Instruction for Mathematics and Science in Primary and Lower Secondary Grades
Grade at Which Specialist Teachers for Mathematics and Science are Introduced
Teachers in primary schools are expected to teach in all major subject areas (German, mathematics, and Sachunterricht), even if they did not receive specialized training in these subjects. At the secondary school level, specialist teachers teach mathematics and science subjects at the Gymnasium and the Realschule but not necessarily at the other types of schools. In 2011, 52.4 percent of all primary school students in Germany attended mathematics classes taught by teachers with a university degree in mathematics,29 and 62.1 percent attended science classes taught by teachers with a university degree in science.30
Instructional Materials, Equipment, and Laboratories
The Ministry of Education and Cultural Affairs for each state is responsible for the approval of instructional materials.
Generally speaking, mathematics and science classroom equipment and materials vary depending on school policy and teacher commitment. Laboratories are rare in primary schools; approximately 13 percent of German primary schools that participated in TIMSS 2011 reported having a laboratory.31 At the secondary level, laboratories are more common; 71 percent of German secondary school principals who participated in PISA 2012 (Programme for International Student Assessment) reported little or no shortages or inadequacies of science laboratory equipment.32
Use of Technology
Results from ICILS 2013 showed on average that school principals reported that the ratio of students to computers is approximately 11.5 to 1, and approximately 17.2 percent of schools have computers in most classrooms.33,34
The national education standards include broad statements regarding information technology and media literacy, but there is no national policy regulating the use of technologies in mathematics and science education, such as calculators, computers, and tablets. In most states, the mathematics curriculum includes broad guidelines regarding the use of calculators. In North Rhine-Westphalia, students use technology in moderation as long as it does not undermine the pedagogical objectives of the curriculum; students use calculators in moderation beginning in the fourth grade. Policy documents increasingly emphasize new media (multimedia) as a teaching aid, as a subject, and as a student skill objective. Some states, such as North Rhine-Westphalia, have introduced Media as Sources of Information as a separate content area in the Sachunterricht curriculum at the primary level.
Accommodation Policies for Instruction and Testing
Generally speaking, parents of children with disabilities can petition to have their children attend their local school, and their petition may be granted if the particular institution is capable of providing the necessary special education support, and if the premises are suitable. Parents of children with disabilities have the option of sending their children to any school that offers special education support (Foerderschulen). However, there has been a steady increase in the proportion of primary school students with disabilities participating in inclusive education classrooms at their local primary school, mirrored by a decrease in enrollment at special needs schools (taking North Rhine-Westphalia as an example).35,36
In Germany, victims of political prosecution have a constitutional right to asylum.37 In light of recent global and regional political upheaval, as well as the entry of new member states into the European Union, Germany has been the destination of a substantial number of asylum seekers and other mobile populations. For example, compared to all other EU states in 2014, Germany received the greatest number of asylum applications (four times as many as in 2011 with 203,000 applications compared to 81,000 in Sweden, the member state with the second-most applications) and granted asylum to the largest number of applicants (48,000).38 In North Rhine-Westphalia, where school-age children with asylum are required to attend school, specialized educational programs are being offered increasingly. These include services not only to help children and youth enter the German education system, such as integration centers (Integrationstellen, numbering more than 3,000) and preparation and international courses (Vorbereitungsklassen, Auffangklassen), but also to help teachers and school leaders create pedagogically welcoming spaces.39