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Add to favouritesEconomical and working world-related education > Economical and working world-related education in in Germany
Economical and working world-related education in Germany
In Germany the federal states are responsible for schools and education. But there is an over all agreement: The economical and working world-related education of students should be promoted. Schools should develop programs to help young persons to prepare their individual choice of profession within a process of life and carrier planning. This is of central importance for individuals and society, regarding the recent basic changes of the economy and working world (change of the work requirements and professional biographies, changes of the structures of household, family, enterprise and state, globalization of economy etc). Agreement also consists in the opinion that a fundamental economical education is needed for young people to act rationally in the economical sphere and to find their way in the modern labour world.
In the reality at school there are, however, differences between the 16 federal states of Germany. In the federal system the states are responsible not only for the organisation of the school system but also for the performing of curricula, also those of economical and prevocational education. That means we have important differences in this field of education between the federal states.
Therefore it is not possible to describe in a short contribution the meaning of the topics of ECOLAB modules in general and in detail. Further more schools have a high degree of autonomy in most federal states, so that they may develop teaching curricula of their own (although in a certain framework). Economical and working world-related education is different from state to state and often even from school to school.
A special teaching subject for economics, technology and household does regularly not exist in schools of general education in Germany. In some states those teaching subjects are part of a comprehensive Labour Education (f.i. in some types of schools in North Rhine-Westphalia) or content of courses and project work. In other cases Social Sciences or Politics include elements of economy, technology and household. Further more: In all schools of general education of North Rhine-Westphalia the economical education should be part of history, geography and politics. In upper classes of grammar schools economical education may be chosen by students as a special course.
In other federal states we have different situations. A certain convergence nevertheless exists concerning the general aims and contents of the economic and working world-related education though at a very abstract level. In 2006 a working group of specialists of all federal states defined those convergences (Beinke and others, see www.gatwu.de).
That working group formulated general competences for a comprehensive economical and labour related education and competence:
1. The ability to understand economically marked situations and structures of the social life, to judge them adequately, to act in that area and contribute in performing the economical and social life (field of competence: economy).
2. The ability to understand technical systems and processes, also in their interaction with the structures of social life, to judge these systems and processes, to use and form them (field of competence: technology).
3. The ability to assess individual professional prerequisites and competences, to develop an individual carrier and life plan, to see and judge the changes of professions and working world, to make independent decisions in the educational career and professional life and to design the application process for an apprenticeship or a job independently (field of competence: profession).
4. The ability to confirm the life of one's own suitably for the own needs and in social responsibly, combined with the understanding of the socio-cultural prerequisites and factors of influence, to assure and design the own existence regarding the own needs and priorities (field of competence: household).
(The partnership of ECOLAB formulated special learning aims for all modules of ECOLAB, see chapters Learning Aims.)