Weimar Germany - Education Flashcards
what are the Weimar Government’s series of goals for education
- Integrated system - more working class children in education
- Single type (secular) schools - phasing out of religious schools
- Abolish fee paying schools
The weimar government also wanted a …………… educational system that served all children regardless of ………
common and integrated
background
What were the 2 school levels in Weimar Germany
Elementary (primary - 6-9 years) and Secondary (9-14).
There was also a move towards removing……… control over schools as religious schools tended to ………. some students.
church
privilege
Education was compulsory until ___
14
what were the beliefs behind the Weimar governments ideal education system
moral education, personal development & vocational training
What was the Grandschule (primary level)
the compulsory and free education system (primary school)set up for children aged 6 to 10 years
What were confessional schools (primary level)
- Faith-based schools which could run privately in Weimar Germany
- These were mainly Protestant, Catholic & Jewish
What were common schools (primary level)
a school that took children of all religious faiths & gave them a separate religious education
What were secular schools
A school with no religion at all
What did The school law of 1920 state
- Tried to create a single type of primary school to ensure that all Germans received a standard education for the first 4 years of their lives.
- Schools that selected on ability and religion were phased out.
- This meant the WR met the aim of creating an integrated system
How did the government phase out religious education in primary schools
- Stopped clerical inspections of schools standards (inspections by members of the clergy)
- stopped school prayer
- allowed selected parents to remove their own children from religious education
Characteristics of the Grandschule
- Compulsory and free primary education
- Attended by children aged 6 to 9 years
- Prepared all students for future secondary education, and gave all students the opportunity for higher education at university level
- Education continued to be run by the Lander
What happened with the 1927 education bill proposal
The bill did not pass as its contents could not be agreed
Fee-paying preparatory schools were …..
abolished
In 1927 what bill was put forward to the Reichstag regarding education
- Confessional, common and secular schools be set up on an equal footing
- Allow churches to play a greater role in education
- Children in common schools would have religious education in their own religion, separate from other religions
Who supported the 1927 education bill proposal
All over Germany, people supported the bill (e.g. the Reich Parent’s League)
Who didn’t support the 1927 education bill proposal
Groups (e.g. the Volkskirche Association for Evangelical Freedom) vigorously opposed it as they wanted religion to be a matter of religious bodies, not schools.
The Weimar government’s failure to introduce a federal education bill meant that…..
the education system of Germany remained diverse and under the control of the Länder.
What were non-confessional schools
Non-confessional, common schools were set up by the Weimar government, which students of different faiths could attend.
How could confessional schools run
Confessional schools could only run as fee-paying private schools.
Radical Education: who was Rudolf Steiner?
- One of the most famous educational reformers of period.
- He argued that schools should be independent of government or the church.
- Schools should simply serve the interests of the students.
- He opened 4 schools between 1919 and 1925 that rejected hierarchy/emphasised whole body learning
In Weimar Germany, __________ became a university programme
teacher training
In 1931, how many faith schools were there (protestant, catholic, jewish)
29,020 Protestant schools,
15,256 Catholic schools
97 Jewish schools
By the end of the Weimar Republic, around ___% of schools were faith-based.
80
In 1931, how many common & secular schools were there
8921 common schools
295 secular schools.
……… no longer had the right to run state schools but could continue running private schools
Churches
How did education contribute to the growing disillusionment with the Weimar Republic
- Education became apart of the debate as to whether democracy worked or not
- Many Catholics and Protestants began to feel that democracy was essentially anti-Christian,
- and essentially undemocratic, evident through the churches no longer being able to run state-schools
Why did the government introduce the Aufbauschule
- To offer a gymnasium type secondary education to poor children who could not pay.
- This was an attempt to make education fairer.
All students who wanted to go to university had to pass the …….. exam.
Arbitur
After grandschule, aged …, your career was…
9
decided, determined by the specialised school you attended
With secondary schools, Some schools were ………….. but many were …….
state run
private
What were the 3 elements of the Weimar Republic’s three-part secondary school system
Gymnasium
Hauptschule
Realschule
What was a gymnasium
- a secondary school
- that students attended for 9 years,
- to secure the qualifications to go to university,
- and then take up a professional job
What was a realschule
- a secondary school
- that students attended for 6 years
- in order to go into business or technical training
What was a hauptschule
- A secondary school
- that students attended for 5 years
- in order to go on to do apprenticeships or trade
the Weimar Republic’s three-part secondary school system were often….
fee-paying
A 1928 survey of the fathers of university students found that …% were civil servants working in government organisations, and only ….% were working class.
45%
2.3%
Why could the Weimar government not reform the system of higher education including universities
the Weimar Constitution’s principle of freedom of choice meant that universities could carry on as before
What were university corporations
- Universities had their own student “corporations”, seen to assist a student in pursuing a career path
- The “duelling” corporations, where differences were settled by swordfight, were popular with the sons of wealthy landowners
- Non-duelling corporations were seen as socially inferior
In 1928, …% of students were members of a university corporations
65
What did wealthy families worry about in education
That their children were losing their traditional privileges & that educational standards were falling
