Germany

From EUDECWiki

Information from Leslie Ocker, edited by Matthias Kern (co-founder of Sudbury School Ueberlingen)

1) Is it possible to found a democratic school in Germany?

Yes, in some states. In Germany, the states (Länder) have their own independently administered educational systems. This means that the curriculum, types of schools, regulations for approving and funding private schools, etc. are different in each state. In some states, it is almost impossible to get approval for a democratic school, and in others, democratic schools are being successfully founded. The German constitution guarantees the right to establish private schools. These schools must: comply with the educational laws of the state, follow educational goals that are equivalent to those of the state schools, and comply with safety regulations pertaining to facilities. The constitution also says that, in order to be approved, a private school must provide its teachers with reasonable pay and job security. The requirement for job security makes it impossible for schools to re-hire their teachers every year, as is customary in most Sudbury schools.

In terms of enrolment, no school is allowed to discriminate on the basis of the financial means of the family. Accordingly, all states provide at least partial funding to their private schools, and some states limit the amount a school can charge for tuition. Most states will not start providing funds until a newly founded school has been in operation for a certain period of time (generally between 2 and 4 years). During this “trial period”, schools must cover all their expenses with school fees, loans and private sponsorship.

In the past two years, three democratic schools have been founded in Germany (one in Hamburg and two in Berlin). At the same time, one democratic school in Bavaria has lost its permission and several applications for democratic schools have been rejected. Germany has a long tradition of free schools, which have their own well-organized (it is Germany after all) network. Some of these have been at least somewhat “democratic” from the time of founding and others have introduced school meetings and gotten rid of compulsory lessons over the years, inspired by other schools, writers, and their own students. There are currently at least 7 schools in Germany that have no compulsory lessons and a school meeting as the main decision-making authority. Probably at least another 10-20 have some elements of shared decision-making and self-led learning.

2) Is there any movement by the state school system to introduce democratic structures into schools?

Yes, there is the federal and state government joint educational development program called LEARNING & LIVING DEMOCRACY. It was started in the spring of 2002 and involves more than 200 general and vocational schools in 13 German states. The goal of the program is to “make classrooms and school as a whole a more democratic place for learning.” ([1])

There are also individual teachers in German state schools who apply democratic principles in their classrooms. Some of these have documented their work. (See the article on Falko Peschel written by David Gribble: [2])

3) What is the current political trend in education in Germany?

The trend seems to be towards reform. PISA testing has a strong influence on state and federal policies, but there seems to be a recognition that high PISA scores are not attained through increased curriculum. Germany’s top performing school on the PISA test (See the website of the Helene Lange Schule [3] - only in German- or [4]) is well known for its systems of interdisciplinary projects, self-led learning and focus on student theatre.

More privately operated alternative schools are being founded each year. And more parents are choosing these schools over public schools.

4) Is homeschooling legal/tolerated?

No. Neither legal nor tolerated. Germany has a law of compulsory school attendance, meaning all school-age children must attend a government-approved school. Distance-learning programs are not accepted forms of education. Families that do not send their children to school can be fined, imprisoned, and even lose custody of their children. Many such cases have made international headlines. Although most of these highly publicized cases involve families who are home-educating for religious reasons, there are also several “unschooling” families.