Education in the German Democratic Republic
Encyclopedia
Education
in the German Democratic Republic
(East Germany) was a high priority for the communist
government, and was compulsory from age six to age seventeen.
There were state run crèches
, kindergarten
s, polytechnic schools
, extended secondary schools
, vocational training
and universities
.
As almost all East German parents (85%) worked outside of the home
, there was a significant need for adequate childcare
services. East German crèches [Kinderkrippe] were for children up to age three. Crèches often were next to the Kindergarten-building. There was even a time for young GDR women to serve or volunteer in crèches in order to bring their own children up well.
In many crèches, doctors and dentists were located to take care of the young kids. The same applied to the polytechnic schools.
As many of these crèches were built during the post-Second World War period, when many new buildings were constructed in East Germany, they were often incorporated into residential blocks so parents could pick their children up without having to travel long distances to and from home.
Many factories
and collective farms also had their own crèches.
Overall, the crèches provided places for 80% of East German children to attend, in several urban regions the coverage rate was 99%. The fee was 27.50 East German Deutschmarks per child per month for a full-day care. Most chrèches were opened 6 am to 6 pm.
s. A unique characteristic of East German kindergartens was the strong educational background of these institutions, even compared to today's kindergartens in Germany. Children from age three to six learned to interact with other children, got used to a stable daily routine and were introduced to the idea of learning
.
The children stayed together in the same group with the same group educator during the three years. The groups were called the little group (kleine Gruppe) for the young children of the age of three, the middle group (mittlere Gruppe) for the children of the age of four and the big group (große Gruppe) for the older children of the age of five.
Two times a day there were lesson-like pre school activities (Beschäftigungen) which all children had to participate in. These activities were planned by the group educator and lasted 20 minutes in the little group, 25 minutes in the middle group and 30 minutes in the big group. The contents of the activities were regulated nationwide by a uniform teaching plan and included German language and speech, children's literature, mathematics, introducation to the socialistic life (visiting factories, traffic education, cultural life, introduction to important professions), introduction to natural and scientific phenomena (weather, seasons, sky, stars, rocks etc.), music, sports, artistic and constructive handicrafts and esteeming pieces of art.
There was no teaching of reading, writing or arithmetics, but the fundamental conceptions were taught to develop intellectual and motoric abilities. For instance, introduction to set theory within the numbers up to 10, counting up to 20, handling of quantities, crafting and motoric exercises to prepare the handwriting, the handling of pencils, scissors, fabrics and glue, and other skills.
Children were also encouraged to take an active role in the running of their kindergartens. Children often served each other meal
s and helped keep the kindergarten clean and tidy.
There were no fees charged for the full-day care in kindergartens and there were enough places for 94% to 99% of East German children.
, abbreviation POS, was developed from 1957 to 1958 and established in 1959. The POS focused strongly on German language, mathematics, physics, chemistry, astronomy, physical geography, sports and, of course, technology-related theoretical and practical work. Instead of a comprehensive school with primary education followed by secondary education, the POS restructured the classic education process completely by establishing a systemic curriculum which expanded the concepts of secondary education into the lower classes. For instance in mathematics, handling of variables, math text problems with a multi-level solution, a fully developed embedded course in geometry, the introduction to vectors, the handling and solving of simple equations etc. were taught from the beginning of the first grade. But nevertheless other subjects like arts, music and so forth were not neglected but emphasised to be important for an all-around, gapless general education.
One lesson lasted 45 minutes and students went to school six days a week. On Saturdays, there were approximately four to five lessons. The Ministry of Education determined a table of lessons (Stundentafel) which expressed the ideas of the curriculum by naming the subjects that were believed to be crucial for a modern general education together with the number of weekly lessons for every single subject. The table of lessons fragmented in two parts, the compulsory teaching (obligatorischer Unterricht) and the elective teaching (fakultativer Unterricht). Later a third component was introduced, the optionally compulsory teaching (wahlweise obligatorischer Unterricht).
Together with the introduction of the POS grading at schools was reorganized as well.
School started early, often 7 am or 7.30 am.
The POS was designed as a reliable all-day school (verläßliche Tagesschule), which means the compulsory lessons took place in the morning and the timetable for each class was organised in a way that there should not be any free periods while classes should end at the same time every day. Therefore, by allocating sufficient ressouces to the education system, East Germany employed a high number of teachers and educators, so the average number of students per class lessened from 26 in the fifties to 19 and lesser in the seventies, the high number of compulsory lessons were evenly spread throughout the six schooldays of the week, there was de facto no loss of class time because of ill teachers or shortage of teachers, the compulsory teaching was finished around noon and the afternoon was free for a variety of optional activities like elective teaching, study groups, project groups, children's sports and organised afternoon care for students in the lower classes.
The beginning of the school year was September 1 unless that day was a Thursday, Friday or Saturday, then school started the following Monday. The school year always had 38 weeks of classes with 30 weeks covered by the nationwide unified curriculum.
Since 1951 the learning of the Russian language as the foreign language was obligatory, because of the leading role of the Soviet Union in the Eastern bloc. Also available were English
and French
, but only as an additional elective foreign language. The Russian lessons focused on the Cyrillic script, the writing, the reading and the grammar of the Russian language. To be able to have a substantial conversation was not an aim, but to be able to use professional and technical Russian literature. The speaking skills should reach a level of sufficient fluency to have a small conversation with a local. There were only few opportunities for student exchanges and to experience the pleasure of communicating in the other's language. Appreciated by parents were the so-called head marks (Kopfnoten) which assessed behavior, industriousness, order, and cooperation. These were combined with a short teacher's essay about the student's character, success or progress, advice for future improvements - here and there from a socialistic point of view.
From the seventh year onwards, students visited a factory, power station or farm one day per week, depending on their location. At any of these places, the student would work alongside regular employees.
There were annual championships on various subjects with the winners receiving prize
s. The Russian language and mathematics championships were very prestigious
and competitive
as well as regular championships in sport, called Spartakiade [from the word Spartacus
].
, telecommunications or electronics
.
Vocational training was split in practical work and theoretical learning which focused both on the studied subject of career.
The student was then integrated in a collective farm or in a factory, depending on what he or she wished to do for a career
. The vocational training could take place in the students home town, but often occurred in another city. Students lived there in an Internat (boarding school). In most cases that was the first time in the young persons life they lived "independent" from their parents home for one or two years. The students where allowed to visit home on the weekends.
At the end of vocational training, a student could take the Abitur
(similar to the A-level in England), and if he or she passed, go on to university or a specialised technological
school. But in most cases the student worked in a factory or in the field of his or her vocational training subject.
. Access to these schools was restricted to 2-3 students per POS class. Often students aiming for university education had to take part in ideological activities (e.g. Pioniere) during their time in POS and male students additionally had to serve in the military service.
East German universities were very closely linked to both schools and to industry.
Mostly focused on technical education, these universities were highly regarded all over the world to be of a very high standard.
There were two ways to get into a university: continuing straight on from vocational training, or, for those who did not choose to continue past polytechnical school, there was a choice of entering university several years afterwards, through night classes organised by State firms
.
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...
in the German Democratic Republic
German Democratic Republic
The German Democratic Republic , informally called East Germany by West Germany and other countries, was a socialist state established in 1949 in the Soviet zone of occupied Germany, including East Berlin of the Allied-occupied capital city...
(East Germany) was a high priority for the communist
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
government, and was compulsory from age six to age seventeen.
There were state run crèches
Day care
Child care or day care is care of a child during the day by a person other than the child's legal guardians, typically performed by someone outside the child's immediate family...
, kindergarten
Kindergarten
A kindergarten is a preschool educational institution for children. The term was created by Friedrich Fröbel for the play and activity institute that he created in 1837 in Bad Blankenburg as a social experience for children for their transition from home to school...
s, polytechnic schools
Polytechnic Secondary School
The polytechnic secondary school, officially ten-class general educational polytechnic secondary school, abbreviation POS, pronounced P-O-S, was the standard type of school in the school system of East Germany. The POS was established in 1959 to replace the hitherto existing Grundschule...
, extended secondary schools
Extended Secondary School
The extended secondary school, officially twelve-class general educational polytechnic secondary school, abbreviation EOS, was the standard institution of higher education in the education system of East Germany...
, vocational training
Vocational education
Vocational education or vocational education and training is an education that prepares trainees for jobs that are based on manual or practical activities, traditionally non-academic, and totally related to a specific trade, occupation, or vocation...
and universities
University
A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...
.
Crèches
Home
A home is a place of residence or refuge. When it refers to a building, it is usually a place in which an individual or a family can rest and store personal property. Most modern-day households contain sanitary facilities and a means of preparing food. Animals have their own homes as well, either...
, there was a significant need for adequate childcare
Childcare
Child care means caring for and supervising child/children usually from 0–13 years of age. In the United States child care is increasingly referred to as early childhood education due to the understanding of the impact of early experiences of the developing child...
services. East German crèches [Kinderkrippe] were for children up to age three. Crèches often were next to the Kindergarten-building. There was even a time for young GDR women to serve or volunteer in crèches in order to bring their own children up well.
In many crèches, doctors and dentists were located to take care of the young kids. The same applied to the polytechnic schools.
As many of these crèches were built during the post-Second World War period, when many new buildings were constructed in East Germany, they were often incorporated into residential blocks so parents could pick their children up without having to travel long distances to and from home.
Many factories
Factory
A factory or manufacturing plant is an industrial building where laborers manufacture goods or supervise machines processing one product into another. Most modern factories have large warehouses or warehouse-like facilities that contain heavy equipment used for assembly line production...
and collective farms also had their own crèches.
Overall, the crèches provided places for 80% of East German children to attend, in several urban regions the coverage rate was 99%. The fee was 27.50 East German Deutschmarks per child per month for a full-day care. Most chrèches were opened 6 am to 6 pm.
Kindergartens
Unlike West Germany, East Germany accomplished a large-scale education reform and introduced a dense network of high-standard education facilities, especially kindergartenKindergarten
A kindergarten is a preschool educational institution for children. The term was created by Friedrich Fröbel for the play and activity institute that he created in 1837 in Bad Blankenburg as a social experience for children for their transition from home to school...
s. A unique characteristic of East German kindergartens was the strong educational background of these institutions, even compared to today's kindergartens in Germany. Children from age three to six learned to interact with other children, got used to a stable daily routine and were introduced to the idea of learning
Learning
Learning is acquiring new or modifying existing knowledge, behaviors, skills, values, or preferences and may involve synthesizing different types of information. The ability to learn is possessed by humans, animals and some machines. Progress over time tends to follow learning curves.Human learning...
.
The children stayed together in the same group with the same group educator during the three years. The groups were called the little group (kleine Gruppe) for the young children of the age of three, the middle group (mittlere Gruppe) for the children of the age of four and the big group (große Gruppe) for the older children of the age of five.
Two times a day there were lesson-like pre school activities (Beschäftigungen) which all children had to participate in. These activities were planned by the group educator and lasted 20 minutes in the little group, 25 minutes in the middle group and 30 minutes in the big group. The contents of the activities were regulated nationwide by a uniform teaching plan and included German language and speech, children's literature, mathematics, introducation to the socialistic life (visiting factories, traffic education, cultural life, introduction to important professions), introduction to natural and scientific phenomena (weather, seasons, sky, stars, rocks etc.), music, sports, artistic and constructive handicrafts and esteeming pieces of art.
There was no teaching of reading, writing or arithmetics, but the fundamental conceptions were taught to develop intellectual and motoric abilities. For instance, introduction to set theory within the numbers up to 10, counting up to 20, handling of quantities, crafting and motoric exercises to prepare the handwriting, the handling of pencils, scissors, fabrics and glue, and other skills.
Children were also encouraged to take an active role in the running of their kindergartens. Children often served each other meal
Meal
A meal is an instance of eating, specifically one that takes place at a specific time and includes specific, prepared food.Meals occur primarily at homes, restaurants, and cafeterias, but may occur anywhere. Regular meals occur on a daily basis, typically several times a day...
s and helped keep the kindergarten clean and tidy.
There were no fees charged for the full-day care in kindergartens and there were enough places for 94% to 99% of East German children.
Polytechnic schools
The polytechnic secondary schoolPolytechnic Secondary School
The polytechnic secondary school, officially ten-class general educational polytechnic secondary school, abbreviation POS, pronounced P-O-S, was the standard type of school in the school system of East Germany. The POS was established in 1959 to replace the hitherto existing Grundschule...
, abbreviation POS, was developed from 1957 to 1958 and established in 1959. The POS focused strongly on German language, mathematics, physics, chemistry, astronomy, physical geography, sports and, of course, technology-related theoretical and practical work. Instead of a comprehensive school with primary education followed by secondary education, the POS restructured the classic education process completely by establishing a systemic curriculum which expanded the concepts of secondary education into the lower classes. For instance in mathematics, handling of variables, math text problems with a multi-level solution, a fully developed embedded course in geometry, the introduction to vectors, the handling and solving of simple equations etc. were taught from the beginning of the first grade. But nevertheless other subjects like arts, music and so forth were not neglected but emphasised to be important for an all-around, gapless general education.
One lesson lasted 45 minutes and students went to school six days a week. On Saturdays, there were approximately four to five lessons. The Ministry of Education determined a table of lessons (Stundentafel) which expressed the ideas of the curriculum by naming the subjects that were believed to be crucial for a modern general education together with the number of weekly lessons for every single subject. The table of lessons fragmented in two parts, the compulsory teaching (obligatorischer Unterricht) and the elective teaching (fakultativer Unterricht). Later a third component was introduced, the optionally compulsory teaching (wahlweise obligatorischer Unterricht).
Together with the introduction of the POS grading at schools was reorganized as well.
School started early, often 7 am or 7.30 am.
The POS was designed as a reliable all-day school (verläßliche Tagesschule), which means the compulsory lessons took place in the morning and the timetable for each class was organised in a way that there should not be any free periods while classes should end at the same time every day. Therefore, by allocating sufficient ressouces to the education system, East Germany employed a high number of teachers and educators, so the average number of students per class lessened from 26 in the fifties to 19 and lesser in the seventies, the high number of compulsory lessons were evenly spread throughout the six schooldays of the week, there was de facto no loss of class time because of ill teachers or shortage of teachers, the compulsory teaching was finished around noon and the afternoon was free for a variety of optional activities like elective teaching, study groups, project groups, children's sports and organised afternoon care for students in the lower classes.
The beginning of the school year was September 1 unless that day was a Thursday, Friday or Saturday, then school started the following Monday. The school year always had 38 weeks of classes with 30 weeks covered by the nationwide unified curriculum.
Since 1951 the learning of the Russian language as the foreign language was obligatory, because of the leading role of the Soviet Union in the Eastern bloc. Also available were English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, but only as an additional elective foreign language. The Russian lessons focused on the Cyrillic script, the writing, the reading and the grammar of the Russian language. To be able to have a substantial conversation was not an aim, but to be able to use professional and technical Russian literature. The speaking skills should reach a level of sufficient fluency to have a small conversation with a local. There were only few opportunities for student exchanges and to experience the pleasure of communicating in the other's language. Appreciated by parents were the so-called head marks (Kopfnoten) which assessed behavior, industriousness, order, and cooperation. These were combined with a short teacher's essay about the student's character, success or progress, advice for future improvements - here and there from a socialistic point of view.
From the seventh year onwards, students visited a factory, power station or farm one day per week, depending on their location. At any of these places, the student would work alongside regular employees.
There were annual championships on various subjects with the winners receiving prize
Prize
A prize is an award to be given to a person or a group of people to recognise and reward actions or achievements. Official prizes often involve monetary rewards as well as the fame that comes with them...
s. The Russian language and mathematics championships were very prestigious
Prestige (sociology)
Prestige is a word commonly used to describe reputation or esteem, though it has three somewhat related meanings that, to some degree, may be contradictory. Which meaning applies depends on the historical context and the person using the word....
and competitive
Competition
Competition is a contest between individuals, groups, animals, etc. for territory, a niche, or a location of resources. It arises whenever two and only two strive for a goal which cannot be shared. Competition occurs naturally between living organisms which co-exist in the same environment. For...
as well as regular championships in sport, called Spartakiade [from the word Spartacus
Spartacus
Spartacus was a famous leader of the slaves in the Third Servile War, a major slave uprising against the Roman Republic. Little is known about Spartacus beyond the events of the war, and surviving historical accounts are sometimes contradictory and may not always be reliable...
].
Vocational training
After the tenth year of polytechnical school, a student could either end his education or continue on to 2½ or 3 years (depending on subject) of vocational training in a specialised subject such as buildingBuilding
In architecture, construction, engineering, real estate development and technology the word building may refer to one of the following:...
, telecommunications or electronics
Electronics
Electronics is the branch of science, engineering and technology that deals with electrical circuits involving active electrical components such as vacuum tubes, transistors, diodes and integrated circuits, and associated passive interconnection technologies...
.
Vocational training was split in practical work and theoretical learning which focused both on the studied subject of career.
The student was then integrated in a collective farm or in a factory, depending on what he or she wished to do for a career
Career
Career is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as a person's "course or progress through life ". It is usually considered to pertain to remunerative work ....
. The vocational training could take place in the students home town, but often occurred in another city. Students lived there in an Internat (boarding school). In most cases that was the first time in the young persons life they lived "independent" from their parents home for one or two years. The students where allowed to visit home on the weekends.
At the end of vocational training, a student could take the Abitur
Abitur
Abitur is a designation used in Germany, Finland and Estonia for final exams that pupils take at the end of their secondary education, usually after 12 or 13 years of schooling, see also for Germany Abitur after twelve years.The Zeugnis der Allgemeinen Hochschulreife, often referred to as...
(similar to the A-level in England), and if he or she passed, go on to university or a specialised technological
Technology
Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...
school. But in most cases the student worked in a factory or in the field of his or her vocational training subject.
Universities
Entrance to East German Universities was very limited. To attend University education in East Germany one had to attend the erweiterte OberschuleExtended Secondary School
The extended secondary school, officially twelve-class general educational polytechnic secondary school, abbreviation EOS, was the standard institution of higher education in the education system of East Germany...
. Access to these schools was restricted to 2-3 students per POS class. Often students aiming for university education had to take part in ideological activities (e.g. Pioniere) during their time in POS and male students additionally had to serve in the military service.
East German universities were very closely linked to both schools and to industry.
Mostly focused on technical education, these universities were highly regarded all over the world to be of a very high standard.
There were two ways to get into a university: continuing straight on from vocational training, or, for those who did not choose to continue past polytechnical school, there was a choice of entering university several years afterwards, through night classes organised by State firms
Government-owned corporation
A government-owned corporation, state-owned company, state-owned entity, state enterprise, publicly owned corporation, government business enterprise, or parastatal is a legal entity created by a government to undertake commercial activities on behalf of an owner government...
.