Education In Germany Since Unification

This volume is concerned with aspects of education in Germany over the 10 years prior to 2000, focusing on schools, teachers, vocational training and higher education in those eastern parts of the Federal Republic which formerly constituted the territory of the German Democratic Republic. The articles deal with notions of transition and adaptation at a time of considerable upheaval and rapid change. There is a particular focus in some contributions on the problems involved in conducting research on the views of teachers involved in complex processes of adjustment to a new status quo.

Originally published in 1995. This study of the integration of East and West German education following the collapse of the German Democratic Republic in 1989 focuses on policy formation and implementation during this period of great social and political turbulence. It is the result of a research project undertaken shortly after the unification. The authors lived in East Germany for a full year, looking carefully at individual schools, vocational training centers, teacher colleges, and universities. The book considers questions of how education policy is successfully formulated, conditions in which that policy is implemented and the consequences of the implemented educational reform. The first chapters present the context and history of German education and the later chapters discuss the unification and the formation of the new school laws and the successes and failures. The authors' research shows that even before the unification East Germans had already opted for a system consistent with West German education law. However, the West Germans disregarded these changes and imposed their own version of reform on East Germany. The German situation at this time is of great interest to all educators, particularly students of educational policy making, as well as researchers in political science, economics, and sociology.

After the unification of Germany had first been greeted with euphoria on both sides of the Wall, it did not take long for disillusion to set in when it became obvious that structures, mentality, values and outlook were very different in the Old and New Bundesländer. Moreover, whereas during the initial phase the East Germans were hoping just for a reform of their existing systems, they were soon disappointed and had to accept the fact that a fusion was out of the question; instead, East German structures were expected to assimilate to those of West Germany which led to the accusation of the latter's "colonization" of East Germany. The restructuring of the education system played a crucial role in the transformation of East Germany; consequently, enormous sums were pumped into East German schools and the training of teachers. This is the first study in any language that closely examines the process re-education and addresses such vital questions as whether the reforms were educationally sound, to what degree they meshed with local circumstances, what measures were taken to fill the vacuum in moral and social values that was left by the discrediting of Marxism-Leninism, and what happened to the notion of "equality", the key principle of a socialist society. Contrasting the old and the new regime in the East, the author addresses these and many more critical issues. Numerous case studies and substantial interview material richly illustrate the author's arguments.

This study of the integration of East and West German education following the collapse of the German Democratic Republic in 1989 focuses on policy formation and implementation during this period of great social and political turbulence. It is the result of a research project undertaken shortly after the unification. The authors lived in East Germany for a full year, looking carefully at individual schools, vocational training centers, teacher colleges, and universities. They asked macro analytic questions: What are the conditions in which educational policy is successfully formulated? How is this educational policy implemented? What are the consequences of this policy? From the start, West Germany demanded a complete dismantling of the educational system in the former German Democratic Republic. West German political leaders insisted as a condition of unification that all important agreements concerning education made by the GDR states be accepted by the new states. The authors' research shows that even before the unification East Germans had already opted for a system consistent with West German education law. However, the West Germans disregarded these changes and imposed their own version of reform on East Germany. The study reveals that in this period of confusion the East Germans did not fully analyze the implications of the imposed conditions, which now have unforeseen negative consequences. The German situation is of great interest to all educators, particularly students of educational policy making, as well as researchers in political science, economics, and sociology.

Provides an account of the nature and extent of changes in East Germany's economy and political system and their impact on aspects of education including governance, curriculum, structure, and teaching. Subjects include curriculum reform, the democratization of schools, and the politics of higher education. Contains a glossary of German terms and diagrams of East and West German school systems. Of interest to educational practitioners, policy makers, and researchers, as well as students of recent history. Annotation copyright by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

Regimes of Twentieth-Century Germany is a concise theory of and empirical study on action consciousness as an integral dimension of historical consciousness with specific emphasis on National Socialist Germany and the German Democratic Republic.

Pia Nicoletta Blossfeld provides a long-term longitudinal analysis of the stepwise changes in transitions over the educational careers in East and West Germany using data from the National Educational Panel Study (NEPS). She examines how far reforms aimed to increase the permeability in the German educational system have changed the movements of children, adolescents and young adults in Germany since the last four decades. Her book contributes to the literature of educational sociology by studying the associations between various resources of family background and respondent’s educational histories until final educational attainment. A novelty of her book is the analysis of the role of intercohort changes in social background composition on final educational attainment.

This unique and comprehensive collection brings together material from leading German scholars to examine the role of sport and PE in Germany from a range of historical and contemporary perspectives.