All-day School—Quo Vadis?

Abstract

During about the last ten years we experienced a considerable increase in the number of all-day schools in Germany. Between 2002 and 2008 the number of all-day schools more than doubled from 5,000 to about 12,000. Currently about 42% of all schools in Germany are all-day schools. Based on the data of the first nationwide representative study on the development of all-day schools (StEG), insights have been gained on the consequences this large-scale reform will have for the organisation of schools, the school staff and the learning culture at schools. The data show on the one hand that all-day schooling has changed the structure of the educational system in Germany in a significant and promising way. Most all-day schools improve the number and diversity of extra-curricular activities, and the majority of the pupils is participating in these activities. On the other hand there is only little evidence that the majority of all-day schools have established a new pedagogical learning culture—a precondition for tapping the full educational potential that the additional time spent in all-day schools affords.