AQA GCSE German Higher

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Germany’s secondary school system is complex. There are three main programs, which are studied in different types of schools: Hauptschule, Realschule, and Gymnasium. However, all, or at least two, of these programs may also be offered at the same type of school in some states (such as, for example, comprehensive schools ( Gesamtschulen), integrated secondary schools, or combined Haupt and Realschulen). In Bavaria, the Hauptschule may be called Mittelschule (middle school).

There are 10 accreditation agencies authorized by the Accreditation Council to operate in Germany. Note that agencies from other countries that are registered in the European Quality Assurance Register may be allowed to evaluate institutions and programs in Germany. Two of the agencies authorized by the Accreditation Council are headquartered in Austria and Switzerland. This section provides information on marking instructions and/or the coursework assessment task(s). It includes information that centres need to administer coursework and must be read in conjunction with the course specification. Law education is divided into two stages: an initial university program with a nominal length of five years that culminates in the first state exam in law, followed by a two-year clerkship that is accompanied by theoretical seminars and concludes with the second state exam in law ( Zweite Juristische Staatspr üfung). Bachelor of Laws and Master of Laws degrees are also awarded, but these qualifications are more geared toward business law or other specific fields, and do not grant full access to the profession. Teacher Education The language of instruction in schools is German. In higher education, the use of English is becoming increasingly common, as noted before. However, while some 13 percent of all master’s programs were taught in English in 2019, undergraduate programs and programs in professional disciplines are predominantly taught in German. Early Childhood EducationFor completed doctoral programs, a written statement indicating degree conferral – sent by the institution attended Finally, it should be noted that participation in tertiary education in Germany remains socially imbalanced in general, despite it being offered free of charge at public institutions and universities having reserved admissions quotas for students from low-income households. Consider that households with at least one parent holding a tertiary degree made up only 28 percent of the German population in 2016, but that children from these households constituted no less than 53 percent of university students. By contrast, only 30 percent of children from households where at least one parent had completed vocational education—53 percent of the population—attended university. That said, the vast majority of German students are now enrolled in bachelor and master programs, whereas other programs, including state-examined professional programs and non-Bologna compliant programs in artistic fields, make up a comparatively small percentage: In 2018, 49.6 percent of students were enrolled in bachelor programs, 28.3 percent in master programs, 5.6 percent in doctoral programs, and 16.5 percent in other types of programs. Short-cycle tertiary programs below the bachelor’s level are very uncommon in Germany. Less than 1 percent of students enroll in these types of programs compared with an average of 17 percent in other OECD countries. Credit System and Grading Scale Germany did not exist as a modern nation state until 1871, but education in the German realm has a long tradition. The Kingdom of Prussia is said to be the first country in the world that introduced free and compulsory state-run elementary education in the early 18th century. The first German university, the University of Heidelberg, was established much earlier, in 1386.

either Question 2.1 or 2.2. This question is common to Foundation tier Question 5. Question 3 (25 marks) Far more students obtain a Realschule qualification than those leaving school after Hauptschule. The number of students that only complete Hauptschule has drastically declined over the decades. In 1960, 72 percent of all students still attended Hauptschule, or an older type of school of the same level , the Volksschule. In 2017, by contrast, 34 percent attended the Gymansium, 21 percent the Realschule, and only 10 percent the Hauptschule. In general, enrollments are currently shifting strongly in favor of more integrated school forms like comprehensive Gesamtschulen. Between 2007 and 2017, the number of Haupt- and Realschulen in Germany dropped by 45 percent. Schools and universities are regulated and funded by the governments of the states (in the case of public institutions). It should be noted, however, that the federal government also provides funding for HEIs, notably in research and development, as well as funding for projects of “supra-regional importance” (such as, for example, the current digitalization effort in schools). Since the state governments are increasingly hard-pressed to support universities amid rising numbers of students, the role of the federal government in higher education funding has expanded significantly in recent years. For example, the government currently subsidizes the states with 19,000 Euros per student to create up to 760.000 additional university seats nationwide over a four-year period. This low ratio is attributable, at least in part, to Germany’s long-standing separation between academic and vocational education, with the latter absorbing many students who in other countries might pursue tertiary education. Structural differences in labor market access in certain fields also play a role: Graduates from secondary-level German vocational programs—such as nursing, for instance—can legally work as entry-level professionals. In other countries, employment in these fields typically requires a tertiary degree.Medical programs are mostly taught at medical faculties of larger universities. They last six years, divided into two years of pre-clinical studies in basic sciences and four years of clinical studies, including a one-year rotating internship at a teaching hospital during the final year. Students must sit for three state examinations at different stages of the program; passing the final one allows graduates to apply for licensure as a physician. Postgraduate education in medical specialties requires another four to seven years of clinical training, depending on the specialty. Entry-to-practice programs in dentistry and veterinary medicine last five and five and a half years, respectively, but are generally structured similarly. Critics contended that the project divided German universities into winners and losers and shifted funding priorities disproportionately toward research, thereby harming higher education in the country at large. The OECD noted in 2019 that while Germany is among the top spenders on research and development within the organization, spending per tertiary student is below the OECD average and has stagnated amid increased enrollments. Admission requirements at private universities are often less strictly tied to the final Abitur grade and may place greater emphasis on entrance exams, interviews and other criteria, although this varies by institution. Universities of Applied Sciences have lower admission requirements than universities and admit students with the Zeugnis der Fachhochschulreife. In a few states, this certificate can also provide access to regular universities. Of note, Germany suffers from a shortage of teachers, notably in the eastern part of the country. While there’s currently an ample supply of upper-secondary teachers, particularly in western states, the country will face a shortfall of between 10,000 and 26,000 elementary teachers by 2025, depending on the estimate. Growing nationwide teacher shortages are also expected in lower-secondary education, as well as in vocational schools, where some estimates forecast a gap of 60,000 teachers by 2030. There were no data for the post-pandemic 2020 summer semester available as of this writing, but it’s clear that the pandemic led to a sharp drop in the number of international students in Germany, as it did in other host countries. According to Uni-assist, Germany’s main credential evaluation agency, for instance, the number of international applications for the winter semester 2020 was down by 20 percent compared with that of the previous year. Interviews of students from India, the second-largest sending country of international students to Germany, reflect that student mobility is currently hampered by concerns about diminished employment prospects after graduation, logistical hurdles, as well as apprehensions about educational quality, given that German universities have since the pandemic switched to blended learning, combining face-to-face instruction with online courses.

In addition to such digitalization drives, the government continues to systematically promote Germany as an international science hub with large-scale funding projects, such as the so-called Excellence Strategy, which aims at ensuring that German universities are internationally oriented research institutions of global stature. As a rapidly aging society, Germany is in urgent need of immigrants to bridge its mounting shortage of skilled workers. Attracting international researchers and students to its universities is therefore viewed as a critical effort to ensure the inflow of highly skilled immigrants and sustain economic growth. However, these reforms have been sharply criticized, particularly by universities and organizations like the German Association of Engineers. The German Rectors Conference denounced the new degree names as confusing terms that obscure the distinctions between academic and practically oriented vocational education, both of which require different sets of competencies. The president of the conference argued that the new names give the false impression that vocational programs are of academic nature, particularly in other countries, where the degrees of bachelor and master are predominantly reserved for university qualifications. Indeed, the new degree names are likely to confuse some international credential evaluators. It’s the position of World Education Services that the vocational qualifications of Bachelor Professional and Master Professional are not directly comparable with academic degrees awarded by universities in the U.S. and Canadian contexts. Private higher education in Germany has been growing rapidly in the recent past, but still remains relatively insignificant in a system dominated by public providers. There are presently 117 private HEIs in Germany, including 25 universities and 91 FHs, the vast majority of them founded since the beginning of this century. However, these institutions only enrolled 246,739 students or 8.6 percent of all tertiary students in the 2018/19 academic year. In 2019, there were reportedly 177 international schools in Germany, teaching English-language curricula such as the International Baccalaureate (IB), British, or U.S. curricula to some 95,000 students, about 75 of them expat children and a quarter of them German. Most of these schools are expensive private schools with a comparatively small student body. However, there are also some public schools that offer IB programs in addition to regular German programs, enabling students to earn an IB Diploma free of charge. There were 85 IB schools in Germany in 2020. The IB is officially recognized as a university entrance qualification in Germany, as long as students study a certain combination of subjects.There are five compulsory bullet points assessed for AO2 (5 marks) and AO3 (5 marks), as specified in the criteria below. The Students typically also need to pass a final examination, which may test vocational competencies in addition to theoretical subjects. These exams are conducted by state examination bodies, or state-authorized industry associations like physician’s associations, lawyer’s associations, Chambers of Crafts ( Handwerkskammern), or Chambers of Industry and Commerce ( Industrie- und Handelskammern-IHK). There are 79 regional IHKs across Germany which conduct examinations in about 250 vocations. The final credential awarded is called the IHK- Prüfungszeugnis (IHK examination certificate). When analyzing German education, it’s important to understand that the country has a federal system of government that grants its member states a high degree of autonomy in education policy—a structure that’s not unlike the federal system of the United States. The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research in Berlin ( BMBF) has an important role in areas like funding, financial aid, and the regulation of vocational education and entry requirements in the professions. But most other aspects of education fall under the direct authority of the education ministries of the 16 individual states, called Bundesländer in German. North-Rhine Westphalia: Reverted to G9 in 2019 after initially implementing G8—individual schools may be allowed to continue G8 programs upon special application

There were no exams in 2021. The 2020-21 question paper resources are, for most subjects, modified papers which reflect the modifications put in place for session 2020-21 Admission into public universities in Germany is generally based on the final Abitur grade, which determines how fast students get admitted into their program of choice. Although all Abitur holders are eligible for admission, those with lower grades must often wait longer to enter. The way the system works is that universities consider the number of semesters that have passed since applicants graduated from upper-secondary school with each semester in waiting increasing the chances of admission. In addition to students who meet the minimum grade threshold in a given academic year, a certain number of students are admitted based on waiting periods. The length of these waiting periods varies by field of study. While programs with enough seats admit students instantaneously without delays, applicants in popular fields like medicine or law may have to wait for several years. Additional entrance requirements are relatively uncommon for students with the Abitur, but some programs also require admissions tests or demonstrated foreign language skills. The grading scale is largely consistent across public universities, even if private universities and some programs, such as law programs, use alternative scales. It ranges from 1 to 5 and is different from most numerical grading scales in that the lowest number represents the highest grade. At most institutions, a final grade average of 4.0 is required for graduation, but some universities may graduate students with a final grade of 4.3. Of note, there’s been a trend toward grade inflation in recent years. Between 2000 and 2011 alone, the number of good and very good grades awarded by German universities in final graduation exams increased by 9 percent, although it should be noted that there are significant variations in grade distributions between academic disciplines. Germany is not only one of the top five host counties of international degree students worldwide, but simultaneously the third-largest sending country of international degree-seeking students globally after China and India, according to UNESCO data. The latest available German government statistics show that 140,000 Germans studied abroad in 2017, about 90 percent of them in degree programs. This means that there are now twice as many German international students enrolled abroad as at the beginning of the century—a swift increase that was driven, in large part, by the Bologna reforms and the European internationalization paradigm of recent years. Changes like the use of a common European credit system and the splitting of Germany’s long single-tier university degrees into the Bologna two-cycle bachelor and master structure have facilitated international academic articulation and made it easier for Germans to study in other countries. What’s more, German government authorities have made it an official policy goal that 50 percent of all German students acquire some form of study abroad experience.

Elementary Education

Please see the mark scheme for more guidance on application of the assessment criteria. Paper 2: Speaking Haupt- and Realschule programs are general secondary programs, completion of which satisfies compulsory education requirements, which range from nine years to ten years of education, depending on the state. In addition, these programs generally prepare for vocational upper-secondary education, although transfer into the Gymnasium, which provides university-preparatory education, is possible as well. Hauptschule and Realschule Differentiated Higher and Foundation tier resources designed to give students the tools to apply language in different contexts, enabling them to demonstrate their knowledge and skills to the best of their ability.