German Higher Education System Research Articles

Navigating academic prestige: university choice and distinction of German upper milieu students

ABSTRACT This article examines the relevance of different institutional levels in higher education for the educational strategies of upper milieu students in a case study conducted in Germany. Based on our analysis of 95 qualitative interviews with Masters students from different social backgrounds, we show how upper milieu students take advantage of the new vertical stratification in the German higher education system such as the emergence of ‘universities of excellence’, national rankings and ‘elitist’ degree programmes and networks. They also have more resources at their disposal to deal with the new complexity created by the current transformations in the field of higher education in Germany. Instead of referring to common schemes that distinguish between vertical and horizontal differentiation in higher education, we propose to focus on ‘academic prestige configurations’ in order to better understand contemporary processes of social differentiation and distinction between students. In this way, we aim to advance the empirical and theoretical discussion in higher education research on upper class students. The focus of our study is not solely on elite education, but rather on exploring the status reproduction of upper milieus through education.

Theoretical and empirical approach to how a professorship is organized in the German higher education system and how the organizational process works

AbstractIn this article, we explore the question of how membership, hierarchy, rules, monitoring, and sanctions are used at German professorships to organize research. Using these five criteria of an organization from Ahrne and Brunsson (Organization, 18(1):83–104, 2011) as a theoretical pattern, we shed light on the meso-level of universities in the German higher education system—the professorship. It is at this level that the collaborative production of research is organized. We show which organizational mechanisms are necessary for this joint production process, how the practical implementation and interpretation of rules as an organizational process take place at the professorships, as well as various negotiations and sanctions. In the German higher education system, professors are the superiors of their academic staff. The professor decides on the hiring and renewal of employees and is the supervisor of doctoral candidates, who in the German higher education system are mostly employed as research assistants. To illustrate the characteristics of the criteria, we draw on empirical material from mixed-methods research, which made it possible to contrast and substantiate the special features of professorships in Germany from different perspectives and data.

Comparative Study of Higher Education System Between India and Germany in the Present Era

The study paper provides a comparison between the higher education system of India and higher education system of Germany in respect of aims and objectives, structure, curriculum, opportunities and current issues or their common focus areas in the present era. The paper also gives a glimpse of history of higher education in ancient India-the era when India used to provide world class higher education and also history of higher education of Germany. The data are collected from primary and secondary sources. The methodology adopted for the study is documentary analysis. The results reveal that both India and Germany have same type of educational structure comprising of bachelor degree, master degree, doctoral and post-doctoral programs and emphasize on professional expertise but India focuses primarily on theoretical knowledge and democratic values inculcation, science and spiritual education and Germany focuses chiefly on practical implementation of theoretical knowledge, skill development, research and innovations, capacity building in higher education, forming intellectual property, entrepreneurial development, creating diversity of people and ideas, promoting global citizenship and societal sustainability. The USP of German higher education is that quality higher education is provided at a very low cost or no tuition fees charged at the world class German universities, offers diversified course, dual study programs and a lot of flexibility like switching major and education policies are formulated frequently considering the present need and demand. Recently both countries’ focus areas are digitalization of higher education, teacher improvement program for higher education, internationalization, foreign students and faculty exchange programs, increase in spending on education and decentralization of higher education. The paper concludes with India being a largest democracy and one of the developing nations, Indian higher education system can consider German higher education system as a benchmark and can imbibe the positive qualities for improvement and enrichment.

Governance of university continuing education in Germany. A scoping review of research in a game-changing area

The governance of academic continuing education is an area of research that has received little attention to date. On the one hand, this may be related to the fact that it plays a minor role as a “third mission” area at universities. On the other hand, governance mechanisms in higher education are necessarily closely linked to its political, financial, and contextual characteristics, which require differentiation from educational governance more broadly. Based on a scoping review, the existing research on the governance of university-based continuing education in the German higher education system has been systematically prepared using a multi-level model. This shows a comprehensive view across all levels, which makes use of broad theoretical references and is qualitatively oriented in terms of research methodology.

Teaching Anthropology: Remarks from a German Perspective

The Bologna Process opened a new chapter in the German higher education system, starting in 1999. Many new degree programmes have been implemented since then. It is nearly impossible to obtain an overview of the content of the more than 20,000 individual programmes thus far. Twenty-five years ago, this diverse offer of degree programmes would have been unthinkable. At that time, students specialized in Archaeology, German Studies, or Musicology; today, universities offer these subjects within such hybrid degree programmes as ‘Comparative Studies in Culture and Religion’, ‘Health and Society in South Asia’, or ‘Literary and Cultural Theory’. However, not only degree programmes diversify increasingly. The groups of students attending the courses have also continuously become more heterogeneous. Future archaeologists sit next to students of Transcultural Studies, and students of the teaching degree programme sit next to students of Global History. This raises such questions as ‘What does anthropology stand for?’, ‘How is anthropology conceptualized today?’, and ‘What does “teaching anthropology” mean?’. The paper will touch on these questions and give an idea of my understanding of ‘teaching anthropology’, which is closely linked to my own academic biography. Consequently, this contribution is more of an essay-like attempt to prompt a discussion on today’s teaching of anthropology.

Оценивание результатов обучения в системе высшего образования Из опыта Германии

The article presents the results of the analysis of the best practice of learning outcomes assessment in the German higher education system. The analysis compares a wide range of approaches to learning outcomes assessment, lists assessment methods, the choice of which is determined by the tested competencies and the assessed learning outcomes. Assessment of learning outcomes is considered in the context of national qualification systems that operate with the category of «learning outcomes», including the concept of competence. In order to distinguish these concepts, the article discusses the use and meaning of the terms «learning outcomes» and «competencies». In addition, the emphasis is placed on the generally accepted definition of competence in European countries as a degree of independence and responsibility. As a result of the analysis of the practice of learning outcomes assessment in the German higher education system, the authors of the article highlight important points that can be borrowed or adapted to the conditions of the domestic higher education system: differentiation of learning outcomes in conformance with the levels of education according to B. Bloom's taxonomy; credits award (ECTS) for learning outcomes; widespread use of assessment methods and tools, described in the article; implementation of technological maps in the framework of learning outcomes assessment and etc.

Prevention and Correction of Pedagogical Neglect Based on Research Materials of German Universities

The issue of quality training of future teachers, in particular, in the context of prevention and correction of pedagogical neglect, is one of the leading areas for discussion in the modern European educational space. This is conditioned by a number of social and political factors that to some extent negatively affect the development of children, which, in turn, complicates the learning process and requires sufficient competence from the teacher. Therefore, the study of possible measures to overcome the pedagogical neglect of adolescents is extremely relevant and requires detailed consideration, in particular on the basis of German universities and the strategies they use in training teacher students. Thus, the purpose of the study is to analyse the current mechanisms and tools for preparing students for future work with pedagogically neglected adolescents in the German higher education system. The methodological tools for the study include functional and systematic approaches, analysis and synthesis, deduction, and the method of analysis of scientific literature. The study results consist in separating the theoretical and practical foundations of the question. That is, the concepts, signs, and features of the term of pedagogical neglect of adolescents are revealed. In addition, the factors influencing the emergence of such a negative social phenomenon are considered, including approaches of German universities to the prevention and correction of the dynamics of its emergence and existence. In the future study, it would be appropriate to consider the stages of development of the phenomenon of pedagogical neglect of adolescents in Asian countries. As for the practical value of the study, it is certainly extremely high, as its results can be used in the implementation of educational reforms in Ukraine, in particular, in the context of training students and developing their competence to work with pedagogically neglected adolescents

The Spatial Patterns of Student Mobility Before, During and After the Bologna Process in Germany

AbstractThe paper contributes to the literature investigating students’ spatial mobility. By focusing on German higher education students with a novel dataset providing data from 1999 to 2015, we evaluate the impact of the change from a one‐tiered to the two‐tiered study structure of bachelor and master degrees (Bologna reform) on their inter‐regional mobility and its underlying drivers. Our analysis confirms the system change to slightly alter inter‐regional mobility of students. However, differences distinguish between different fields of study and universities und universities of applied sciences and indicate that the German higher education system is fairly resilient in its allocation of students. A Bologna‐Drain of students moving from rural to urban regions to study master programs, can partially be confirmed for students of business studies. Our results reject the idea of (low) tuition fees discouraging students from enrolling in specific locations.

Coloniality in the German Higher Education System: Implications for Policy and Institutional Practice

This article focuses on the public German higher education sector as a site upon and through which coloniality is enacted. This status quo indicates exclusionary effects and merits interrogation. We briefly discuss the history of German colonialism to understand how coloniality pervades higher educational structures in the German context today. Two proposals addressing coloniality in German higher education are made: the development of structures centering diverse faculty and the support of ethnic and identity studies.

Refugees’ pathways to German Higher Education institutions

Since 2015, Germany has followed a welcoming policy for refugees and has made efforts to integrate them in German society through initiatives such as development programs. However, very few refugee students have actually managed to enter German Higher Education (HE) institutions. Using a qualitative methodology, the researcher interviewed Arab refugee students studying in pre-academic and academic degree programs in Germany, to obtain answers to the following two main questions: 1) What are the main challenges that refugee students have experienced on their path to Germany as a host country? 2) What are the challenges that refugee students faced in HE in Germany and how does the German HE system respond to their needs? The findings suggest that, despite Germany’s desire to open up access to HE for refugees, the implementation of the policies adopted often sets administrative and social challenges to refugee students along their pathways to German HE institutions. These challenges include rigid access policies and procedures, unwelcoming public discourse and feelings of alienation. Nevertheless, students positively valued the new window of opportunity and universally applicable procedures offered in Germany, although they had not quite provided adequate responses to the refugees’ needs. The paper concludes with implications for policy makers wishing to open pathways for refugees to HE in intercultural academic spaces where they can interact and integrate within the academic community in preparation for their full integration into their host society.

Higher education expansion in Germany: between civil rights, state-organized entitlement system and academization

ABSTRACT In light of a global higher education expansion, the paper analyses the historic-structural conditions of this development for the German state(s) after World War II. Building on Talcott Parsons citizenship patterns, the analysis centres on two core institutions of the German higher education system: the state-organized system of entitlement (Berechtigungswesen) and the civil right for access to higher education. The entitlement system established a unique form of vertical and horizontal correspondence between higher education and the labour market. It allowed for a successful transition from university to work (academization). As a state monopoly, it also hampered rapid expansion. The civil right to access mediated and restricted efforts to constrain the expansion in Western Germany. Its absence in Eastern Germany lead to contractions after political will changed. A large part of the post-World War II expansion in Germany can be explained through the interplay of the two core institutions. The partial dismantling of the entitlement system after 1998, has led to severe degree differentiation and change. Yet so far, employment fields still consistently adapt to the credential pressure from the expanding public research university.

Taking stock: Employability as an outcome of higher education. Evaluating developments in the German higher education system

AbstractThis article uses the example of Germany to elaborate on the historical development, the current practice, and recent debates on employability. Employability as an outspoken aim of higher education was only established in recent decades due to the introduction of Polytechnics, the expansion of higher education, and the Bologna‐Process. Despite the diversity of the higher education sector (e.g., universities; universities of applied science), the assumption of equality means that degrees from any institution are of equal value according to the level of study. As in other countries, German higher education institutions have established measures to improve employability such as changes in the curricula or the establishment of career services. However, challenges remain to measure the employability and the employability outcome of HE. The article concludes that the identification of specific subject‐related and transferable skills and competences and their transferability to the labour market remains an ongoing task to increase the employability of graduates in Germany.

Transitions in Teaching Mechanical Engineering during COVID-19 crisis

The quality of teaching in mechanical engineering greatly depends on the practical application of the fundamental theory taught. During COVID-19, limited access to in-class lectures, practical courses with demonstrator plants, and active student participation forced us, an institute of a mechanical engineering faculty in the German higher education system, to transform the teaching strategy in a limited time of one month. For class sizes of between ~25 and ~700 participants, mainly addressing mechanical, electrical and software engineering students, we share challenges and successes in our transformation strategy during April-October 2020. Furthermore, we present a collection of suitable tools, their functions, advantages, disadvantages, and feedback from three sources to provide profound assessment and adaptation criteria in digital teaching. Using quantitative evaluations of four lectures in automation and information systems over the past five years, we highlight the experience from the students’ perspective and evaluate our digital teaching methods compared to well-established in-class formats. This compilation of causes and consequences clarifies the effort involved in achieving the result and discusses the potential of digital teaching or hybrid teaching in engineering.

Keeping One’s Shiny Mercedes in the Garage: Why Higher Education Quantification Never Really Took Off in Germany

The cybernetic dream of regulatory ‘dashboard control’ has taken off in the German higher education system. Both government regulators and university managers are engaged in the creation of waves of increasingly fine-grained quantitative data. Yet a wide range of recent case studies of the German higher education sector attest that in spite of this ‘datafication’ frenzy, the impact of the collected data mass on regulatory and managerial decision-making capacities seems to have remained relatively limited. This article explores why, in spite of the considerable investment in quantitative data infrastructures in the German higher education sector, this did not result in significant overt analytical capacity building. It explores three hypotheses: 1) a legal hypothesis according to which quantification is curbed by legal protections under the <em>Rechtsstaat</em>; 2) a dysfunctionality hypothesis which holds that decision makers reject quantification as a flawed and impracticable pursuit; and 3) an egalitarian federalism hypothesis which argues that Germany’s federal states seek to prevent commensurability to avoid comparison and competition. The article finds that, in spite of its inconspicuousness, quantification indeed does inform various central decision-making processes. However, different legal, political, and relational factors prompt decision makers to engage in a hybrid, tempered and, overall, untransparent application of numerical data.

Hierarchy of Higher Education System in Germany: Historiographical Analysis

The paper considers the development of hierarchical features in the German higher education system and studies the historical background of ongoing processes of differentiation among German higher education institutions. The widespread ambition to establish internationally competitive ‘world-class universities’ as ‘flagships’ stimulates the differentiation processes of national higher education systems. The objective of this research is to examine the institutional stratification of the German higher education system in its historical development. We use historiographical methods and analyze the accessibility and selectivity of the higher education system as stratification criteria. The paper overviews methodological approaches to the differentiation of the higher education system developed by leading Russian and German researchers. The applied methods let us explain the homogeneity of the German higher education system by the historical role of universities and the influence of their principles and educational standards. The research demonstrates that the current challenges for the German higher education system (internationalization, increasing competitiveness and massification) lead to institutional differentiations. The research results indicate that processes of informal vertical and horizontal stratification are occurring in the German higher education system, regarding both research and education activities. The hierarchy of German higher education sections is based on general vectors in developing, management and national policy of higher education and reflects the most effective interaction between higher education institutions and other stakeholders of higher education. Finally we conclude, that it is useful to project studied experience of institutional development of German higher education system to Russian realities.

Who Can Speak and Who is Heard/Hurt? Facing Problems of Race, Racism, and Ethnic Diversity in the Humanities in Germany ed. by Mahmoud Arghavan et al.

Reviewed by: Who Can Speak and Who is Heard/Hurt? Facing Problems of Race, Racism, and Ethnic Diversity in the Humanities in Germany ed. by Mahmoud Arghavan et al. Ervin Malakaj Who Can Speak and Who is Heard/Hurt? Facing Problems of Race, Racism, and Ethnic Diversity in the Humanities in Germany. Edited by Mahmoud Arghavan, Nicole Hirschfelder, Luvena Kopp, and Katharina Motyl. Bielefeld: transcript, 2019. Pp. 300. Paper $40.00. ISBN 978-3837641035. The last five years have seen the rise of publications examining the history of and conditions for racism at German universities. This work has appeared in various contexts, including German-language newspapers, reports by public foundations, as well as academic periodicals and scholarly presses. Of note is the advocacy and scholarship of Kien Nghi Ha, Daniela Heitzmann, Kathrin Houda, and Natascha A. Kelly, among others. These scholars and scholar activists have sought to uncover the systemic features in the German education system that complicate or obstruct access to higher education for migrants and People of Color. In effect, their work sought to stimulate additional inquiry about systemic racism in German higher education, hoping to mobilize a wave of critical scholarship in the service of transformative social justice. Who Can Speak and Who is Heard/Hurt? Facing Problems of Race, Racism, and Ethnic Diversity in the Humanities in Germany is firmly positioned in this scholarly and activist landscape. Drawing on critical discourse on diversity work as well as insights from postcolonial, critical race, and decolonial theory, the volume is a comprehensive assessment of structural racism underpinning the teaching and research in the German academy's humanities disciplines. It features a comprehensive introduction and fifteen contributions by scholars and scholar activists working in the German higher education system as well as those with ties to the international academy. In the discussions and debates about systemic racism at German universities, scholarship has productively reflected a paradox also at the heart of Who Can Speak and Who is Heard/Hurt? The volume's editors and contributors make a compelling case for stronger representation of migrant scholars and scholars of color at German universities while recognizing that the racist structure itself is a toxic place for them. For the contributors to the volume, this conundrum requires multiple strategies to advance its call for social justice. On the one hand, it requires dedicated support structures for the migrant scholars and scholars of color currently employed by or enrolled in university programs. By strengthening their success rates and providing representation including at the professoriate rank, universities would strengthen a support structure for future migrant scholars and scholars of color. On the other hand—and this emerges clearly in the introduction of the volume and in select chapters—German universities are not the only place to address an issue part and parcel of the total education system leading to university studies. Of note here is that Germany's three-tiered secondary education system provides multiple structural [End Page 448] hurdles for migrant students and students of color to enter academia. As such, approaches to diversify the academy will have marginal success rates unless they entail strategies to build a secondary education system more attentive to the statuses and lived experiences of migrant students and students of color. Among the merits of the volume is its sharp critique of American studies in Germany. In particular, the editors and contributors deftly demonstrate how even though impulses from US-based American studies form a point of orientation for its German counterpart, the process falls short of embracing some of the US academy's features more conducive to transformative antiracist work: when it comes to scholar activism, the import of US-based models falls short. That is, instead of embracing critical tendencies of postcolonial, decolonial, and critical race theory and directing these to examine the epistemological and pragmatic frameworks of the university itself—as has been done in the US academy through, for example, the #BlackLivesMatter movement—American studies in Germany on the whole subscribes to a purported detached objectivism in the German idealist tradition. The volume rejects scholarly praxes claiming epistemic distance such as those enacted through an insistence on objective truth, arguing that the commitment to...

Refugees in the German higher education system: implications and recommendations for policy change

ABSTRACTThe refugee influx in the European context has challenged national systems and individual higher education institutions to develop and iterate solutions for prospective and, increasingly, enrolled university students. In the German setting, enormous federal investment has supported a robust response, though one which in several aspects lacks cohesion. This paper discusses possible implications of refugee student enrolment in German universities, and offers recommendations for policy initiatives in the same context. Key proposals include: revisiting the numerus clausus admissions system; expanding the existing student services model; emphasizing an early focus on subject-specific language proficiency (Fachsprache); emergency funds for small student expenses; the development of internships for refugee students; and support for student and staff collaboration and information sharing at both the state and federal levels.

Universities of applied sciences in Germany: the winners of “Bologna”?

The signing of the Bologna Declaration in 1999 by 29 European ministers of education ushered in a period of fundamental change for the German higher education system, sparking and advancing importa...

The Widening Participation Agenda in German Higher Education: Discourses and Legitimizing Strategies

Although participation in higher education (HE) has expanded in Europe, social inequalities remain a major political challenge. As HE expansion has not led to equal access and success, the mechanisms behind policies seeking to reduce inequalities need to be examined. Focusing on the widening participation agenda, this article investigates how universities translate political demands to their local contexts. The translation perspective is adopted to study the German HE system as an example characterized by high social exclusion. Based on policy document analysis, the study first explores the rationales underlying the discourse on widening participation. Second, a multiple case study design is used to investigate the organizational responses to the demand of widening participation. The findings indicate that the political discourse is dominated by two perspectives that regard widening participation as either a means to bring about social justice or to ensure a reliable pool of skilled labor. The study further reveals that different legitimizing strategies serve to link the policy of widening participation to local contexts. This study contributes to research on social inequalities in HE by introducing a translation perspective that permits analysis at both macro and organizational levels, while acknowledging institutional variations in organizational responses to political demands.

In search of excellence: a case study of the first excellence initiative of Germany

As higher education policies are often associated with intense public spending, the evaluation and performance measurement of respective initiatives becomes increasingly crucial. An extensive and fruitful strand of literature has dealt with the assessment of university performance, yet mainly focused on point-in-time rather than period-of-time examinations. This study investigates the effects of Germany’s first Excellence Initiative, a political measure aimed at building up world-class universities to be able to compete in the globalizing research world. Relying on both qualitative and quantitative measures, taking into account a 15-year period from 1998 to 2012, we analyze the selection process and how and whether the Excellence Initiative fulfilled its ambitious goals. Our results suggest that not the political initiative per se, i.e. the treatment, but the announcement of the treatment triggered diverging performance paths within the German higher education system, thus positively contributed to augmented research performance of the promoted universities. Based on these findings, we provide policy recommendations and avenues for future research.