Access to higher education in the Federal Republic of Germany and the United States

Despite some important differences between the higher education systems of the Federal Republic of Germany and the United States, they share a number of comparable problems, especially in the field of access. The competitiveness of admission in certain faculties and disciplines in both countries and at the more prestigious and selective institutions in the U.S. raise serious questions about the proper balance between meritocratic and egalitarian policies. It is emphasized that access policies cannot be determined in a vacuum because of their close relationship to other factors in higher education institutions and systems.

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Zusammenfassung Trotz einiger wichtiger Unterschiede in den höheren Bildungssystemen der Bundesrepublik Deutschland und den Vereinigten Staaten teilen sie einige vergleichbare Probleme, insbesondere auf dem Gebiet des Zugangs. Die Konkurrenz bei der Zulassung zu gewissen Fakultäten und Institutionen in beiden Ländern, und zu prestigeträchtigen und selektiven Institutionen in den U.S.A. wirft ernste Fragen auf über das richtige Gleichgewicht zwischen bildungspolitischen Entscheidungen nach dem Prinzip des Verdiensts und solchen nach dem Prinzip der Chàncengleichheit. Es wird betont, dass Zulassungsfragen wegen ihres engen Zusammenhangs mit anderen Faktoren in höheren Bildungsinstitutionen nicht im luftleeren Raum entschieden werden können.

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Résumé Malgré certaines différences importantes entre les systèmes d'éducation supérieure de la République fédérale d'Allemagne et des Etats-Unis, ces deux pays présentent un certain nombre de problèmes comparables, surtout en ce qui concerne l'admission. Le caractère compétitif de l'admission dans certaines facultés et disciplines des deux pays susmentionnés, et dans les institutions plus célèbres et plus sélectives des Etats-Unis, soulèvent d'importantes questions sur l'équilibre approprié entre les politiques méritocratiques et égalitaires. On souligne que les politiques d'admission ne peuvent pas être déterminées dans le vide, à cause de leurs rapports étroits avec d'autres facteurs dans les institutions et systèmes d'enseignement supérieur.

     

Staff Development in the Federal Republic of Germany

1. The debate concerning the necessity of staff training has a long tradition in Germany. In Humboldt's university the unity of research and teaching meant that the main task in teaching was to have the students understand and share the objectives of research and have them participate in the research process. In this context there was a heated debate about the value of lectures themselves, culminating in abolition of lectures by the Prussian Minister of Instruction in 1844. The growth of the faculties of natural sciences and of technology, the increase in student numbers, and the problem of reforming teacher education led to efforts to establish "university pedagogics" as a new discipline. In 1898 a society for the pedagogics of higher education was founded with several hundred members, many of whom were young university teachers (Privatdozenten). From 1910 to 1932 this society published the Zeitschrift für Hochschulpädagogik (Journal for Higher Education Pedagogy).     

Comprehensive schools and traditional education in the Federal Republic of Germany

This article first presents some general information on the traditional tripartite system of education in Germany (Hauptschule, Realschule, Gymnasium). It describes the changes this system has undergone since the 1960s: because of the increased demand for schooling offering higher qualification certificates, the Hauptschule has declined in image and importance. The following passage shows both the political and social reasons that led to an experimental phase of the integrated comprehensive schools in all of the eleven states at the end of the 1960s. The integrated comprehensive school was not able to supersede the tripartite school system in the development of educational policies but only managed to be accepted as a fourth possibility. In the course of the experimental phase a wide, decentralized evaluation research programme was carried out. The most important results (horizontal mobility, equality of educational opportunity, school climate, academic achievement) are mentioned in context. The findings of the evaluation research programme do not provide any proof of the political failure of the educational reform in favour of a comprehensive system.     

Financing Universities in the Federal Republic of Germany

Financing universities in times of increasing demands in all fields of public expenditure is a problem of nearly all European counnies not least because of the ongoing process of European integration. Comparing the different national systems of financing universities may be a means to foster cooperation and competition in a step by step growing network of universities in the European Community. This paper tries to give some insights into the German system; special considerotion is given to its federal structure and its implications for the universities' financthg system, because these problems may be of interest to other countries also. Of course this survey cannot be complete; details must be left to detailed information. The first part of the paper gives a survey of the higher education system in the Federal Republic of Gennany. The second part deals with the sources of funds, including the structure of mong streams to the universities. The third part refffs to the restrictions in using state money in the universities and the problems resulting; the fourth and final part concentrates on problems of the future, especially getring third party finds, and the diversifiation. of financing.     

Teacher Training in the Federal Republic of Germany

Teacher training in West Germany is on the verge of fundamental change. As the schools—traditionally tripartite on the secondary level-begin to become integrated into comprehensive institutions (similar to the American model), the hitherto different training systems for elementary and secondary teachers face reform patterns aimed at equalizing the length and standards of training. In addition, the planners call for programs that prepare teachers for continuous reforms of the curriculum and of instructional media. Much emphasis is given to scientific studies of didactics-i.e., to the adaptation of fields of knowledge to modes of teaching and learning.     

The Case of the Federal Republic of Germany

In the Federal Republic of Germany, as in most advanced societies, one of the major occupational groupings — and one with the highest educational standards — is that of teacher. In Germany as elsewhere, many teachers appear to regard their calling as a serious one and place interest in professional activities high on their list of priorities, without involving themselves in what have come to be viewed as policy matters. To quote from a letter sent me recently by a distinguished German educator, long active in what he views as professional organizations: "I must frankly confess that I personally never cared much about status conflicts and organizational reforms; I was kept too busy by my professional studies and participation in professional organizations, such as our German association for teachers of modern languages, of which I served as president for ten years. The same goes for our International Federation of the Teachers of Foreign Languages; there, teachers of all levels are working together. But I know too that there are organizations which stand for the economic interests of their members. So at the same time I have been a member of the Deutscher Philologenverband, which defends the interests of the teachers of the Gymnasium — and at the same time those of the Gymnasium itself, against the tendencies toward the unified school (Einheitsschule).     

战后联邦德国政治教育思想理论的嬗变与发展

二战结束后,政治教育在德国的经济恢复、政治重建以及肃清纳粹思想等领域都起到了重要作用。战后不同时期所涌现出的政治教育思想理论,一方面反映出德国议会、政府和学术界对不同时期政治教育的认识历程,另一方面也指导了不同时期的政治教育实践。本文期望通过对战后联邦德国不同时期政治教育思想理论的研究,发现其变迁的规律和特征,为联邦德国政治教育思想理论的发展梳理出一条清晰的线索。     

A Scientific Discourse on Education in the Crisis: sociology of education in the Federal Republic of Germany

The discourse on German education in sociology and economics is investigated as an intertwined process of politico‐educational events, adoption of problems by social scientists, reactions to general ideological topics and redefinitions within a changing spectrum of theoretical contexts. It is argued that the present crisis of educational reform and crisis of the scientific discourse on education have their roots in the nature of the reconstruction of. the German society after the Nazi‐period. The former common ideological basis of the discourse is factionised and a new theoretical foundation is out of sight.     

Science for employment and higher education

The results of a survey of the views of employers and tutors in higher education on the scientific curriculum for 16‐ to 19‐year‐olds in England, Wales and Northern Ireland is reported. The results show that a limited range of scientific ideas are seen as essential by representatives of all areas. Both employers and tutors in higher education believe that developing a student's capability in a wide range of generic skills (including mathematics skills) should be an aim of courses leading to advanced science qualifications. Higher education tutors tend to require higher levels of thinking in the use of the ideas than do employers. The implications of taking note of employmnent and higher education needs for secondary science education are discussed.     

Federal Republic of Germany: Ten Years of Fachhochschulen

In reply to a question from Liberal and Social Democrat parliamentarians, the federal government has summed up experience with the Fachlochschulen (colleges of advanced technology, comparable to the British polytechnics and the French university institutes of technology), created a decade ago.     

Enhancing the link between higher education and employment

This study aims to improve the efficiency of fiscal assistance programs for higher education by investigating those variables that influence college graduates’ employment rates. An empirical analysis of 2010–2011 higher education statistics shows that two variables – educational expenditure per student and the number of students per full-time faculty member – consistently and significantly affect college graduates’ employment rates, even after location and type of school are controlled. Although scholarship rates also affect employment rates positively, the number of students per industry–academe liaison officer does not have a statistically significant effect. Moreover, as educational expenditure per student or the student/faculty ratio increases beyond a certain level, graduate employment improves at an increasing rate. The two variables also affect the employment rate interactively. At a relatively higher level of per-student expenditure, employment rates increase even as the student/faculty ratio rises. However, at a relatively lower level of per-student expenditure, employment rates decline as the student/faculty ratio rises.The policy implication is that fiscal assistance programs for higher educational institutions should accord a much greater weight to these key variables when selecting and assessing institutional recipients.