Germany

by Allan Pestotnik
 * __ The Teaching of Civics in Germany ﻿ __**

** Country Overview **

Germany is a Federal Republic located in Central Europe, bordering the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, between the Netherlands and Poland, and south of Denmark. The chancellor of Germany is Angela Merkel, appointed in November of 2005. The country is 357,022 square kilometers, and it has a population of 81,471,834 (July 2011 estimate), making it the 16th most populous country in the world. Germany has Europe’s largest, and the world’s sixth largest, economy with a GDP of $2.94 trillion (2010 est.). Germany’s education expenditures accounted for 4.5% of their GDP (2007). The different ethnic groups in Germany are German (91.5%), Turkish (2.4%), and other, made up of largely Greek, Italian, Polish, Russian, Serbo-Croatian, and Spanish (6.1%). The different religions are Protestant (34%), Roman Catholic (34%), Muslim (3.7%), and unaffiliated or other (28.3%). Germany was an important player in both of the world wars in the 20th century. The subsequent Cold War led to the formation of two German states in 1949: the western Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) and the eastern German Democratic Republic (GDR). The democratic FRG and communist GDR reveal significantly different histories and ideologies. The decline of the USSR and the end of the Cold War allowed for German unification on October 3rd, 1990. Since then, Germany has worked hard to bring Eastern productivity and wages up to Western standards. Germany’s history is critical for understanding the current nature of their civic education and overall school system.

**Context** In total, all German students must complete at least 9-10 years of full-time education followed by 2-3 years of part-time education. Germany offers schooling beginning at the age of 3. This preschool is offered for students from the age of 3 to 6, and then students begin the primary grades of 1-4 (1-6 in Berlin/Bradenburg). After primary school, students advance on to part I (grades 4-10, 6-10 in Berlin/Bradenburg) and part II of secondary school (grades 11-12). Germany offers four options for secondary schooling: //hauptschule//, the least academic (much like a modernized elementary school until 9th grade), //realschule// until 10th grade, //gymnasium// (grammar school) until 12th or 13th grade, which includes an exit exam qualifying for university, and //gesamtschule//, a comprehensive school. A typical school day runs from 8 or 9am to 12 or 1 pm for younger students and gradually increases in duration as the students get older.

It is extremely important to know that Germany is adapting to the collapse of the USSR. This distinct piece of their recent history and overall context helps provide a lens to view their approach to civic education. Given that Germany is a federal government, education is the responsibility of the regions and a nationally agreed definition of, and approach to, civic education, as such, can only exist if the regions agree to it both in principle and practice.


 * Subject Content Standard **

Considering the historical events of the 20th century for Germany, it is not surprising that their aim in civic education is the “(re)assertion of a national identity after political upheaval,” as David Kerr (1999) wrote. Since reunification in 1990, Germany has focused political and organizational efforts on reestablishing unity between the different regions of their country as well as in the fields of education, science, culture and sport, and particularly on the establishment of a common and comparable basic structure for education. Consequently, because Germany is trying to unify and stabilize their entire structure of education, there is less if a specified focus on civic education. Germany’s primary efforts are aimed at improving their education at a macro level.

There are no specific civic education standards for the primary grades, and the expectation for civic education in the lower and upper secondary schools is that it will be taught in social studies linked to history, geography, and economics. In addition, teachers of any subject should ideally aim to incorporate civics within their respective curricula. There is no specified standard for hours civic education must be taught in a given week.

**Materials**

In Germany, social studies teachers used textbooks that must be approved. The textbooks, which should include content on civic education, must be in line with the principles of the Constitution and Education Acts, compatible with the syllabus and research findings, and interestingly, the price must be justified. The trend is that the social studies textbooks that are used each year make up a series of textbooks by the same publisher. With such an official approval system in place for teaching materials, the approach that schools and teachers take to civic education can be greatly influenced and severely limited. With this system over materials in place, it suggests a certain direction and may suppress the confidence and ability of the teacher to adapt and improvise.

**Nature of Curriculum**

Civic education has been a priority of Germany since the end of WWII in 1945. It was initiated and influence by the Allies with the expectation for denazification and re-education of its citizens. This curriculum stressed basic values such as equality and freedom, it emphasized that must be shared by all members of society. While the need for civics was acknowledged by the German people, it has taken a back seat to general educational reform since the end of the Cold War. As Annegret Ehmann (2004) wrote, even years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, “The cultural, political, and mental unification is still work in progress.” Before a civic education curriculum can be in place, the German people need achieve unification.

The nature of German civic education, therefore, is aimed at not only the students in school but at the larger population. Since WWII, much effort has been spent on educating the general population on democracy, peace, freedom, and human dignity. There are different projects, many of which operate online such as The Website Project ( [|www.lernen-aus-der-geschichte.de] ), that hope to collaborate with schools in delivering a civic education, but much of civics curriculum remains up to teachers to choose. Due to their own lack of a civic education, teachers often leave out civics curriculum or teach it inadequately (or incorrectly).

** Main Issues and Challenges **

The Nazi Era and the Holocaust are significant pieces of Germany’s history and subsequently have an immense impact on their civic education. The memory of the Nazi dictatorship and the traumatic legacies of the related events, including the Holocaust, have been shaping German politics to this day. While schools have made it compulsory teaching at all grade levels, many adults (including teachers) have specific attitudes and beliefs about their nation’s dark history. These beliefs and experiences with Germany’s history are influential in the way that all education run, and they must be considered when creating their civic education curriculum.

A challenge is that many Germans do not know what civic education should look like. Because of their distinct national history, they cannot replicate what other nations have taught. Also, as mentioned earlier, energy is currently focused on uniting the nation, including the larger education system, post-Cold War. Another challenge, and one that many nations grapple with, is the gap between policy and practice in citizenship education. What is concerning in Germany is that this gap is accepted as part of its system and is continuing without much resistance. This gap is fueled by the hidden curriculum in German schools, with its strong emphasis on ‘studying for tests’ and ‘conformity to authority’, which also has a powerful influence on the formal curriculum.

There is also a need for more formalized and directed teacher training in terms of civic education. If social studies teachers and other teachers are supposed to incorporate civics into their established curriculum, they need to at least know how to teach civics.

** Resources **

CIA World Factbook website: []

Ehmann, A. (2004). Competences in the media and information society. //Thesenpapier zu Workshop III der Eruopaischen Konferenz//. July 23-26, 2004. Santiago de Compostela, Spain.

European Stability Initiative (ESI) website on Civic Education in the European Union, //Politeia//: []

Kerr, D. (1999). Citizenship education: An international comparison. //International Review of Curriculum and Assessment Frameworks//. London: QCA.

Torney-Purta, J. (2002). Patterns in the civic knowledge, engagement, and attitudes of European adolescents: The IEA civic education study. //European Journal of Education//, 37(2), 129-141.

State University overview of the German educational system: []

The Website Project website: [|www.lernen-aus-der-geschichte.de]