Mechanismen der Elitebildung im deutschen Bildungssystem

The German education system is currently experiencing two contrasting trends: On the one hand, social opening, e.g. through the introduction of a partially-integrated secondary school system, compensatory all-day-schooling. On the other hand, an increasing vertical hierarchy in certain educational phases, e.g. through the explicitly encouraged introduction of private kindergartens and primary schools and the establishment of prime (academic track) Gymnasien and elite universities. In line with these structural changes, next to equality, the principle of excellence is gaining an increasing significance as a justification argument. This contribution will present the situation from an education-policy perspective, discuss theoretical discourses, and the national and international state of research on the topic of elitism and education. It will close with future research challenges.     

Between ‘enrichment’ and ‘endangerment’: ‘cultural diversity’ and the politics of belonging in the Berlin school choice discourse

Even though choice is not officially a feature in the German primary school system, some parents intervene in determining which school their child attends. Especially in urban contexts, the informal school market is growing. This demand is based on promises with respect to a certain quality of education as well as on issues that prevail in certain inner city schools. In looking at Berlin, as a global city, this article shows how contrary school choice practices gain traction in the face of ‘cultural differences’ that those practices produce discursively. Cultural semantics are activated with regard to the composition of the student body, when parents chose schools with a bilingual profile, but also when parents engage in the practice of ‘group enrolment’ into schools in inner city hotspots perceived as problematic. Our research shows how school choice practices may become acceptable despite being a public taboo, if parents argue by appeal to ‘cultural differences’.     

The outcomes of university education: Some empirical findings on aims and expectations in The Federal Republic of Germany

Aims and expectations of three groups, the population in general, university graduates, and legislators and university representatives, are described and compared. Social status advantages (allocation function) and extra professional qualities (socialization function) are the main outcomes taken into account. The data stem from representative surveys, surveys of university graduates and highly qualified non-graduates, and an analysis of documents. The quality expectations which the public has of university graduates and the norm that graduates bear a particular social responsibility form an interrelated pattern, which can be regarded as a social role. As compared to public opinion, graduates' own conception of their qualities and responsibilities displays characteristic additions, which point toward a cultural elite of critical intellectuals. On the other hand, graduates fail to identify with some of the educational aims put forward by the university and its legislators. Graduates' personal experiences at university match their generalized conception of the outcomes of higher education, since they report socialization effects and attribute especially the acquisition of cognitive skills and rational and critical habits to university rather than to other educational contexts.     

The Venetian Consul and the Cosmopolitan Mercantile Community of Alexandria at the Beginning of the Ninth/Fifteenth Century

Abstract

Three case studies (Veneto-Cretan shipping of Egyptian-Arab merchandise, Catalan-Venetian cooperation, and Venice acting on behalf of Latin pilgrims) around the activities of the Venetian consul inform an investigation of the cosmopolitan community formed by local groups and foreign nations, and the role of the Venetian consul in this wider community. It will be argued that the Venetian consul was not only a Venetian envoy but also a Mamlūk official and an informal head of the cosmopolitan business community in late medieval Alexandria.     

Einschätzungen der schulischen Motivation und des Arbeitsverhaltens durch Grundschullehrkräfte und deren Bedeutung für Verzerrungen in Leistungserwartungen

Several studies have shown that teachers’ achievement expectations for their students may be biased to some extent by students’ ethnic or social background as well as gender. The present study investigates whether these biases in teachers’ expectations of students’ performance in early language and mathematics are partly explained by differences in teachers’ perceptions of students’ motivation and learning behaviour. The analyses are based on data from a sample of N?=?901 first-grade students from N?=?66 classrooms with 69 teachers. The results support the hypothesis for biases associated with social background and gender. Ethnic bias, however, occurred independently of differences in perceived motivation and learning behaviour. We discuss the relevance of stereotypical assumptions for teaching as well as educational disparities.     

Schadenersatzanspruch Studierender gegen die Universit?t wegen unzureichenden Lehrveranstaltungsangebots? Anmerkungen und überlegungen zu OGH 1 Ob 142/07z

Mit dem Urteil zu 1 Ob 142/07z best?tigte der OGH die Entscheidungen der Vorinstanzen, wonach die Klage eines Studierenden gegen eine Universit?t auf Feststellung, dass die beklagte Partei der klagenden Partei für s?mtliche aus der Unterlassung des Anbots von Parallellehrveranstaltungen zukünftig entstehenden Sch?den hafte, wegen fehlender Passivlegitimation abgewiesen wurde. Das H?chstgericht stellte eindeutig klar, dass "Universit?ten in Vollziehung der Studienvorschriften im Rahmen der Hoheitsverwaltung t?tig werden", weshalb ein zivilrechtlicher Anspruch gegen die Universit?t aufgrund eines zu geringen Angebots von Lehrveranstaltungen nicht in Betracht kommt und bekr?ftigte, dass die Haftung der Universit?t oder ihrer Organe für hoheitliches Handeln in Vollziehung der Studienvorschriften auch nach dem UG 2002 ausgeschlossen ist.     

Evaluative Conditioning and the Development of Attitudes in Early Childhood

Many attitudes are acquired in early childhood. However, due to a lack of experimental research, little is known about the processes of how they are acquired. Two experiments were therefore conducted with 153 German kindergarten children aged 3–6 years that provide first evidence for childhood attitude formation in terms of evaluative conditioning. Specifically, it was found that children preferred novel stimuli previously paired with liked stimuli over novel stimuli previously paired with disliked stimuli. This effect occurred independently of age, generalized toward similar novel stimuli, and did not depend on children's recollection of how stimuli were paired. The findings are discussed in terms of the processes underlying childhood attitude formation, and implications for related research areas are highlighted.