Whether it's the sensible use of digital media, the increasingly important role of political education or dealing with increasingly heterogeneous classes in general: The demands on schools and therefore also on Bavarian teachers are changing. In order to continue to optimally prepare young teachers for their work, the Free State of Bavaria commissioned a commission of experts to draw up proposals for the further development of teacher education. Three Bamberg residents were represented on the commission: educational researcher Prof. Dr Cordula Artelt, student representative Elias Stubenvoll and the Chairman of the Bavarian Teachers' Association, OStD Pankraz Männlein.
The report on the further development of teacher education in Bavaria contains many innovative approaches, such as the significant expansion of practical orientation in studies and increased attention to inclusion, as well as a commitment to school-specific teacher training and the centralised first state examination. Based on the recommendations, a ‘Teacher Education Masterplan’ is now to be developed for the Free State of Bavaria.
The commission made a total of 13 specific recommendations. These include the demand for more practical orientation in studies, the further development of school internships, increased attention to inclusion and the closer integration of studies, traineeships and further training.
Pankraz Männlein, head of a vocational school in Bamberg and state chairman of the Association of Teachers at Vocational Schools in Bavaria, said at the presentation of the report on 7 May in Munich: ‘Implementing the recommendations of the report would be a significant step forward. Teacher education in Bavaria will become more practice-orientated and thus better meet the challenges of the school of the future and at the same time the expectations of young people, i.e. pupils and prospective student teachers.’
In addition to the practical relevance, the commission also emphasised that teacher education should be based on scientific findings, oriented towards core practices and with the existing high quality standards. Prof Dr Cordula Artelt, Professor at the University of Bamberg and Director of the Leibniz Institute for Educational Trajectories: ‘To this end, it is also absolutely essential that the data situation for the further development of teacher education is improved. Official data such as study progression statistics must do justice to the study and education pathways of teachers and opportunities must be created to evaluate measures in the various phases of teacher education, including the quality of their implementation.’
The student representative is now calling for implementation: ‘From a student perspective, the commission's recommendations offer the opportunity for a real quality boost in teacher education. We particularly welcome the strengthening of high-quality practical references and the coherent development of competences,’ explains Elias Stubenvoll from the University of Bamberg, who was part of the commission as a member of the Bavarian State Student Representation. ‘It is now up to politicians to react to our recommendations and deal with them in a consensus-oriented manner. Bavaria now has the opportunity to create a future-proof and attractive teacher education programme for student teachers - we will be following developments closely.’
In their report, the experts are also clearly opposed to a general structural reform and are committed to the central pillars of Bavarian teacher education. These include the retention of a centralised first state examination, the school-specific design of teacher educatiom and sound training based on scientific findings while maintaining high quality standards.
The commission was made up of representatives from teachers' associations, academics working in teacher education at Bavarian universities and a representative from the Bavarian state student council. The jointly produced report ‘Teacher education for the 21st century: Attractiveness and Quality through Professionalism and Academic Orientation’ can be viewed online.
To the report (PDF)
Note on the photo: The picture shows the expert commission in 2023 with the then Minister of Culture Michael Piazolo (StMWK / Axel König)