Teachers, Teacher Education, and Professional Development
The individual states in Germany regulate teacher education, and a resolution agreed on by the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs guarantees recognition of university examinations for the teaching profession in each state. Teacher education in Germany has recently been restructured from a course of study ending with state examinations into a course of study generally comprising 10 semesters (five years) and culminating in a master’s degree in education. The Standing Conference in 2004 also issued national teacher education standards specifying key requirements and competencies of all teachers with regard to teaching and learning within schools generally (teaching, education, assessment, and innovation) and, in 2008, to teaching specific subjects.19,20
Teachers are employed by the Ministries of Education and Cultural Affairs of the federal states. Teachers may be employed on a full or part time basis. According to the Federal Bureau of Statistics, in the 2014–2015 school year, 192,000 teachers were employed full or part time at elementary schools, with 88 percent being women.21 Teachers in Germany tend to be older than those in other countries; in 2014–2015, 43 percent of teachers in general education were age 50 or older. In primary schools, 8 percent of teachers were younger than 30.22
Teacher Education Specific to Reading
In most states, prospective primary teachers are required to study the subject areas German for Primary Schools (i.e., basic education in linguistics, Lernbereich Sprachliche Grundbildung) and mathematics (i.e., basic education in mathematics, Lernbereich Mathematische Grundbildung). Across all states, students who study German for Primary Schools are acquainted with models of reading instruction and concepts for supporting children with learning and reading disabilities, learning to diagnose reading problems and support processes of learning to read. Further, the national standards for teacher education specify that German teachers are to develop pedagogical skills geared toward multilingual German classrooms and second language acquisition.23 In some states, the amount of study time devoted to reading instruction is minimal and often related only to initial reading instruction. Teachers in primary schools are expected to teach in all major subject areas (German, mathematics, and integrated science), even if they were not trained for these subjects in particular. There are no specific reading teachers, since reading is embedded in the teaching of the German language.
Requirements for Ongoing Professional Development in Reading for Teachers
To ensure ongoing professional development, teachers are required to participate regularly in training and development, depending on their state’s legislation or directives. For example, in North Rhine-Westphalia, teachers are required to develop their professional knowledge and competencies themselves within official training programs during and outside of the school year.24 In-service training for teachers is located in the state where they are tenured and can occur at the local, regional, and central levels. At the local level, for example, supervisory authorities (Schulämter) are responsible for teacher in-service training.25 The purpose of this training is to keep teachers up to date in the subjects they teach and the teaching methods used within their subjects, and to help teachers meet the missions of their respective schools. Participation rates in in-service training vary widely across the states.26