher Education in Germany

According to the Federal Statistical Office, Germany possesses 184 Fachhochschulen (Universities of Applied Science) and about 104 universities (state and state-recognised). These comprise universities and equivalent higher education institutions such as technical universities, comprehensive universities (Gesamthochschulen) and specialised institutions at university level (eg. for medicine, sport, administrative studies, philosophy and theology).

The Fachhochschulen offer shorter and more practice-oriented programs. They generally lead to credentials at the bachelor's level, but more and more Fachhochschulen also offer master's programs for those students eligible for further study. In addition, Germany's tertiary sector also includes either state-run or staterecognised Berufsakademien (professional academies) in some "Länder": Students receive academic training at Studienakademien (study institutions) and, at the same time, practical career training in a training establishment. A number of colleges of art and music offer programs in their areas.

At the universities, for many decades a master's level degree (differed in "Magister", "Diplom" or "Staatsexamen" - State Exam) was the first degree available and only the recent higher education reforms, which have introduced two-level programs at both the bachelor's and master's level have opened a chance to leave university earlier. The bachelor's degree in the beginning was introduced to avoid the drastic rates of non-completers, which in some university subjects were as high as 75 percent.

There are two semesters each academic year. Most of the information materials are available in German only, and admission in most cases is depending on German language proficiency as well. Big issues in educatianol policy concerning higher education are: equal opportunities, tuition fees and the so called initiative of excellence that benefits only a few universities.

Virtual learning initiatives in Germany

In the following table we would like to highlight the initiatives that we consider to be important virtual learning opportunities in Germany

Table 1

Nr	Name	Institution	City	Type
1.	Distance and Educational Study Center	Technische Universität Kaiserslautern	Kaiserslautern	Higher Distance Education.
2.	FernUniversität in Hagen	FernUniversität in Hagen	Hagen	Distance learning university.
3.	Hamburger Akademie für Fernstudien	Klett-Gruppe	Hamburg	Distance learning.
4.	[http://www.akad.de/ AKAD Privat-Hochschulen	AKAD]	Stuttgart	Privat higher education.
5.	Wilhelm Büchner Hochschule	Wilhelm Büchner Hochschule	Darmstadt	University of Applied Sciences.
6.	PFFH-Technikum	Private Fernfachhochschule	Darmstadt	Privat distance education.
7.	Europäische Fernhochschule Hamburg	Europäische Fernhochschule Hamburg	Hamburg	Distance learning / continuing education.
8.	Hamburger Fernhochschule	Klett-Gruppe	Hamburg	Distance learning.
9.	ZFH	Zentralstelle für Fernstudien an Fachhochschulen	Koblenz	Higher Distance Education.