Germany

Overview

Basic information about the main policies currently implemented, plus any points of interest specific to this country.

The system of adult education in Germany is difficult to summarise, due to the nature of the German system, and the way in which the country is organised. The Republic of Germany is composed of 16 federal states, known as Länder, which vary in size and population. Each of these Länder defines their own priorities and goals regarding education, and therefore there is no centralised system for adult education. There are, however, some overarching policies which can be seen to be important to the majority of the Länder, and some common priorities. One of these common priorities, for example, can be seen as the improvement and development of the parameters for lifelong learning, to enable participation for all groups of the population. However the individual decisions and systems are entirely dependent on the situation in the specific Länder and particularly to the respective legislation on further education. [1]

Also common within Germany is the focus on work and occupational progression for adults, and as such certification and recognition of lifelong learning is seen as a precaution against unemployment, or a key factor in the improvement of employability. Informal learning in particular is seen as a key focus for social mobility, and necessary for adaptability in a world of challenges. Consequently there is a drive towards the certification of non-formal and informal learning as an incentive for people to engage more fully in society through, for example, voluntary work. [2] The development of a German national qualification framework is currently almost finalised (2011) but so far only takes into account the system of formal education in Germany. This is then creating a huge challenge, especially for non formal education providers in both youth and adult learning.

Politics and Law

Basic overview of the political background for the country's attitude towards Adult Education, including key legislation, any legal issues or political directives etc, and any points of interest specific to this country

As mentioned above, Germany (in accordance with the Basic Law) has a federal structure, within which both the Federation and the Länder have the quality of a state. Therefore the responsibility for creating legislation, and the administration of education, science and culture, lies with the Länder, and they are able to enact legislation in these areas independently from the Federal Government´s authority. [3]

The Länder have power specifically in relation to general continuing education, continuing education related to school leaving certificates, continuing vocational education at trade and technical schools and continuing academic education, as well as some areas of continuing political education. On the other hand the Federation is responsible for continuing vocational education outside of the school sector, for research into continuing education, and for issues relating to continuing education statistics. In other words, for areas which affect issues across the Länder. [4]

For other issues seen as ‘cross-regional´, which affect various Länder, the Federal Government can work with the Länder to agree on the promotion of research, and in assessing how effective programmes are. However, Länder can still choose to deviate from federal legislation.

The collaboration which then becomes necessary between the Federation and the Länder when they need to agree on joint aims and roles within education takes place in various different bodies. Namely these are the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of the Länder (KMK) and, until 2007, in the Bund-Länder Commission for Educational Planning and Research Promotion (BLK), which was replaced by the Joint Science Conference (GWK) as part of the reform of Germany´s federal structure. Collaboration in the Standing Conference of Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs (KMK) is a crucial element in the comparable development of education within and between the Länder. [5]

Federal Law

On a Federal level the key ministry is the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), which is organised into eight Directorates-Generals, each of which has a different area of responsibility. The Directorates-General 3 is the one responsible for Vocational Training and Lifelong Learning, and is sub-divided into these Directorates.

- Directorate 31 is "Vocational Training", concerning both training and training places, including the development of new training, and the modernisation of existing training. Regulation of qualifications in this area is also an important task of the Directorate. This includes the Vocational Training Act and the Upgrading Training Assistance Act. There is an annual Report on Vocational Education, which documents the development of both initial and continuing vocational training throughout Germany.

- Directorate 32 deals with the areas of lifelong learning, educational research and continuing education. Cross-sector topics, including cultural education and new media in education are also developed within this Directorate. The Directorate also manages an extensive national day school programme, and monitors international benchmark studies (e.g. PISA). The national education report is issued jointly by the Federal Government through the Directorate, and the Länder. [6]

Other key legislation includes the ‘Concept for Lifelong Learning´, which was approved on the 23rd April 2008. The Concept is connected to the various measures which have been introduced under the Federal Government's Qualification Initiative. These include:

• Measures to improve educational opportunities for children under six years of age,

• An extensive range of measures to improve vocational training,

• Facilitating the transition from school to higher education,

• Drawing more attention to technology and the natural sciences, and

• Improving opportunities for women. [7]

Legislation in the Länder

At the level of the Länder, their own individual continuing education laws are clearly particularly important. These laws outline the basic conditions which govern the level of public-sector support, and perhaps most importantly define continuing education as an area of education in its own right. They also support the existence of establishments which provide education, for instance by outlining a state recognition for them. They contain rules on the curriculum, required qualifications for teachers and the level of access for differing groups in the community.

The legal situation concerning the Länder changed in 2006 with the amendment of the Basic Law, reforming the federal structure. After this point the task of planning education was no longer a joint task between the Länder and the central Federation, and a new way of determining the performance levels of education was created, based on international standards. Therefore after the reform, the Länder´s responsibilities in the area of education were strengthened significantly. Part of the current structure is now the Joint Science Conference (GWK), which was formed in 2008, to help the Federation and the Länder strengthen their co-operation and achieve joint goals. Key amendments were also introduced with regard to the labour market policy, which has strengthened the way that continuing vocational training is promoted. [8]

Future trends/key concerns/directions

One interesting discussion within continuing education in Germany over the past years has been concerned with the trend towards breaking down the boundaries of ‘work´ and ‘life´, or ‘vocational´ and ‘general´ education. It is somehow no longer seen as modern or desirable to see life divided into these two distinct areas, which is moving the sector towards a more holistic or flexible way of approaching adult education. The distinction remains, however, within the legislative framework where federal responsibility lies with employment and vocational law, where as the cultural and general education with the Länder. More than this, there is also a perceived functional difference between ‘vocational´ and ‘general´ continuing education, which are seen to provide different benefits and interests. This conflict may create an interesting discussion over the coming years, and also may suggest a direction that the field will be moving towards in the future. [9] This is perhaps particualry relevant especially in the field of civic education as non-vocational education faces heavy financial cuts in the years 2011-2014, as the budget of the Federal Agency for civic education is constantly being reduced.

As mentioned in the previous section, the Federal Government approved the Concept for Lifelong Learning on 23 April 2008. Although now a few years old, the concept was based on the finding that participation in continuing education in Germany was low by international comparison, particularly with those who have a low qualification level. It set targets (to be achieved by 2015) for the participation levels of continuing education, particularly related to those with low qualification levels, and participation in informal learning. It outlined a basic structure for these achievements, including:

* Strengthening motivation to take part in educational activities,

* Facilitating access to continuing education,

* Improving the range of continuing education schemes,

* Increasing flexibility and integration between individual educational sectors,

* Improving social integration through education and the promotion of learning in civil society, and

* Intensifying knowledge and insights into the processes and effects of lifelong learning.

In this way we can see a direction towards which Germany is aiming to progress over the coming years. [10]

References

With contributions from Georg Pirker, and AdB: Association of German Educational Organisations

[1] UNESCO Confintea VI National Report Germany, http://www.unesco.org/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/INSTITUTES/UIL/confintea/pdf/National_Reports/Europe%20-%20North%20America/Germany_Final__German_English_29102008.pdf

and

Federal Ministry of Education and Research, ‘Staff and Organisation´ http://www.bmbf.de/en/5625.php, accessed May 2011

[2] The Federal Ministry of Education and Research Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (BMBF), 2008. Status of Recognition of non-formal and informal learning in Germany within the framework of the OECD activity "Recognition of non-formal and informal Learning"

[3] The Federal Ministry of Education and Research Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (BMBF), 2008. Status of Recognition of non-formal and informal learning in Germany within the framework of the OECD activity "Recognition of non-formal and informal Learning"

[4] UNESCO Confintea VI National Report Germany, http://www.unesco.org/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/INSTITUTES/UIL/confintea/pdf/National_Reports/Europe%20-%20North%20America/Germany_Final__German_English_29102008.pdf

[5] UNESCO Confintea VI National Report Germany, http://www.unesco.org/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/INSTITUTES/UIL/confintea/pdf/National_Reports/Europe%20-%20North%20America/Germany_Final__German_English_29102008.pdf

and

Federal Ministry of Education and Research, ‘Staff and Organisation´ http://www.bmbf.de/en/5625.php, accessed May 2011

[6] Federal Ministry of Education and Research, ‘Staff and Organisation´ http://www.bmbf.de/en/5625.php, accessed May 2011

[7] Federal Ministry of Education and Research, 08.12.2008, ‘Lifelong learning´, http://www.bmbf.de/en/lebenslangeslernen.php, accessed May 2011

[8] UNESCO Confintea VI National Report Germany, http://www.unesco.org/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/INSTITUTES/UIL/confintea/pdf/National_Reports/Europe%20-%20North%20America/Germany_Final__German_English_29102008.pdf

[9] The Federal Ministry of Education and Research Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung (BMBF), 2008. Status of Recognition of non-formal and informal learning in Germany within the framework of the OECD activity "Recognition of non-formal and informal Learning

[10] Federal Ministry of Education and Research, 08.12.2008, ‘Lifelong learning´, http://www.bmbf.de/en/lebenslangeslernen.php, accessed May 2011