Education transformed? The east German school system since the Wende

Abstract

After unification, selective systems of secondary education were established in the new Länder. While the transformed system succeeded in widening access to university entrance qualifications compared with the restrictive practice in the GDR, it failed to deliver quality education. Performance in key subjects has decreased since unification as the combination of migration losses and a sharply reduced birth rate in east Germany made the transformed education system over‐differentiated and unable to function. The paper argues that declining student numbers led to a deterioration of provisions effectively curtailing educational choice in rural areas and for those now trapped at the lower end of the new divide. While east Germans generally and east German employers specifically do not recognise the leaving certificates of Hauptschule as meaningful qualifications, they value apprenticeships and the vocational qualifications they offer. A shortage of training places in east Germany is exacerbated by demand from young people with grammar school education while young people without apprenticeships have been particularly prone to turn to violence.