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The Corona crisis reveals deficits in the German school system. Not only technical equipment is missing. There are problems especially in digital communication between teachers and students. However, the situation offers the opportunity to expand online courses.
In the crown crisis, many students in Germany were unable to be digitally contacted. This is the result of an evaluation of the “School Barometer”, which was published by the Institute for Educational Management and Economics of Education at the Zug University of Teacher Education in Switzerland. Only slightly more than half of the school employees surveyed stated that they had reached virtually all students.
14 percent of school employees stated that at least ten percent of children and adolescents were not accessible through the Internet. Twelve percent thought that 15 to 20 percent could not be contacted digitally. 14 percent said 25 to 50 percent could not be digitally addressed. Accessibility was particularly poor in eight percent of the respondents. 50 and 100 percent of them were unable to establish a digital communication path for students.
When it comes to media, schools still rely heavily on email (66 percent), followed by a mobile phone (call or message), the school’s website, and online platforms like Moodle. The study surveyed more than 7,000 schoolchildren, including 655 school principals, from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
Often insufficient equipment
Of the three neighboring countries, Germany is the worst performing school. 56 percent of surveyed school employees in the Federal Republic do not believe that technical skills at school are sufficient for web-based teaching and learning formats. Only 24 percent believe the requirements are met.
The proportion is significantly higher in the two alpine countries (Austria 54 percent, Switzerland 57 percent). Differences between the three countries can also be seen in the implementation of digital education, for example, in the number of hours of digital education or in the use of online learning platforms. These values are significantly higher in Austria and Switzerland than in Germany.
In Germany, for example, the proportion of school staff who say they have not arranged digital attendance hours with students for one hour a week is exactly 50 percent. This proportion is significantly lower in Austria and Switzerland: 30 and 33 percent.
In the “School Barometer”, only 36 percent of school employees surveyed in Germany report that they can reach their students through online learning and work platforms. In Austria, this value is significantly higher at 63 percent and in Switzerland at 57 percent.
His own initiative suffers
The poorer technical team and the reluctance of many teachers in Germany also have an impact on student participation: School staff in Germany consider their commitment to learning at home and the support of parents to be significantly less than in the two neighboring countries. In Germany, for example, 34 percent of school employees report that children and adolescents are actively working on their homework; in Austria and Switzerland, on the other hand, 70 percent and 61 percent respectively.
The head of the institute and study Stephan Huber said that the closure of the schools presented all the actors in the educational and school context with a great challenge. “But the current situation is also a great opportunity. Due to the need, digitization has seen a huge rebound.” Learning with and through technology and about technology is now the theme. Digitization could allow for greater differentiation and individualization to do justice to different levels of student learning.
