Die merkwürdige Vereinigung. Über die Integration des ostdeutschen in das westdeutsche Bildungssystem

Samenvatting

After the East German revolution of 1989 & on the eve of political reunification, German intellectuals hoped to utilize the historical events as an opportunity to introduce educational reforms that would lead to a democratic integration, providing the basis for ongoing reforms in a unified Europe. The East German schools had a homogeneous, overly centralized system with a high degree of communist political influence. The West German schools offered a more pluralistic vision in terms of both instruction & organization. Most East German preschoolers attended day care centers, while their West German counterparts did not attend to the same extent. The East German schools stopped teaching Marxism, adopted instructional methods consonant with a democratic philosophy, acquired West German textbooks, encouraged the participation of parents, teachers, & students in the selection process for school administrators, & began to decentralize, diversify, & federalize. Market conditions led to the closing of roughly 33% of East German professional training institutes. The universities were reorganized along West German models. It is concluded that the unification did not succeed as a democratic integration; rather, it involved the incorporation of the weaker sector into the stronger. 4 Tables, 1 Graph, 18 References. Adapted from the source document.