education

• schools pt.2

  • More academic children in the GDR left these in their final two years to attend ‘extended upper schools’
  • at 18, they took the final leaving examination : the abitur - essential for university entrance 
  • Although also, in practice, students needed a good political record through the FDJ
  • The stasi heavily infiltrated universities
  • adopted an informal system where students would only be selected for the extended upper schools according to the number of university places available - some years as few as 12% of 18 year olds received the abitur necessary for university entrance 
• problems in education

  • Two fundamental problems in education:
  • Huge pressure for ideological conformity caused resentment among many.
  • Workforce became overqualified, there simply weren’t any skilled jobs for the numbers of skilled workers.
  • One sociological survey in the 1970s suggested 80% of workers were skilled but there were only suitable opportunities for 55% of them.
  • Other data suggests 20% of workers were doing jobs for which they were overqualified.
• What type of education is vocational education aimed at?

  For the less academic
• What did vocational education offer to students?

  Links with industry and work placements
• What event was held annually to promote vocational education?

  Fairs of Tomorrow’s Masters
• What responsibility did children on work placements often have?

  Developing new projects
• What was the purpose of the “Fairs of Tomorrow’s Masters”?

  To encourage young people into various fields
• What did research after German reunification reveal about the workforce?

  Shocked by poor conditions and inefficiency
• What was noted about the availability of places for students in vocational education?

  Places were readily available in theory
• What issue did skilled applicants face in vocational education?

  Many had to work beneath their qualifications
• How did the availability of work placements compare to the number of skilled applicants?

  There were never enough places for skilled applicants
• What is the focus of vocational education compared to traditional education?

  Practical skills over academic achievement
• Why are work placements important in vocational education?

  They provide real-world experience and responsibility
• What does the research suggest about the workforce's attitude towards working conditions?

  Many were shocked by the poor conditions
• Military training:

  • From September 1973, students in Years 9 and 10 had to undergo military instruction.
  • Largely involved firing practice and survival techniques one afternoon per week.
  • Those on vocational training were also included.
  • The military also developed relationships with kindergartens coming in to talk to classes of children and show off military equipment/