A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

Directed Student Teaching (Referendarzeit)

The Process

A student who passes the First State Examination at a university may apply at the office of the local educational district (Regierungspräsidium) to begin directed student teaching. If there is a vacancy for a student teacher in the desired city, the applicant will be notified shortly before directed student teaching begins. If there are no vacancies, the applicant will be sent to his or her second or third choice. In some cases, students have to wait a year because there are not enough student-teaching positions available. This is especially true for students wishing to teach Sekundarstufe II (Gymnasium).

Usually, students complete their directed student teaching in the same state in which they passed their First State Examination. A student who wishes to move to a different state for directed student teaching may encounter difficulties and may have to provide reasons for the move.

The number of students who passed the Second State Examination fell during the 1980s. From 39,329 in 1980, the number of newly trained teachers dropped to 9,874 in 1991. The declining number of student teachers completing the Second State Examination probably reflects the poor employment outlook for teachers during most of the 1980s. However, this trend may be turning around due to predictions of improved prospects for teachers, especially in elementary schools, during the mid-1990s. In 1992, for example, 11,370 newly trained teachers were employed, a 15 percent increase over the previous year (KMK 1993a).

While university teacher education programs vary greatly from state to state, directed student teaching is similar in every state. Students are required to student-teach for 24 months, during which they earn between 1,700?2,500 deutsche marks (DM) a month, depending on the school level, their age, and their marital status. The duration of directed student teaching may be reduced only in particular cases in which a student can prove prior teaching experience.

• Training takes place both in seminars (Studienseminare/schulpraktisches Seminar) and in schools. Appropriately trained instructors (Fachleiter) with teaching experience lead the seminars. They teach and discuss pedagogical, methodological, and subject-related aspects pertinent to the particular school level, such as assessment procedures and standards. Various issues, such as school regulations and legal procedures, are also part of the seminar curriculum. In addition, seminar instructors observe student teachers in the classroom, and later discuss and evaluate the students' teaching performance. During student teaching, mentors help student teachers with teaching-related questions and allow student teachers to observe and teach their classes. The 2-year, hands-on student teaching experience consists of four parts (Kultusministerium Hessen 1990):

• Introductory phase of 3 months' duration (total 10 hours per week): observation or assisted teaching;

• Differentiation phase of 6 months' duration (total 12 hours per week): includes observation and 4?8 hours a week of teaching with or without assistance;

• Intensive phase of 12 months' duration (12?14 hours per week), including 4 hours a week of observation and/or assisted teaching, and 8?10 hours a week of teaching without assistance; and

• Preparation for the Second State Examination, lasting 3 months (10 hours per week): includes observation, assisted teaching, and teaching without assistance.

Second State Examination (Zweites Staatsexamen)

Student teachers complete the second and final stage of their training with the Second State Examination. The examination committee consists of six members and is chaired by a representative or "school inspector" from the state education ministry (known as the Oberschulrat or Schulrat). Other members of the examination committee include the head of the seminar, the two subject mentors, the head teacher of the school involved, and one teacher whom the student chooses. The examination committee's final evaluation is based on the following four items (Kultusministerium Hessen 1990):

• Pre-examination grade. The head of the seminar, the subject experts of the seminar, the head teacher, and the mentors of the participating school write reports on the student teacher's general performance.

• Thesis grade. The student teacher writes a thesis on lessons and units he or she has taught. Subject experts advise students on the choice of a topic and related issues; the topic is chosen 3 months before the thesis is due. The thesis is evaluated by two subject experts?chosen by the head of the seminar?each of whom writes an evaluation of the student teacher's written work and assigns the student a grade. If the evaluators disagree over the grade, the representative from the education ministry meets with the subject experts and decides which grade is appropriate.

• Oral examination grade. Students must answer questions on pedagogical, methodological, and subject-related issues, as well as questions about school laws and school organization. The oral examination takes 60 minutes.

• Grades for lesson plans and observed lessons in two subjects. Prior to the day of observation and evaluation of the student's teaching performance, the student teacher distributes copies of lesson plans or units that he or she will teach to examination committee members. After observing the student teaching, the committee meets with the student to discuss his or her performance.

Evaluations of Teacher Training

Several surveys regarding the quality of university teacher education programs have found that students criticize the lack of balance between theory and practice in their studies. Many students preparing to teach in the Grundschule and Hauptschule stressed that they would prefer fewer courses in their major subjects and more practice-oriented courses in educational and instructional psychology. In addition, student teachers pointed out that they need more effective hands-on practice than their current practica offer and that University supervisors and mentors need to work together to provide the student teachers with more guidance during the practical experience. In contrast, students preparing to teach in the Gymnasium are satisfied in general with the quality and quantity of their subject matter. However, these teachers felt the required studies in education were of no value (Klinzing 1990). Students also complained about crowded seminars and lectures, the lack of relevant courses, and the poor organization of courses in general education (Steltmann 1980).

Concerning the second stage of teacher training, a number of student teachers complained that they received little assistance with lesson preparation, presentation, and assessment of students at school. Since student teachers received little feedback from supervisors and mentors concerning their lessons, they often felt anxious, stressed, and overworked during their directed student teaching; they also felt ill-prepared to deal with learning and behavioral problems (Klinzing 1990). Some student teachers remarked in a 1985 report that mentors did not provide them with opportunities for assessment of student achievements; other student teachers said they had excellent experience in one of their two subjects but none at all in the other subject (Department of Education and Science [DES] 1986). Consequently, lack of experience and inadequate preparation resulted in a "practice shock" for many student teachers.

Studies also indicate student teachers' attitudes toward teaching changes during the second stage of teacher training. Whereas students appear to be idealistic and open to new ideas about teaching during the first stage of their training, they seem to develop more conforming and less innovative attitudes toward teaching during their student- teaching experience. Pressure to conform from mentors and other teachers at school has a great impact on the shift from progressive to traditional teaching attitudes and approaches.

A survey conducted among graduates of the teacher-training college in Berlin (before it was integrated into the University of Berlin) in 1980 revealed that new teachers felt that their training was too theoretical (Oesterreich 1987). The results from survey responses from 115 new teachers (out of 167 asked) are summarized in table 17.

Table 17—Suggestions for improving the work experience of beginning teachers from a survey of graduates of the Berlin Teachers' College: 1980

Reform Efforts Past and Present

In the 1970s, participants in an educational reform movement attempted to introduce a one-phase teacher-training program integrating university studies and directed student teaching. In 1974, such a training program was established as a model at the University of Oldenburg. However, within 5 years, political and economic forces, such as the lack of personnel and material resources, brought about the demise of the one-phase teacher- training model. According to Schwänke (1988), the one-phase training program failed largely because of conflicting political interests in the program.

In another effort to bridge the gap between theory and practice, some have favored the reintroduction of teacher- training colleges, since the emphasis at the universities is on academic studies rather than practical training (Stallmann 1990). Others, such as Terhart (1992), still support teacher training at universities but recommend that the university system be improved to provide stronger background knowledge in the major subjects and training in didactic techniques. At present, the didactic courses offered by various university departments play a rather minor role in teacher training: reform efforts would strengthen and emphasize these didactic courses (Terhart 1993).

Reformers also advocate increased exposure to classroom practice for student teachers. Once students finish their training and take their first teaching position, they are on their own. Education theorists propose giving student teachers exposure to real-life school situations via case studies or video excerpts at all stages of teacher training. In this way, it is believed that they could gain a vision of reality and be able to build a repertoire of strategies for dealing with problematic situations (Terhart 1992). Education theorists believe that working with case studies not only helps make future teachers aware of ethical issues surrounding teachers' behavior and decisions but heightens their awareness of the professional teaching ethic (Terhart 1994).

Continued

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[Teacher Preparation and Teachers' Lives in Germany - Part 1]

[Teacher Preparation and Teachers' Lives in Germany - Part 3]