IW Education Monitor | German schools in decline

Going public is somewhat reminiscent of sounding the alarm. The German Economic Institute (IW) criticized the renewed decline in performance in German schools on Sunday. The integration of children from immigrant families, in particular, poses challenges for the school system. This is one of the key findings of the institute's annual Education Monitor, which will be presented in two weeks.

Study author Axel Plünnecke sees 2015 as a turning point in educational policy: "Schools had improved until 2015, but worse after that." He cites the increased influx of refugees as the main cause, for which the school system was unprepared . "More children are inherently a benefit for the country," Plünnecke explained to "Welt am Sonntag." "But in 2015, the school system was overwhelmed; no quick answers were found to the challenges posed by the increased refugee migration."

This already tense situation has been further exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic. It has created educational gaps and led to motivational problems. In addition to the pandemic-related learning deficits, Plünnecke also criticizes the use of smartphones. Their constant use often leads to concentration problems, he says. Children are unable to adequately process what they have learned.

Some federal states, such as Bavaria, Schleswig-Holstein, and Hesse, have now responded to smartphone use by banning their use in schools. Several other states plan to follow suit.

Gerhard Brand, chairman of the Association for Education and Training (VBE), also recognizes structural problems in schools: "After the PISA shock in 2000, we managed to achieve slowly and steadily better results," Brand outlined the development of the learning assessments to the "nd" newspaper. "The education system was on the up. However, the structural problem of the dependence of educational success on the parents' home was not seriously addressed."

Brand furthers this assessment by looking back to 2015, when rapid solutions to complex challenges were needed: "The arrivals had to be cared for and integrated into schools. The education system was unprepared for a task of this magnitude in such a short time." The Expert Council on Integration and Migration estimates that around 130,000 refugee children and young people entered the school system between January 2015 and March 2018.

Brand explained that it was primarily thanks to the commitment of teachers and school administrators, school social workers, and educators that the school system functioned despite the miserable conditions. "We consistently pointed out how things could be done differently, what support teachers needed. But politicians relied on the schools to get it done." Even though everyday life in the classroom or learning group could be maintained, this did not go smoothly, the association president concluded. The result was corresponding losses in performance comparisons.

Anja Bensinger-Stolze of the education union GEW also underscores this criticism of the staff shortage. In the years after 2015, she explained to the "nd" newspaper, there was a shortage of "teachers qualified in German as a second language or German as a foreign language, as well as school social workers and school psychologists." She sees this as the main reason "that these girls and boys often could not receive the support they needed."

In response to these persistent deficits, governments introduced the Start Opportunities program last year. The federal and state governments are jointly investing €20 billion over ten years to support schools with many socially disadvantaged students.

Despite this multi-million-dollar initiative, the situation remains tense, according to union member Bensinger-Stolze: "The increased numbers resulting from refugee migration from Ukraine are still being met by insufficient resources in schools." Despite the Start Opportunities program, there is still a lack of qualified teachers and binding standards for welcome classes, according to education unions.

A trend reversal may be noticeable in the use of mobile phones in class, but not yet in the integration of refugee children and young people.