German Secondary School Research Articles

Are Digital Tools More Often Implemented in High-Quality Lessons?—Profiles of Instructional Quality and the Use of Digital Tools in Biology and Mathematics Lessons

Abstract The potential contribution of digital tools to quality instruction is a widely debated issue in STEM education. As a first step to investigate this potential, it is necessary to understand how instructional quality and digital tool use are interrelated. Although previous research generally hinted that instructional quality and the use of digital tools are related, it is unclear how these relations are specific to different STEM subjects. Addressing this research gap, we compared the association between instructional quality and the use of digital tools in biology (Study 1) and mathematics lessons (Study 2) based on the questionnaires answered by N = 2,396 eight-grade students at German secondary schools. On the basis of Latent Profile Analyses of instructional quality features considering both their class-level and their within-class variability, the use of digital tools was compared for the profiles of instructional quality identified for biology and mathematics lessons. Study 1 showed, that the three profiles in biology significantly differed in their use of digital tools, whereas this was not the case with the four profiles identified in mathematics (Study 2). In biology, digital tools had been more often implemented in high-quality than in low-quality lessons. But there was no such difference in mathematics. It was conspicuous that students in biology lessons reported overall more digital tool use than in mathematics. Despite several similarities between STEM subjects, the results suggest that a subject-specific perspective on instructional quality and the use of digital tools is beneficial for a more nuanced approach to teacher training.

Doing welfare in German secondary schools—How students’ welfare receipt becomes visible in teacher-student interactions and how teachers perceive these students

AbstractWelfare recipients (e.g., “Bürgergeld”) generally are subject to negative stereotyping, but it is unclear whether students’ welfare receipt plays a role in teacher-student interactions, and if so, what. We conducted eight focus groups with 27 teachers and analyzed them using grounded theory to investigate how teachers characterize welfare-related teacher-student interactions. In addition, we examined how teachers perceive these students and the role of stereotypes in these perceptions. Welfare receipt becomes apparent mostly in bureaucratic care interactions in which teachers support corresponding students in financing school participation possibilities. The familial financial situation meets the school’s participation requirements in these teacher-student interactions. Teachers’ feeling of responsibility for this support varies. Most teachers perceive poverty-related shame among students in these interactions, while others do not. Accordingly, the need for a sensitive approach in these interactions is assessed differently. Teachers mentioned hardly any perspectives on the students themselves but on parents receiving welfare (e.g., low educational responsibility) and assumed parents pass on this behavior to their children. In some cases, this leads to negative educational expectations toward corresponding students, which could implicitly influence teaching-related teacher-student interactions. The results provide initial indications for subsequent negative self-perceptions of students on welfare about their social situation at school.

Indoor environmental quality assessment in passively ventilated classrooms in Germany and estimation of ventilation energy losses

In this field study we present an approach for the comprehensive and room-specific assessment of parameters with the overall aim to realize energy-efficient provision of hygienically harmless and thermally comfortable indoor environmental quality in naturally ventilated non-residential buildings. The approach is based on (i) conformity assessment of room design parameters, (ii) empirical determination of theoretically expected occupant-specific supply air flow rates and corresponding air exchange rates, (iii) experimental determination of real occupant-specific supply air flow rates and corresponding air exchange rates, (iv) measurement of indoor environmental exposure conditions of T, RH, cCO2, cPM2.5 and cTVOC, and (v) determination of real energy demands for the prevailing ventilation scheme. Underlying assessment criteria comprise the indoor environmental parameters of category II of EN 16798-1: Temperature T = 20 °C–24 °C, and relative humidity RH = 25 %–60 % as well as the guide values of the German Federal Environment Agency for cCO2cPM2.5 and cTVOC of 1000 ppm, 15 μg m−3, and 1 mg m−3, respectively.Investigation objects are six naturally ventilated classrooms of a German secondary school. Major factors influencing indoor environmental quality in these classrooms are the specific room volume per occupant and the window opening area. It is concluded that the rigorous implementation of ventilation recommendations laid down by the German Federal Environment Agency is ineffective with respect to anticipated indoor environmental parameters and inefficient with respect to ventilation energy losses on the order of about 10 kWh m−2 a−1 to 30 kWh m−2 a−1.

Teilzeitbeschäftigung und psychische Gesundheit bei Gymnasiallehrkräften

Part-time employment and mental health among upper secondary school teachers Objective: Due to the acute shortage of teachers, there is a debate in Germany about increasing the teaching obligations for part-time teachers (PTT). Many secondary school teachers work part-time in order to cope better with the high workload. Whether a reduction in teaching hours has a favourable effect on mental health is not yet known. Therefore, this study of PTTs investigates the association between real weekly working time and their mental health (inability to recover, burnout risk). Methods: The cross-sectional study included 5905 PTTs at German secondary schools (women: 81 %, average age: 44 ± 9 years), who recorded their working time daily over four weeks. Four part-time groups (PTG) were formed based on the percentage of teaching obligations of a full-time position: maximum (<100–90 %=PTGmax – reference group), high (<90–75 %=PTGhigh), medium (<75–50 %=PTGmed) and low (<50 %=PTGmin). These groups were compared in terms of their average weekly working time and their average time spent on teacher-specific activities (teaching, teaching-related and non-teaching activities) as well as their mental health. Results: The majority of PTTs exceed their contractually agreed working time. Unpaid overtime increases the lower the teaching obligation and averages between –0.4 (PTGmax) and 7.3 (PTGmin) hours/week. The reduction in teaching time has no association with mental health. One third of PTTs reported an inability to recover, 47 % reported burnout symptoms and 3 % reported burnout syndrome. Conclusion: The actual working time/week of PTTs at secondary schools varies greatly and sometimes includes considerable overtime. There is also a risk of mental health disorders for PTTs and therefore a need for preventative measures. Instead of a legal obligation, PTTs should rather be encouraged to voluntarily increase the number of their teaching hours in order to counteract the general shortage of teachers. Keywords: part-time teachers – unpaid overtime – mental health – ability to recover – burnout risk

Evaluation of a medical student-delivered smoking prevention program utilizing a face-aging mobile app for secondary schools in Germany: The Education Against Tobacco cluster-randomized controlled trial

BackgroundTo reduce smoking uptake in adolescents, the medical students' network Education Against Tobacco (EAT) has developed a school-based intervention involving a face-aging mobile app (Smokerface). MethodsA two-arm cluster-randomized controlled trial was conducted, evaluating the 2016 EAT intervention, which employed the mobile app Smokerface and which was delivered by medical students. Schools were randomized to intervention or control group. Surveys were conducted at baseline (pre-intervention) and at 9, 16, and 24 months post-intervention via paper & pencil questionnaires. The primary outcome was the difference in within-group changes in smoking prevalence between intervention and control group at 24 months. ResultsOverall, 144 German secondary schools comprising 11,286 pupils participated in the baseline survey, of which 100 schools participated in the baseline and at least one of the follow-up surveys, yielding 7437 pupils in the analysis sample. After 24 months, smoking prevalence was numerically lower in the intervention group compared to control group (12.9 % vs. 14.3 %); however, between-group differences in change in smoking prevalence between baseline and 24-months follow-up (OR=0.83, 95 %-CI: 0.64–1.09) were not statistically significant (p = 0.176). Intention to start smoking among baseline non-smokers declined non-significantly in the intervention group (p = 0.064), and remained essentially unchanged in the control group, but between-group differences in changes at the 24-months follow-up (OR=0.88, 0.64–1.21) were not statistically significant (p = 0.417). ConclusionWhile a trend towards beneficial effects of the intervention regarding smoking prevalence as well as intention to start smoking among baseline non-smokers was observed, our smoking prevention trial demonstrated no significant effect of the intervention.

Does chubby can get lower grades than skinny Sophie? Using an intersectional approach to uncover grading bias in German secondary schools.

We aim to uncover grading bias by gender, socio-economic status, ethnic/migration background as well as body weight in the German secondary school system. Following an intersectional approach, we test whether-controlling for ability-students receive different grades depending on (the specific combination of) ascriptive characteristics. Using data from the fourth starting cohort (SC4, 13.0.0, first survey in year 9 in 2010) of the National Educational Panel Study (NEPS) consisting of more than 14,000 ninth graders, we compute the predicted differences in grades for the different groups of students depending on whether they are a boy or a girl, whether they are obese/overweight or not, their socio-economic status (SES) and ethnic background. We rely on a grade equation approach, assuming that discrepancies between observed grades and achievement as measured in standardised tests are evidence of biased grading. We control for two different competence tests-the Domain General Cognitive Functions (DGCF) and a standardised domain-specific competence test-as objective measures of ability as well as secondary school track. Even after controlling for different personality and behavioural traits-the "big five", the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), the Sick, Control, One, Fat and Food (SCOFF), health satisfaction and class retention-substantial differentials in grading across almost all factors and subjects remain. To account for the fact that many students may face bias on multiple grounds, we then compare the differences in predicted grades for groups with overlapping (dis)advantaging characteristics (e.g. low SES overweight Turkish boy vs a high SES non-overweight majority girl), while controlling for the objective ability measures. Significant differentials in grades are found in almost all cases, with the largest effect sizes for the subject German. We also compute models including all 2-way or 4-way interactions between the four axes of inequality and find the main effects largely unchanged. On the whole our findings are indicative of widespread additive intersectional effects of gender, social and ethnic origin as well as body weight on grading bias.

L3 English in the German secondary school context: longitudinal development of bilingual heritage speakers’ multilingual repertoire

ABSTRACT A multilingual experience can be considered a significant asset. However, since the earliest studies in the field, research has reported mixed results regarding potential advantages such as increased cognitive ability and metalinguistic awareness. Moreover, studies investigating the influence of bilingualism/multilingualism on the acquisition of additional languages produced partially conflicting findings. This longitudinal study (three measurement time points within 1.5 years) investigates the impact of social, cognitive, and linguistic variables on English proficiency. We rely on data gathered from 374 unbalanced bilinguals (Russian-/Turkish-German), dominant in German, and 600 monolingual (German) students attending grades seven to ten in Germany. We use multiple linear regression models predicting English proficiency to track longitudinal changes. The results show that German reading proficiency and visual-spatial cognitive ability positively impact L2/L3 English C-test scores. In addition, the impact of heritage language proficiency is not statistically significant and language background did not bring about clear differences between the monolingual and bilingual cohorts per se. We conclude that there are differences between the Turkish-German students and their peers, but not between the monolinguals and Russian-German students. We discuss these findings in light of current teaching approaches prevailing in Germany's foreign language classrooms and perceptions of heritage languages in society.

I don't have time! But keep me in the loop: Co‐designing requirements for a learning analytics cockpit with teachers

AbstractBackgroundTeacher dashboards can help secondary school teachers manage online learning activities and inform instructional decisions by visualising information about class learning. However, when designing teacher dashboards, it is not trivial to choose which information to display, because not all of the vast amount of information retrieved from digital learning environments is useful for teaching. Information elicited from formative assessment (FA), though, is a strong predictor for student performance and can be a useful data source for effective teacher dashboards. Especially in the secondary education context, FA and feedback on FA, have been extensively studied and shown to positively affect student learning outcomes. Moreover, secondary teachers struggle to make sense of the information displayed in dashboards and decide on pedagogical actions, such as providing feedback to students.ObjectivesTo facilitate the provision of feedback for secondary school teachers via a teacher dashboard, this study identifies requirements for designing a Learning Analytics Cockpit (LA Cockpit), that is, (1) a teacher dashboard that provides teachers with visualisations of results from formative assessment (FA) and (2) a feedback system that supports teachers in providing feedback to students.MethodsThis study was conducted in the context of STEM classes and is based on semi‐structured co‐design interviews with German secondary school teachers. In these interviews, we first explored challenges teachers encountered in monitoring students' learning and providing feedback. Second, in the ideation phase, teachers were asked to define features an LA Cockpit for FA should have. Finally, in the evaluation phase, we provided teachers with a design template for an LA Cockpit, the LAC_Template, which was built upon our previous work and feedback theory, and asked them to evaluate and improve it. Further design requirements were derived based on the evaluation of the LAC_Template and teachers' suggestions for improvement.ResultsWe derived 16 requirements for designing an LA Cockpit for FA in secondary schools. Findings from the interviews indicated that the feedback system of an LA Cockpit should address teachers' time limitations in giving students individualised feedback. It should therefore be designed to minimise the steps required to deliver feedback. To reduce workload, teachers requested an automated reminder to send feedback, but with the ability to adjust feedback to the learning context. Such a semi‐automated feedback system can help teachers support students individually but also underline the importance of actively involving teachers in the feedback loop and giving them control when using such technologies in secondary school practice. A challenge for future teacher dashboard designs could be to find a balance between technology and teacher control that utilises the strengths of both in a beneficial combination.

Charting the Globe. A Qualitative Longitudinal Analysis of the Englishes in German Curricula and Textbooks

AbstractFor decades now, researchers and academics have lamented the mismatch between the representation of English in the classroom and the way the language is used in real‐world contexts. Much of teaching is bound by curricula that determine not only the contents of their teaching but also the materials and assessment methods they use, they are crucial to investigating changes within TESOL, which is especially true for the public school system in Germany. It therefore seems pertinent to turn our attention toward the administrative and prescriptive side of the decision‐making process in public school systems. In other words, to understand the ways in which Global Englishes can be, and have been, represented within classroom teaching contexts, it is necessary to scrutinize language curricula and mandatory textbooks. To appropriately evaluate necessary changes and developments toward GELT, we need to take a longitudinal view and identify changes over time, however small they may be. This study outlines changes in the conceptualization of English language and English communication over the last 5o years in accordance with relevant GELT themes in German secondary school. A selection of TESOL curricula alongside TESOL textbooks were analyzed as representative of changes in teaching practice. Structuring content analysis was used to identify changes in the representation of key themes. The curriculum analysis suggests keen awareness of the role English plays as a global communication tool from the 1990s, while the conceptualization of its speakers, speaking contexts, and relevant skills remain largely unchanged as the content analysis revealed a strong attachment to native speaker and standard English ideology throughout the curricula and textbooks.

A Comparison of the South Korean and German Secondary School Curricula in Quantum Physics

A Comparison of the South Korean and German Secondary School Curricula in Quantum Physics

Every teacher should be a language teacher for multilingual learners

The purpose of this pilot study was to understand which variables influence the triad of Beliefs, Knowledge, and Teaching Methods about linguistically inclusive teaching of in-service content teachers teaching multilingual learners in German Secondary schools. The non-probability sampling method used a questionnaire in four parts with mainly Likert-scale and multiple-choice questions and generated a small sample of 26 participants through an internet-mediated survey. Using IBM® SPSS Spearman’s rho correlational analysis, six variables were identified, and the results showed that the majority of content participants believed that they had a role in language teaching. The importance of changing content teachers' beliefs in their role in developing the academic language of their multilingual learners was confirmed as well as the importance of improving their knowledge in this field by continuous training. 77% of teachers had not had training in the last three years, and 76% felt under-prepared, while more than half of participants had expressed their need for specialised training in teaching multilingual learners. As a next step, a larger-scale quantitative study is proposed to gain representative data, and to develop an in-service teacher training programme. Enabling all teachers to be language teachers would start to level up the educational, and societal opportunities of multilingual learners in German secondary schools.

Allah, God, YHWH, Gott*: Language-Aware Perspectives on References to God in Religious and Worldview Education. A Comparative Study of Finnish and German School Textbooks

Abstract Language awareness is part of religious and worldview education. In this study, we understand religious and worldview education as language-sensitive and argue that it is necessary to investigate the perspectives on religious language in language-aware school pedagogy. In our view, religious language can be an identity marker which navigates and reflects one’s position. We analysed the language used in Finnish and German secondary school textbooks for the Lutheran religion, the Roman Catholic religion and for Islam as well as for the subject culture, worldview and ethics (Finland) and practical philosophy (Germany). Using discourse analysis, we examined the representations of God in the textbooks’ chapters about Judaism, Christianity and Islam, which are characterized as monotheistic religions. According to the findings in this study, representations of God in the textbooks refer to the self-understanding of the studied religion in RE. This study also shows that the use of the name of God in textbooks illustrates similarities and differences in Abrahamic religions. We argue that inter-worldview learning in the context of religious and worldview education enables participation, dialogue and encounter, and that language awareness is part of inter-worldview learning.

Measurement-Invariant Fluid Anti-Flynn Effects in Population-Representative German Student Samples (2012-2022).

Generational IQ test scores in the general population were observed to increase over time (i.e., the Flynn effect) across most of the 1900s. However, according to more recent reports, Flynn effect patterns have seemingly become less consistent. So far, most available evidence on this phenomenon has been categorized by drawing on the classic fluid vs. crystallized intelligence taxonomy. However, recent evidence suggests that subdomain-specific trajectories of IQ change may well be more complex. Here, we present evidence for cross-temporal changes in measurement-invariant figural reasoning tasks in three large-scale, population-representative samples of German secondary school students (total N = 19,474). Analyses revealed a consistent pattern of significant and meaningful declines in performance from 2012 to 2022. Results indicate a decrease in figural reasoning of 4.68 to 5.17 IQ points per decade (corresponding to small-to-medium effects, Cohen ds from 0.34 to 0.38). These findings may be interpreted as tentative evidence for a decreasing strength of the positive manifold of intelligence as a potential cause of the increasing number of recent reports about inconsistent IQ change trajectories.

Mental wellbeing and ethnic brokerage in friendship networks of adolescents in German secondary schools

ABSTRACT Inter-ethnic brokerage between friends, i.e. having friends with different ethnic backgrounds who are not friends with each other, is essential to social integration processes in multi-ethnic societies. This study examines the relation between inter-ethnic brokerage in adolescent friendship networks and individual mental wellbeing in the school context. Using data on friendship networks from a large-scale study of more than 2,700 seventh-graders in German secondary schools, I analyse the interplay between triadic brokerage structures and ethnicity, combining network analytical methods with linear regression techniques. The results show that brokerage in general is associated with lower mental wellbeing. This negative association is stronger for brokerage between friends with different ethnic backgrounds than for brokerage between friends with the same ethnic background. Furthermore, the negative association is not stronger for inter-ethnic brokerage, where the broker has the same ethnic background as one friend, than for inter-ethnic brokerage, where all actors belong to distinct ethnic groups. The results indicate no differences between ethnic majority and minority students. Though inter-ethnic brokerage is vital to bridge ethnic divides, this study highlights the psychological challenges inter-ethnic brokers may face. It emphasises the relevance of investigating brokerage in inter-ethnic friendships and going beyond dyadic perspectives on inter-ethnic contact.

Does students’ awareness of school-track-related stereotypes exacerbate inequalities in education?

Early ability tracking increases inequalities in education. It has been proposed that the awareness of negative school-track-related stereotypes contributes to educational inequalities, as stereotype awareness interferes with students’ abilities to thrive, particularly those in lower, stigmatized tracks. The present study tested this assumption in a sample of 3880 German secondary school students from three tracks, who were assessed four times on stereotype awareness regarding their own school track and academic outcomes (achievement, engagement, self-concept) between Grades 5 and 8. Students in the lowest track reported higher levels of stereotype awareness than higher track students or students attending a combined track. Stereotype awareness increased across time in all tracks. Contrary to our preregistered hypotheses, however, the results from multigroup models revealed that (changes in) stereotype awareness were not more strongly related to (changes in) most outcomes in the lowest track in comparison with the other two tracks.

Learning to spend time in unusual times: An inquiry into the potential for sustainability learning during COVID-19-induced school closures

AbstractWhile current research on school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic is predominantly concerned with learning deficits, the exploratory study presented here focuses on the previously neglected question of young people’s concrete learning experiences during this disruptive period, with a focus on how they used their time and how this relates to their individual needs. The authors interviewed German secondary school students via Zoom and used a grounded theory approach and a transformative learning theory framework to derive recommendations for environmental and sustainability education (ESE). Their findings highlight two important insights: first, that the predominant focus on academic learning loss obscures a more comprehensive understanding of students’ learning experiences; and second, that real-world experiments such as the involuntary school closures during the pandemic may hold the potential to start meaningful, transformative learning processes and experimentation with new strategies for needs satisfaction.

Teachers' proactive behaviour: Interactions with job characteristics and professional competence in a longitudinal study.

In times of accelerating changes, teachers who proactively engage in activities towards school improvement and innovation are increasingly needed. Still, studies on factors that affect teachers' proactive behaviour are rare. Integrating previous research on proactive behaviour within the Job Demand-Resources (JD-R) Model, this paper investigates how job characteristics (time pressure, bureaucratic structures, participative climate, personal initiative of the team) and aspects of teachers' professional competence (self-efficacy, self-regulation skills and knowledge) contribute to and interact with their proactive behaviour. A total of 130 German secondary school teachers (M(SD)age = 44.05 (11.36), 65% female) participated in this study. We employed a full two-wave panel design, with measurement points 5 months apart. The data were analysed with (moderated) single indicator modelling and a cross-lagged panel model. While teachers' self-efficacy in implementing change and self-regulation skills predicted their concurrent proactive behaviour, job characteristics and teachers' knowledge had no such cross-sectional effects. In addition, we found an interaction effect of time pressure and teachers' self-efficacy on proactive behaviour. Including the second measurement point, data indicated no cross-lagged effects of the job and personal factors on proactive behaviour. However, cross-lagged analysis revealed that teachers' proactive behaviour predicted their later self-efficacy in implementing change and the time pressure they perceive. Examining both cross-sectional and longitudinal effects, this study highlights the importance of measurements over time when analysing factors that influence teachers' proactive behaviour: While aspects of professional competence appear to be trainable concurrent resources, time pressure can limit their effect. Finally, cross-lagged effects of teachers' proactive behaviour on their later self-efficacy and time pressure appear as influential in the long run.

Critical Feminist Pedagogy in English Language Education: An Action Research Project on the Implementation of Feminist Views in a German Secondary School

AbstractBased on an action research project, this paper provides innovative teaching approaches for ELT to ensure gender equality through critical pedagogy. The qualitative study focuses on the reconstruction of students' perceptions through the analysis of group/peer talk allowing for the display of changing viewpoints after having dealt with feminist issues in class. Given the still limited representation of multiple individuals not only in society but also in secondary ELT coursebooks, critical educational practices have been concerned with the transformation of exclusionary schooling practices for the purpose of ensuring a just and equal future. Critical language education has been known to promote students' autonomy and sense of responsibility when it comes to the abolition of oppression and marginalization. Likewise, feminist approaches have the goal of fostering feminist principles and ethics of gender equality. The study, conducted in a German secondary school, reveals that the majority of learners welcome an exploration of feminist matters in the ELT classroom, because they recognize the significant connection between language learning and the exploration of societal issues. The implementation of critical and feminist ethics helped students become aware of prevailing gender inequalities; and their willingness for societal transformation highlights a visible increase in learner autonomy.

Examining different motivational patterns in individualized learning

Past research on situated expectancy-value theory has regularly provided evidence of different motivational patterns indicating that not only can students be characterized by different levels of motivation (e.g., low vs. high), but also by divergent profiles (e.g., high success expectancies, low task values). This person-oriented two-wave study (a) identified and compared the motivational patterns of secondary school students from different learning environments (i.e., Student-Centered Learning vs. Teacher-Directed Learning), (b) analyzed the stability of and changes to these patterns during a school year, and (c) examined whether achievement-related choices and performance predicted the pattern changes. Using data from German secondary school students (T1: N = 1153; M = 13.97 years, SD = 1.37; 49% girls) multigroup latent transition analysis revealed four different motivational patterns, including a (a) High Motivational pattern, (b) Medium Motivational pattern, (c) Low Motivational pattern, and (d) Highly Confident/Hardly Interested pattern. The distribution of these patterns differed significantly between students from Student-Centered-Learning and Teacher-Directed-Learning environments. Approximately 47% of students in Teacher-Directed Learning were in the low motivational class whereas the Student-Centered Learning environment exhibited approximately half of that number. The extremely stable nature of these classes highlights the strong relevance of the educational context for student motivation and supports situated expectancy-value theory.

The health literacy toolbox for schools: An intervention to promote (digital) health literacy

Abstract Background Children and youth increasingly seek for health information on the Internet and Social Media, requiring to link media, digital and health literacy to equip them with the skills to distinguish reliable and trustworthy information from disinformation. Preferably, health literacy learning is addressed in schools, but to date there are no programs to address this subject in German schools. This study sought out to develop a classroom-based toolbox to promote health literacy in, e.g., media and digital education classes or subjects such as biology, physical activity, social sciences. Method A review on curricular, school requirements, and health literacy interventions was conducted. Findings informed the participatory development of a health literacy toolbox with teaching and learning units for students (7-8th grade) and teachers. The toolbox was tested in three schools, comments were received by teachers and students, supporting the adjustment of the toolbox. Results The toolbox is based on the school curriculum for media and digital education of secondary schools, addressing adolescent students in grades 7 and 8 in German secondary schools. It includes learning units to increase competencies regarding health information seeking, understanding of information, and critically analysing health claims and messages. Alongside exercises on critical thinking while navigating online Internet and media sources, the toolbox provides topical learning units, linking health literacy with, e.g., COVID-19, vaccination, healthy eating, substance use, media use, commercial determinants, and mis- and disinformation. Conclusions This is the first health literacy toolbox of its kind. Embedding it into the mandatory media and digital education curriculum, and addressing both students and teachers, will ensure the uptake of the programme in schools. Both the toolbox and the methodology of its development can serve as a blueprint for other countries to develop their own interventions.