Reforms of the German Education System
Reforms of the German education system:
The abolition of the divided secondary school system and a prolonged integrated primary school
In Germany at present six- to ten-year-old pupils visit primary school from first to fourth form. At the age of ten an allocation takes place: the pupils are divided into four groups depending on intelligence and achievements at school. The Gymnasium', which is roughly equivalent to grammar school, is visited by the best ones, and their final examination after eight years of attendance, the Abitur' that more or less corresponds to A levels, allows them to go to university. The average pupils attend the so-called Realschule', and the weak ones go to the Hauptschule' for five respectively six years. Afterwards they can do an apprenticeship or, if they want to study, go to grammar school for another three years. Those pupils, who have real problems with reading, mathematics, articulating or who have conspicuous behaviour attend another separate school: the Sonderschule'.
The problems and disadvantages arising from this allocation in the present secondary education system in Germany compared to the advantages of this system demonstrate an alarming predominance of the negative issues. Therefore this essay is against the divided secondary education system and supports a prolongation of the integrated primary school system.
An integrated education system has many advantages
On closer examination it is evident that the present secondary school system puts emphasis on the wrong areas: constant sifting out, admitting and shoving off instead of accompanying and furthering represent the main concepts of this system. Most of the pupils who want to change school do it from a higher to a lower type, so the permeability of this system only works toward the bottom. The bad German results of the PISA study, carried out with fifteen-year-old pupils, are an evidence of this thesis.
In contrast to the PISA study, the IGLU study, an
The abolition of the divided secondary school system and a prolonged integrated primary school
In Germany at present six- to ten-year-old pupils visit primary school from first to fourth form. At the age of ten an allocation takes place: the pupils are divided into four groups depending on intelligence and achievements at school. The Gymnasium', which is roughly equivalent to grammar school, is visited by the best ones, and their final examination after eight years of attendance, the Abitur' that more or less corresponds to A levels, allows them to go to university. The average pupils attend the so-called Realschule', and the weak ones go to the Hauptschule' for five respectively six years. Afterwards they can do an apprenticeship or, if they want to study, go to grammar school for another three years. Those pupils, who have real problems with reading, mathematics, articulating or who have conspicuous behaviour attend another separate school: the Sonderschule'.
The problems and disadvantages arising from this allocation in the present secondary education system in Germany compared to the advantages of this system demonstrate an alarming predominance of the negative issues. Therefore this essay is against the divided secondary education system and supports a prolongation of the integrated primary school system.
An integrated education system has many advantages
On closer examination it is evident that the present secondary school system puts emphasis on the wrong areas: constant sifting out, admitting and shoving off instead of accompanying and furthering represent the main concepts of this system. Most of the pupils who want to change school do it from a higher to a lower type, so the permeability of this system only works toward the bottom. The bad German results of the PISA study, carried out with fifteen-year-old pupils, are an evidence of this thesis.
In contrast to the PISA study, the IGLU study, an
References: · http://www.gew-berlin.de/2106.htm (retrieved on 12.08.2005) · http://www.vbe-nrw.de/vbe_download/struktur.pdf (retrieved on 06.08.2005) · http://www.derweg.org/mwbildun/bildtoc.htm (retrieved on 06.08.2005) · http://www.lsv-bay.de/aktuelles/presse/10072.html (retrieved on 12.08.2005)