Anna Gallagher

UW Honors Program, Re-enacting German and American Identities

Summer A Term, 2015

The Difference in Heads:

Minority Students & the German School System
Abstract

Greater levels of globalization facilitate the movement of individuals across national boundaries, bringing

immigration to the forefront of societal conversations regarding education, economics, and politics. Immigration

adds complexity to transnational and national issues, as migration is more than just a movement of individuals.

Migration is a diffusion of language, religion, social values, foods, political beliefs, and economic systems.

After World War II, Germany rebuilt itself economically, politically, and socially. Immigrants played a key role in

the re-imaging of Germany. Economically, immigrants filled the demand for labor, in short supply after war

casualties. Politically, immigrants presented a new challenge for the nation-state: how to deal with ethnically

non-German individuals trying to carve out new lives for themselves in Germany. In schools, the children of

immigrants challenged traditional notions of German education as they brought to the classroom new languages,

religions, and values.

Today, Germany continues to struggle with immigration policy. As part of the European Union, Germany must

consider not only its best interests with respect to immigration but also those of its partner nations. Although

immigrants play a crucial role in Germanys society and economy, discrimination against immigrants in German

schools and the German labor market has resulted in unequal education and job opportunities for immigrants. This

group research project seeks to explore the complexities and realities of life for immigrants in Germany.

Question

This paper examines the educational experiences of migrant background students in German schools in the

attempt to answer: Are Germanys migrant background students being served by German schools? Secondary

research questions include: Are German primary school teachers trained to teach migrant background students?
What challenges do migrant background students face in Germanys schools? Ultimately this paper seeks to

answer: How could German schools better serve migrant background students?

An Introduction to the German Education System

Germanys education system is decentralized meaning each independent German state, or Lnder, determines its

own education policy. While regional differences do exist in funding and tracking policies, most German states have

similar school structures, use similar curriculums, and require similar teaching credentials. Across the country,

German children are required to begin their formal education at the age of six. However most children attend some

form of daycare or preschool prior to this age. Children enter Grundschule to attend grades 1-4, or in Berlin grades

1-6. At the end of their primary education, German children are tracked into one of three secondary school

institutions: Hauptschule, Realschule, or Gymnasium. A students Grundschule teacher(s) make a recommendation

for where that child should be placed and largely teachers recommendations are honored. However it is ultimately

the decision of the students parents to select where their child will pursue his/her secondary education.

Hauptschule is the lowest of the three German tracks. It offers students a practical education to prepare students for a

vocational apprenticeship. In most German states Hauptschule is offered for grades 5-9. Realschule, Germanys

middle track, typically includes grades 5-10. It offers students a more advanced general education that may lead

either to an apprenticeship or the transition into Germanys highest track, Gymnasium. Gymnasium is meant to

prepare students for university and includes grades 5-13. After graduating from Gymnasium, students receive

Abitur, a special diploma necessary to pursue university studies (An Overview of the German System of

Education).

This tripartite tracking system has existed in Germany since the 1950s with few reforms. However in 2000, the

results of the PISA, an international test of academic ability and critical thinking, placed Germany at the bottom of

all industrial nations. Germans were understandably horrified by this news and much debate ensued over how the

education system must be reformed, the biggest reform of this time being the transition to all-day schools. By 2006,

Germanys overall performance had improved on the PISA however new information was reported that of all the
nations participating in PISA, German students had the highest correlation between their social-economic

background and their performance. Stated differently, a students social-economic background could reliably predict

their academic performance as measured by the PISA. After this finding was reported, the UN launched a Human

Rights investigation. The UN Inspector found that Germanys school system excludes children from poor families

and immigrant backgrounds (Andell, 2008).

This paper will explore the many challenges migrant background students face in Berlins secondary schools and

how students may be excluded. For the purposes of this paper, a person with a migrant background is defined

as:

1) S
omeone not born in Germany that migrated to Germany in 1950 or later

2) A
person that does not have German citizenship

3) A
person who has one or both parents that fulfill one of the above criteria.

Increasing Diversity in German Schools

Johann Friedrich Herbart, a German philosopher and educator of the early 19th century, said the greatest challenge

educators face is the difference in heads or meeting the diverse needs of a diverse student group (OECD, 2010).

Today, German schools are more diverse than ever before. In 2005 Germany was officially declared a nation of

immigration. However Germany has been a migration site for persecuted and oppressed peoples for centuries. In the

1950s and 1960s Germanys guest worker policies, encouraged Central and Eastern European workers to come to

Germany to rebuild the country after the devastation of World War II. Finding greater opportunity in Germany,

many guest workers chose to stay in Germany. When Germany was reunified in 1990, its economy crashed.

Unemployment was rampant in both West and East Germany. German-born citizens and immigrants competed for

few available jobs, spurring hatred and intense racism. Although the economy recovered, hostility towards

immigrant groups has unfortunately remained in Germany as evidenced by the Pegida movement that took root in

Dresden in 2014.
Today seven percent of Germanys population speaks a language other than German as their first language. Turkish

is the most common minority language with over 1.8 million speakers. In fact 3 million Germans have origins in

Turkey. German classrooms, especially in the capital of Berlin, reflect the growing diversity of the German

population as 30% of students in Germany have a migration background and in Berlin the figures are much higher

(Crutchfield).

Research Methods

For this research project I conducted school visits, spoke with and attended presentations from education and

diversity experts, and interviewed current Humboldt students that had attended secondary school in Berlin.

The first school I visited was the Heinrich-von-Stephan Schule in Berlin. Karin Jaeger, one of the schools most

highly regarded teachers, gave a brief presentation on her school and described some of the new movements the

school has embraced including project learning, whole-person education, and allowing teachers greater autonomy. I

then sat in on two classes at the school. The first was a history class of older students, 16 and 17 years old. The day

of our visit the students were learning about the French Revolution. During my visit I observed students

interactions, the teachers interactions with her students, and I looked at the classroom materials including the

textbook, other books present in the class, the various classroom posters, and the technology present in the

classroom.

After visiting the first class, Karinne, a fellow UW student, and I had lunch with some of the schools younger

students and Ms. Jaeger. During lunch I was able to have some short conversations with students. I also observed

how the students interacted with each other. Many students at the time were fasting in celebration of Ramadan. I

took note of where and with whom students were sitting.

The second class I visited at this school was an upper-secondary English class. During the class period, the teacher

invited his students to ask Karinne and I questions about life in the U.S. and current topics of debate including gun
control and police brutality. I took note of what topics the students were interested in and any comparisons the

students made to life in Germany, especially with regards to race relations.

The second school I visited was the Leibniz Gymnasium in Kreuzberg. After a brief introduction to the school, I had

the opportunity to speak with some of the students. Karinne and I conducted an informal interview with two students

that have a migration background. We asked if they view their school as diverse, if racism is present in their

school, if teachers understand and value their students unique cultures, and then discussed what makes a good

teacher. I tried to pay attention not only to what the students were saying but also their tone and body language as

they discussed this difficult topic. At this school I also had the opportunity to ask questions of three of the schools

teachers. Two of the teachers were quite new to the school while the third teacher had been teaching at the school for

many years. The teachers represented different departments including biology, history, and debate. In conversation

with these teachers I asked if they received any specific training to teach language minority students, how these

teachers address the diverse needs of their diverse student population, if students are given the opportunity to share

their home culture with their peers and teachers, and what parent/family relationships look like at this school.

The third school I visited was an integrated secondary school called the Ferdinand-Freiligrath-Schule. Here, Karinne

and I had the opportunity to observe a mixed age classroom with 10 students. Again I took note of how the teacher

interacted with her students, how students interacted with each other, what the classroom included in respect to

educational materials, technology, and art, and what was most valued in the classroom. While in this class, I had the

opportunity to speak briefly with some of the students about the various art projects they were working on and what

their hopes are for the future.

After seeing several classrooms for myself, I grew curious what those who had been through the German education

system thought. I conducted three informal interviews with current Humboldt University students who had attended

secondary school in Berlin. Two of the three interviewees were young men and one of the three interviewees was a

young woman. I did not ask these students about their personal background except to inquire whether or not they
were current Humboldt students and whether or not they had attended secondary school in Berlin. The questions I

asked these three students included:

1. W
as diversity present in your secondary school classroom?

2. W
as diversity discussed in your classrooms?

3. D
o you think your teachers addressed the diversity of cultures present in your classroom?

4. D
o you think minority students are being served in Germanys schools? Why or why not?

I allowed my interviewees to direct much of our conversation and asked follow up questions in response to their

initial answers.

To inform my research, I also met with several experts in education and diversity. Professor Dr. Stephan Breidbach

is a professor of English at Humboldt University. His research concerns language policy, education theory, and

foreign language teaching. I met Professor Breidbach during his office hour for an informal interview. The questions

I asked Professor Breidbach included:

1. How are teachers trained to teach language minority students in Berlin?

2. What discussions, if any, about race & diversity are occurring in German classrooms? In what context do these

discussions occur?

3. How do you think German schools could better serve language minority students?

Given Professor Breidbachs expertise in linguistics and bilingual education, our talk shifted to these topics over the

course of our discussion.

I was fortunate that a talk by Dr. Viola Georgi of the University of Hildesheim was scheduled as part of our official

program. Dr. Georgi spoke on education and migration on Germany. She discussed the history of German migration,

the politics surrounding it, Germanys great diversity today, and how this diversity has impacted the educational

system. She presented several of the challenges migration background students face including a lack of bilingual

education teachers or programs, lack of mother tongue instruction, disproportional placement in Germanys lowest

tracks, and educational materials that negatively portray migration.

A second scheduled component of the program was a presentation by the Junge Islam Konferenz. This organization

hosts four to five day conferences for young people to discuss the perceptions and stereotypes of Muslims around

the world. Through its work, this organization strives to abolish prejudices against all peoples. In their presentation,

Robin Laumann and Marett Klahn from the Junge Islam Konferenz discussed how stereotypes, especially of Muslim

students, impact their relationships with teachers and may impede their educational success. Robin and Marett ended

their presentation by detailing how they believe inequalities can be abolished through changes in education policy.

It was of course a great asset to have Manka Varghese as one of the program coordinators. Dr. Varghese focuses her

research and work at the University of Washington on language minority teacher education and the relationship

between immigration and schooling. Last Spring I took Dr. Vargheses class, Teaching the Bilingual/Bicultural

Student which introduced me to many of the challenges language minority students face in schools. While in

Berlin, Dr. Varghese conducted a class on immigration and schooling, which focused on the changing immigration

and citizenship laws in Germany as well as recent reform movements in the German education system.

To complete my research, I also read a selection of texts on the history and structure of Germanys education

system, the history of migration in Germany, and various studies regarding the challenges migrant background

students face in schools.

After gathering this information, I spent some time synthesizing what I had learned. Below I present my findings.

Current Challenges for Migrant Background Students

Untrained Teachers

To become a secondary school teacher in Germany, one must complete 5 to 6 years of university studies with

specializations in at least two subjects and complete a 2-year practical training in the classroom (Teacher Education

in United Kingdom and Germany). Despite the length and rigor of teacher preparation in Germany, few universities

offer classes in multicultural education or diversity training. One teacher I spoke with at the Leibniz Gymnasium

believes that courses for teaching language minority students have only emerged in the last 5 to 6 years.
Teacher preparation programs expect teachers to gain fluency in English and know some French and Latin. However

these languages are not the mother tongue languages of most of their minority students. When teachers do not have

fluency in their students mother tongue language, the teaching strategies they can employ in the classroom are

restricted and school/family relationships are impeded. Furthermore students are sent a message that their language

and culture is not worthy of study.

Lack of Migration Background Teachers

Teachers in Germany are not reflective of their students. While 30% of students have a migration background,

only 5% of teachers claim a migration background (Georgi, 2015). Unfortunately this figure is not surprising

given that so few migrant background students make it to university where they have the opportunity to pursue a

career in teaching. Muslim women are further deterred from a career in teaching because less than half of citizens 25

and over think Muslim teachers should be able to wear the hijab while teaching (Laumann & Klahn, 2015).

When an individual with a migration background does pursue a career in teaching, they are expected to bring

ethnic expertise to their school. Often they are tasked with translating and communicating with a whole

community of families, well beyond those of just their students (Georgi, 2015). While they may or may not have

language skills, it is unfair to assign one teacher this huge role.

Inequities in the German Tracking System

The German education system is marked by a strict tracking system. Unfortunately migration background students

are disproportionately placed in Germanys lowest tracks. This may be because students, who speak a language

other than German as their first language, are still continuing to develop their German language skills. In fact 60%

of students in Germanys lowest track, Hauptschule, are language minority students. As a result of low tracking,

only 3.3% of language minority students ultimately go to university (Crutchfield).

Stereotypes
A major challenge that many migrant background students face is stereotypes. This is especially true for Muslim

students. There are 2 million Muslims living in Germany under the age of 25. The German media has played a large

role in creating perceptions of the Muslim population as a security risk. German Muslims are often unfairly

associated with extremist, terrorist groups. This has led 53% of the German population to view Islam as an

antidemocratic religion that is incapable of existing in Germany (Laumann & Klahn, 2015). Unfortunately these

stereotypes follow Muslim students into the school space as well. One secondary school teacher at the Leibniz

Gymnasium told me that there is a stereotype that male Turkish students will be disrespectful to their female

teachers. While this is pure myth, it unfortunately may influence how a teacher views and treats some of her

students. One male student I talked to with origins in Turkey talked to me about being hated by a teacher. He

attributed this teachers hatred in part to his Turkish background. Given Germanys strict tracking system, discussed

above, teachers perceptions of their students are critically important for their secondary school recommendations.

Stereotypes may lead teachers to undervalue a students merits and ultimately recommend a lower track than their

accomplishments deserve.

Educational Materials

In recent years, several studies have been conducted on the material presented in German textbooks. One such study

found that migration, when discussed in textbooks, is almost always connected to problems or conflicts. It is

portrayed as something extreme and unusual. Furthermore this same study found that texts use the terminology

foreigner, stranger, and immigrant interchangeably. The discussion questions that follow such passages ask

questions largely from a majority perspective and do not consider the experiences and struggles of the immigrants

(Georgi, 2015).

Cornelsen is one of Germanys largest publishing groups. In 2001 it published a German grammar book with some

arguably very racist content. In a sentence structure example, the book describes the discovery of strange people

in Africa. The next example states for a long time Africa remained the dark, undiscovered continent. The negative

and backwards portrayal of Africa in this text could be very harmful to German students who identify as having

origins in Africa (Marmer).

Another recent textbook published by Cornelsen is Die Islamische Welt und Europa. Despite its focus on the

current status of the Middle East and Middle Eastern relations, the textbooks cover hosts a drawing of a Bazaar that

might be an accurate depiction of life in the Middle East hundreds of years ago but today simply portrays Islamic

culture as backward and totally foreign (Laumann and Klahn, 2015).

What may be most shocking is that in Germany there is no private textbook industry. These texts were approved by

officials.

A further issue is that there are few textbook authors with migration backgrounds even though nearly a third of

students reading these texts have a migration background.

Discussions on Diversity

I was curious if, and to what extent, diversity is being talked about and addressed in German classrooms. The

secondary school students I interviewed said that diversity is only discussed in language and history classes. The

students mentioned that in history classes diversity is discussed especially in regards to World War II and the

Holocaust. However this seems to imply that tragedies and problems surrounding diverse populations are a thing of

the past in Germany when in fact populations still face oppression. It is also troubling that in language classes

diversity is discussed as it relates to global diversity and differing cultures around the world, rather than the distinct

and numerous cultures one could find in any Berlin classroom. The students also mentioned that there is one day a

year in schools dedicated to being nice to other nations. Again this doesnt begin to address the diversity present

within German borders today.

One secondary school teacher I interviewed said that she avoids the topic of diversity in her classroom because she

does not want to point out the differences amongst her students. She said her students with migration backgrounds

view themselves as German and talking about their Turkish roots, for example, would only make them feel

othered.
In my interviews with current Humboldt University students, I learned that diversity was only discussed in these

students secondary schools when there were problems or misunderstandings. When I asked for examples of

such instances, one male student described a time in 8th grade when two Turkish girls arrived at school with signs

that said All Germans are sons of Hitler. I found it interesting that the example this student gave of a problem

related to diversity was one of the majority being wronged rather than what surely must be countless instances of

the minority suffering. It remains unclear whether the refusal to address the difficult topic of increasing diversity in

German schools is hurting or aiding students.

Repression of Culture

Not only do students not have the opportunity to learn about and explore their heritage culture, schools and

government institutions actively work to discourage cultural identification. All new German immigrants are required

to complete integration classes, which include German language and history instruction. German laws and policies

make it clear that immigrants are meant to blend in to Germanys culture, leaving their own behind. At Herbert

Hoover secondary school, where 90% of students have a migration background and most a mother tongue other

than German, a ban on speaking Turkish and other languages was implemented. This policy earned the school the

German National Prize and $94,000 by the National German Foundation (Crutchfield).

Are German schools serving migrant background students?

One of the questions I hoped to answer through my research was Are German schools serving migrant

background students? Overwhelmingly I have found that they are not. Minority students attend schools where they

face unfair stereotypes from their teachers and peers, where teachers are unprepared to address the great diversity

present in their classrooms, where textbooks present a narrow, one-dimensional view of history, and where students

access to higher education is limited by all the aforementioned challenges. Many of those I spoke with in Berlin

agree. One female Humboldt University student tellingly said that there are equal conditions (for students) but

maybe not equal opportunity.

Looking Forward

It is clear that German schools are not serving migrant background students. Although some reforms have been

made in recent years to address the needs of this student group, more must be done so that every child residing in

Germany has access to a great education. First and foremost, Germanys teachers, current and future, must receive

cultural competency training. All teacher education programs should address topics including diversity, identity,

democracy, and intercultural communication. Training in foreign languages and study abroad experience should also

be a component of every teacher education program. Teachers should be prepared to host dynamic conversations

about diversity in their classrooms. Furthermore, Germany must actively recruit and train teachers that have a

migration background so that students can see themselves and their community represented in school leadership.

Educational materials, including textbooks, must also be modified to be more objective and present not only a

majority perspective. This can be accomplished by setting strict standards for national approval. The German

tracking system has prohibited migration background students from reaching their full academic potential.

Germanys tracking system must be re-evaluated and reformed so that migration background students are fairly

represented in each of Germanys three tracks. Finally, the families of migration background students should be

welcomed into the school space. One teacher I spoke with at Leibniz Gymnasium discussed his idea of showing his

school to the mothers of his migration background students over the summer. This would allow them to see what

school life looks like in Germany and demonstrate that they are a welcome part of the school community. With these

reforms, migration background students will have the opportunity to reach their full academic potential and

Germany will prosper as a result.

References

"An Overview of the German System of Education." The Educational System in Germany. N.p., n.d. Web.
<http://facstaff.bloomu.edu/lspringm/resources/schulsystem.html>.

Andell, K. A country divided: A study of the German education system. (2008)

Crutchfield, Anne. Language Minority Education Policy: Turkish Immigrant Pupils in Germany.

Georgi, Viola, Dr. "Education & Migration." Humboldt University, Berlin. 30 June 2015. Lecture.

Laumann, Robin, and Marett Klahn. "JIK Meets the University of Washington." Berlin. 1 July 2015. Lecture.
Marmer, Elina et al. (2010): Racism and the Image of Africa in German Schools and Textbooks.
http://www.zef.de/module/register/media/a992_MarmerSowRacismant
heImageofAfricainGermanSchoolsandTextbooks.pdf

McGraw, Barry, and Denise Lievesley. "Literacy Skills for the World of Tomorrow- Further Results from PISA
2000." (2003): n. pag. Web.
<http://www.oecd.org/edu/school/programmeforinternationalstudentassessmentpisa/33690591.pdf>.

OECD. Educating Teachers for Diversity: Meeting the Challenge. Paris: OECD, 2010.

Sliwka, Anne. "From Homogeneity to Diversity in German Education." Educating Teachers for Diversity: Meeting
the Challenge. Paris: OECD, 2010. N. pag. Web.

"Teacher Education in United Kingdom and Germany." Humboldt University, n.d. Web. 03 June 2015.
<https://www.sprachenzentrum.hu-berlin.de/de/studium_und_lehre/studentische_beitraege/education_in_britain_and
_germany/katja1.html>.