Fight against extremism - Greens demand two hours of political education per school week
To strengthen democracy, the Greens in Bavaria are demanding significantly more political education at all schools in the free state. "We demand that at all school types starting from the 5th grade, two hours of Politics and Society be taught. Political education must be an integral part of the curriculum and should therefore receive correspondingly more time and space," said Fraktionschefin Katharina Schulze to the German Press Agency in Munich. In addition, there is a need for more qualified teachers for political education and offers for young people's participation.
The Greens justify their demand, among other things, with study results from the University of Bielefeld, which show that students in Bavaria receive significantly less instruction in political education compared to other federal states. According to this, Bavaria has been at the bottom of the national ranking for political education at the gymnasium and at the non-gymnasial secondary level I for years. A gymnasium student from North Rhine-Westphalia, Hesse, or Schleswig-Holstein, for example, receives approximately eight times more instruction in the political education area than students and students in Bavaria.
"The Soder government is a prime example of why we are not yet further in democracy education for young people in Bavaria," emphasized Schulze. "This shows the fig leaf idea of the constitutional quarter-hour per week. Such a fueling in 15 minutes cannot be the only answer to the right-wing shift and the increasing populism."
Criticism of off-topic teaching
However, not only the quantity of educational offers is problematic for the Greens in the Landtag, but also the quality, as the teachers are often not adequately trained for the subject "Politics and Society" (PuG). Current figures on this are not available, as the Ministry of Culture did not answer the party's inquiry. The House announced in December 2022 that at Realschools, around 51 percent of the hours were taught off-topic. At gymnasiums, it was 10.2 percent.
The missing teaching staff are, according to the Greens, the result of misguided study offers. Because the subject PuG for teacher training in Bayern for the gymnasium can only be studied in combination with German or English. For teacher training in Realschule, it is only possible in combination with the subject Economics. For years, fewer and fewer students have been choosing the subject. Therefore, there is an urgent need for alternative subject combinations, as well as a binding module "Political Education" for all teacher training students and a corresponding resource allocation of the universities.
School parliaments and memorial site visits
From the perspective of the educational policy spokesperson of the faction, Gabriele Triebel, however, more still needs to be done to improve the political education of children and young people: "Democracy is learned above all by participating. So that schools do not become 'democracy-free zones', children and young people must also be involved in decision-making processes," she said. Therefore, there is a need for a stable anchoring of class councils and school parliaments.
Further, more students should visit memorial sites. "Memorial sites are important learning places that convey the significance of human dignity and democratic fundamental rights to young people," said Triebel. Currently, however, only one third of middle school students, around 40 percent of real school students, and only ten percent of special needs students visit concentration camp memorial sites. On the other hand, nearly 70 percent of gymnasium students do. Therefore, the state government must enable all students, regardless of their parents' financial means, to visit these sites.
The Greens in North Rhine-Westphalia and Hesse, like their counterparts in Schleswig-Holstein, offer more extensive political education compared to Bielefeld University's findings in Bavaria. Katharina Schulze, the Greens' leader in Bavaria's Parliament, criticizes the Söder government's approach to democracy education, deeming the weekly constitutional quarter-hour insufficient. Qualified teachers for political education are crucial, but data on their training status remains unavailable from the Ministry of Culture. Off-topic teaching, especially in Realschools and gymnasiums, is a concern for the Greens, which they attribute to misguided study offers.
To improve political education, the Greens propose alternative subject combinations and a binding module for all teacher training students. Gabriele Triebel emphasizes the importance of children and young people participating in decision-making processes, requiring a stable anchoring of class councils and school parliaments. Enhancing visits to memorial sites is another priority, ensuring all students, regardless of financial means, can benefit from these educational experiences, as current statistics show significant differences between school types.
Extremism and populism impact democratic education, with the Greens calling for more comprehensive political education to counteract these trends. Bavaria's current approach, embodied by the Söder government, has yet to successfully safeguard democracy education for young people. Significant changes are required to develop a democratic and informed generation, including substantial improvements to the quantity and quality of political education in schools.
