Disagreements surface between organizations regarding resuming school during the pandemic year
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Germany has been grappling with the challenge of ensuring that students meet minimum learning standards after disrupted instruction. One way schools have addressed this issue is by offering repeat school years.
Photographs, such as one taken by dts Nachrichtenagentur of a school with a Corona sign, serve as a poignant reminder of the unique circumstances schools have faced during this time.
President Heinz-Peter Meidinger estimates that around 10 to 20 percent of students may struggle to keep up in core subjects next school year. Recognizing the need for additional support, Meidinger advocates for providing these students with more time and a reduced pressure level to catch up.
Udo Beckmann, head of the Education and Training Association, shares a more flexible view, suggesting that competence-oriented learning makes it possible to make up learning deficits flexibly. One model under discussion is repeat classes where the material from both Corona school years is systematically worked through. Another model involves students remaining in the class but having an intensified timetable in the gaps.
However, the Education and Science Union (GEW) has expressed concern about the decision by many federal states to make it easier for parents to request a repeat of a school year in the Corona year. GEW board member Ilka Hoffmann criticizes the offering of repeat opportunities on a large scale as irresponsible, given the existing teacher shortage in Germany. Hoffmann argues that those who promise repeat opportunities should have provided enough teachers in the past and built up a buffer.
Hoffmann stresses that priority must be given to students who were really left behind during the Corona period. She suggests that the decision to repeat a year should be made jointly by the school management and parents, taking into account the personnel and spatial situation at the school.
Despite these concerns, the German Teachers' Association welcomes the possibility of a repeat year for students who have not been sufficiently supported due to Corona-related circumstances. Meidinger, on the other hand, considers the prediction of organizational chaos by some school management associations to be "absolutely exaggerated and also wrong in substance".
While offering repeat school years during the pandemic has contributed to managing student learning losses, it has also interacted with existing teacher shortages and performance standards. Detailed studies focused on Germany’s pandemic-era educational policies on repeat years, teacher availability, and measurable student outcomes would be needed for a full evaluation. The current research primarily provides contextual and qualitative descriptions, with no explicit quantitative data directly linking repeat years to teacher shortage or performance outcomes in Germany from these sources.
[1] [Source 1] [2] [Source 2] [3] [Source 3] [4] [Source 4] [5] [Source 5]
Education and self-development initiatives have become increasingly crucial as schools grapple with the impact of the pandemic on student learning. Detailed general news reports, such as those from Source 1 and Source 2, highlight that flexible learning models like competence-oriented learning and repeat school years are being proposed as potential solutions, addressing the challenges faced by students struggling to keep up with core subjects. However, organizations like the Education and Science Union (GEW) have expressed reservations regarding the widespread offering of repeat school years due to existing teacher shortages and the potential organizational chaos it may cause.
