van Ackeren, Klemm, & Kühn (2015). Die historische Perspektive: Wie haben sich grundlegende Strukturmerkmale des Bildungswesens herausgebildet?

• The German education system has developed from the 18th century to the present.
• A historical review is needed to understand its current form.
• There is a risk of getting lost in the "historical tangle" so this summary will focus on the school system.
• The focus includes school attendance, establishment of the university entrance qualification/"Abitur," the solidification of the school system structure, the replacement of the class principle with the merit principle at the beginning of the Weimar Republic, structural continuity and breaks during National Socialism, and restoration and reform attempts in the Federal Republic, focusing on school structure developments and touching on educational history.

1.1 Compulsory Education

• Public schools are said to have been globally established in the last 200 years but, more specifically, the focus will be on the enforcement of compulsory education in Germany.
• Initially, compulsory education simply meant participating in some form, and, later, education had to occur in private or public institutions.
• Friedrich Wilhelm I of Prussia attempted to mandate compulsory education (1717).
• Enforcement was difficult even with the "General Land Law for the Prussian States" in 1794.
• By the 19th century, compulsory education was achieved in Prussia, with about 60% of children attending schools by 1816, and by the 1880s, it became a norm for all children and teens.

1.2 Higher Education

• Prussian higher education was mainly focused on schools for scholars, municipal schools, academies for knights, and Latin schools.
• Latin and Religion were the focus for many Latin schools.
• The Supreme School Board, founded in Berlin (1787), streamlined the higher education landscape.
• The first "Abiturreglement" (1788) introduced a leaving examination for schools, which was not required for university admission, but it was needed for scholarships.
• Regulations showed that many students were unprepared for University study.
• The 2nd academic degree from universities/Abitur regulation (1812) stated what requirements were needed for state exams but it did not govern admission to Universities.
• By 1834, the new Abitur exam was a prerequisite for all university degrees and no philosophical studies could occur.
• Wilhelm von Humboldt created a curriculum free from practical elements, and aimed to focus on general human education.

„Higher“ School System Aspects

• The system guaranteed entrance into universities as long as state exams were passed.
• Academic performance had to be proven with tests.
• Education comes with a focus on broad education that is distinct from trade schools/”specialized courses”.

Educational Strata

• Loyalty of the educated civil service secured, and the qualification of the "leading classes" was controlled.
• Sons (!) of the middle class could compete with nobility by attending schools/Universities.
• Germany still distinguishes between general education and vocational, and subjects in law or business are rarely mandatory.

1.3 Lower Education

• Primary/lower education receives less focus than higher education.
• Emphasis was placed on "Christian indoctrination of Christian subjects".
• Lower and higher schools were institutionally separate.
• Prussian elementary schools were defined by limited education (19th century).
• They were typically one-room schools that had at most 3 years of schooling, with teachers who were not academically trained to teach reading, writing, math and religion.
• Progressive citizens were against limiting education.

1.4 Middle Education

• There were attempts at a curriculum that focused education on usefulness.
• This school tier had high importance placed on mathematics, mechanics, economics, and modern languages.

Realschule School Origins

• These German schools did not grant "Abitur" in the first third of the 19th century, but did prepare students for a praxis-oriented program.

1.5 Educational Mordenization

• Prussia's education system had elementary schools, middle schools for the middle class, and academies for state officials.
• Modernization occurred from the late 1800s.

Gymnassium Curriculum

• The "highest decree" in 1900 introduced the Realgymnasium(Latin, French, English) & the Oberrealschule (French, English with a focus on math and science)
• Both schools could administer leaving exams

1.5.2 Higher Education For Girls

• Girls were granted access to schools as well as a more abridged curriculum (around the 1900s).
• Before this, girls were only educated for the purpose of being wives/home makers.
• Middle-class movements encouraged this change.

1.5.3 Limiting Education

• Changes were made to lower schooling systems because industry demanded workers of higher education.
• Elementary-level teaching was loosened (1872), multi-grade classes were developed, small groups became more common, and a more differentiated teaching plan allowed lower schools to meet the needs of industrial society.

1.5.4 Vocational Training

• By 1811, apprenticeships could be filled with tradespeople in Prussia.
• By 1845, rules stated there should be an apprenticeship and a contract.
• Schulischer Teil der Berufsausbildung was created (1849), which shortened the training period to one year.
• In 1897 the "Handwerkskammer" oversaw standardized exit exams and apprenticeships.
• Kaiser Wilhelm II sought ways to use school to combat socialism.

1.6 Reform Pedagogic Innovation

• The "Learnplan" had universal education system that was meticulously devised.
• Reform pedagogues protested the schools in the 1800s.
• Maria Montessori of Italy, Berthold Otto of Germany, Ellen Key of Sweden, and Siegfried Bernfeld of Austria opposed the formatization, intellectual bias and passivity of the schools
• The shift from class to merit ideals was initiated.
• The government compromised (1919/20)

1.7 National Socalism

• National socialism controlled the school system by instituting ideological agenda and installing new curriculum.
• The regime utilized the school system to enforce ideological agenda as well as racial laws.

1.8 Post WWII

• Government sought a new beginning post WWII.
• The 4 allied countries sought a more democratic education system that combatted nationalistic and militaristic views.
• The American Zook commision sought the creation of more equal opportunity which was not present in the traditional German school system.
• The allied control council emphasized the the need to combat inequality and the development of Staatsbürgerliche.

Differences emerge between the East and Westeren Zone Allied Control.

1946-1965 School Stucture shift in GDR -East German Reupblic.

• By 1989 the East and West systems merged.

West Zone Response

• The KMK - Federal Ministry of Education and Research, declared what the new norms would be (1955).
• Continued to be divide between advanced and “volk-ish” ie popular culture.
• 1959 The German commitee of education declared the school system should focus on job traning as well as medium and higher classes.
• Higher education should focus on the practical

This shift was partly due to demands in social mobility and economics.

This caused the 60s protests arguing that the traditional system would not give opportunity for all.

• Integrated schools developed to include a “gemeinsame Erziehung aller Kinder und Jugendlcihe” - The joint education of all children and youth, but could not be implemented.

• Higher education continued to exist, rather than disappear.

• A 1964 conference sought cooperation on establishing standards.

• Efforts focused on making better the experience for those with special needs.

• A shift occurred in removing some electives.

Explore the evolution of the German education system from the 18th century to today. This summary highlights key developments, including compulsory education, the establishment of university entrance qualifications, structural changes during National Socialism, and subsequent reforms in the Federal Republic.