The article is devoted to the retrospective analysis of the development of the ideas of teacher training in Germany since the nineteenth century and before its merger in 1990, during which the stages of the process were outlined. The author draws attention to the positive and negative developments in teacher training and the significant changes in the German education system at each stage. Stage One, beginning of the 19th century to 1917: differentiation was made between the preparation of teachers of the gymnasium, which was always considered scientifically and theoretically oriented, and the training of teachers of the public school, which was mostly practical. Stage Two, 1918 to 1934 was marked by the deepening of the content of teacher training, its professional orientation, the use of methods of working in a group, discussion of the practical experience of students in pedagogical academies during the existence of the Weimar Republic. Stage Three, from 1934 to the end of the 1950s, was characterized by the regressive nature of the pedagogical education as a result of the return to teacher seminars, the simplification and conservatism of teacher training. The Fourth Stage, beginning of the 60s to the end of the 80s of the twentieth century, the system of vocational training in the Federal Republic of Germany and the GDR was reformed in the direction of integration of higher pedagogical schools with universities. The publication describes the content of future teachers’ professional training, which consisted of two parts: theoretical and practical. Theoretical preparation was characterized by low level, pragmatic orientation of general and special education programs, separation of theory from practice, high workload and educational work in the phase of practical training. Organizational and structural adjustment in the system of pedagogical education in Germany began in the early 80s. First of all, it is proposed to reform the training of teachers in order to improve their theoretical training.