TEACHER TRAINING - BASIC AND SPECIALIST TEACHER TRAINING

Basic Teacher Training

Training for primary school teachers takes 3.5 years at University. For lower secondary teachers, University training lasts 3.5 to 4.5 years with 2 further years practical training in school settings. For Upper secondary school teachers, training takes 4.5 years at University, then a further 2.5 years practical training in a school setting.

Teacher training of all types of school is regulated by Land legislation. Responsibility for teacher training rests with the Ministries of Education and Cultural Affairs of the Länder which regulate training through study regulations and examination regulations. Examinations ( First and Second Staatsprüfung) are conducted by the state examination authorities or boards of the Länder.

Teacher training institutions
Teacher training is basically divided into two stages, a course of higher education and practical pedagogic training. Teacher training courses are offered at universities, Technische Hochschule/TechnischeUniversitäten, Gesamthochschulen, teacher training colleges (Pädagogische Hochschulen). Practical pedagogic training in the form of preparatory service takes place in training schools.

Admission: the basic entry for teacher training courses is the higher education entrance qualification Hochschulreife , which acquired, as a rule, after attending school for 13 years and passing the Abitur examination.

To pass in the First State Examination is the requirement for admission to the preparatory service.

Preparatory service (Vorbereitungsdienst)
For all teaching careers the Vorbereitungsdienst (preparatory service) as the second stage of teacher training, follows higher education. Depending on the Land and then type of teaching career, it varies in length (from 18 to 24 months) and places emphasis on different areas. It involves setting lessons, guided and independent teaching at training schools and studies in educational theory and subject-related didactics at seminars, which reappraise and consolidate experiences gained through practical training.

Assessment of performance and Qualifications
As with all courses of study in higher education, certain certificates are required for admission to examinations an intermediate examinations have to be taken in TT-courses. The details are regulated by the study and examination regulations (Studienordnung and Prüfungsordnung) All teaching courses conclude with the examination known as the First Staatsprüfung which entitles the holder to be accepted into the state preparatory service.

It is the task of the state examination boards, which are subordinate to ministries responsible for the school system, to hold the First State Examination. The examination usually consists of the following:
-  A dissertation in the first or second subject or in educational science;
-  A written and oral examination in the subjects studied, mainly on academic aspects of the
   subject, but possibly also on subject-related teaching methodology;
-  an examination in educational science;
-  where appropriate, a practical examination in artistic/cultural or technical subjects and sport.

The preparatory service concludes with the Second State Examination. This is the prerequisite for ultimate employment in a teaching career, but does not guarantee a teaching position. It has to be taken before a state examination board or a state examination commission and usually consists or four parts:
-  a major written paper relating to educational theory, pedagogic psychology or the didactics of 
   one of the subjects studied;
-  a practical teaching examination involving demonstration lessons in the chosen subjects;
-  an examination on the basic questions of educational theory, educational and civil service
   legislation and school administration and occasionally on sociological aspects of school
   education;
-  an examination on didactic and methodological issues in the subjects studied.

Specialist Training
Teachers of special education receive their training via a basic course of study - it is possible to study special needs education at University as part of initial training by passing the First and Second State Examination. It is basically divided into two stages: a course of higher education and practical pedagogic training - or via an additional follow-up course of study subsequent to other teacher training courses.

Under a decision reached by Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of the Länder, the standard period of study (Regelstudienzeit) for a first course of study is 9 semesters. The course includes the study of educational science and subject related studies in at least one subject or two-subject area and in special education. About half of the course is devoted to the study of special education, while on the other half is devoted to educational science and subject-related studies at an approximate ratio of 2:3. Didactic studies and teaching practice are an integral part of the course. In some Länder it is compulsory to make a course in the teaching area of integration.

Two of the following subject areas relating to special education (SE) the weighting of which can vary in the course of study and examinations, are selected: education for the blind, education for the deaf, for the mentally handicapped, ~ for the physically disabled, ~ for children with learning difficulties, ~ for the hard hearing, ~ for the visually handicapped, ~ for those with speech defects, and~ for those with behavioural problems.

In all Länder, training is divided into higher education and practical pedagogic training (preparatory service). The first period of training includes:
- a specialist component with the study of at least two subjects or subject areas, - relating to
  special education the subjects correlate with the current forms of disabilities,
- an educational science component with compulsory study of educational theory and psychology,
- teaching practice, sometimes of several weeks' duration, accompanying courses of study.

The qualification to become a special teacher can be attained either by passing the First and Second State Examinations or by embarking on an additional course of study following teacher training for a different type of teaching career which also included with a state examination. In the Länder the two forms of training exist side by side or as alternative.

For all teaching careers higher education is followed by the "preparatory service", Vorbereitungsdienst as the second stage of teacher training. Depending on the Land and the type of teaching career, it varies in length (from 18 to 24 months) and lays emphasis on different areas. It involves setting lessons, guided and independent teaching at training schools and studies in educational theory and subject-related didactic at seminars which reappraise and consolidate experience gained through practical training.

Training includes general information on disabilities, teaching methods and assessment. Practical pedagogic training after higher education at University (as the second stage of teacher training) varies in length from 18 to 24 months, depending on the Land. It involves lessons, guided and independent teaching at training schools, studies in educational theory and subject-related didactics at seminars which re-appraise and consolidate experiences gained through practical training. In some Länder, general information about integration is also included.

Specialised teachers receive a higher salary, equivalent to that of teachers working in upper secondary education.

In-Service training: (IST)
The goals of IST have been laid down by most of the Länder in their Teacher Training or educational legislation. Directives regulate other details about organisations, which provide IST, and about applications, admissions and release from teaching duties for attendance of courses. Some Länder have also formulated the fundamental aims and tasks of IST for teacher in directives or publications and not in legal provisions. The duty of teachers to undergo IST is expressly laid down in all Länder by law or ordinance, whilst it is the duty of employers (usually the Ministries of Education and Culture Affairs) to ensure that suitable training programmes are provided.

IST -like initial training- is the responsibility of the Länder. In each of the Länder the Ministry of Education and Culture Affairs is responsible for IST for teachers as it is the highest school supervisory authority and usually the employer of teachers with civil servant status.

IST - Institutions
State-run ISTT (in-service-teacher-training) is organised in the Länder at central, regional and local level. IST can also take place within schools or in the form of guided private study.

In order to organise ISTT at central locations, all Länder have established state-run IST-institutions which are subordinate to the ministries of education as dependent Länder institutions. Central IST- institutions (a specific Land can have several such institutions) have various names such as state academy or academic institute for ISTT.

ISTT at regional level is conducted differently in each Land by the institutes for ISTT and their branches and by lower-level school supervisory authorities.

Lower-level supervisory authorities Schulämter are usually responsible for the organisation of IST at local level.

ISTT within schools is carried out by schools for their own teaching staff or some members of their teaching staff.

In so far institutes are responsible for IST throughout the Land , there is no need to define areas of responsibility. Otherwise, there is usually co-ordination between the organisers of central and regional IST courses, e.g. in the form of regular meetings or conferences. IST courses are thus conducted through co-operation between the parties concerned.

IST within schools is essentially organised by individual schools, although assistance with IST preparation, executing and subsequent evaluation is available in some Länder from IST-institutions and advisers from school supervisory authorities. In some Länder the MECA is informed of the content and dates of courses held within schools and in other Länder IST-sessions within schools are offered by the central institutes of the Länder in co-operation with the school supervisory authorities.

Churches and non-public bodies also offer training courses. In some Länder these bodies must be reorganised by the school supervisory authorities. Universities and higher education institutions of equal status have set up follow-up courses (with a final examination) and supplementary and further training courses for teachers. In particular, the German Institute for Distance Studies (Detsches Institut für Fernstudien) at the University of Tübingen is developing in IST courses by distance learning.

Objectives and content of IST
IST serves to maintain and extend the professional skills of teachers, It helps teachers to meet the current requirements of their teaching career and to fulfil the educational mission of their school. Attendance at IST courses serves to deepen and extend the knowledge and skills in the fields of educational theory, psychology, didactics and subject-related studies which the teacher requires as part of his job.

The range of subjects covered by IST is extremely broad. Course content can relate to school subjects, types of school or educational and teaching methods and goals or to special problems within the classroom (e.g. in inclusive education settings), or special questions within a special disability.

In central IST in particular, many courses are aimed at head teachers, guidance teachers, teachers training probationers in the preparatory service and school Inspectorate officials. In some Länder the main target group of central IST are the subject advisors who themselves organise and hold IST courses for teaching staff. IST generally involves training sessions in the form of courses, study groups and conferences that can last half a day, a full day or several days.

Ministers of the Länder , on  KMK-level, plan to establish a working group which will have a critical look at the development of teacher training in the field of SNE.