Education is a state responsibility (with 16 state ministries in Germany) co-ordinated by the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs (KMK). At federal level, general, school and vocational education as well as lifelong learning are now under the Federal Ministry for Education, Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (BMBFSFJ); research policy and (most) higher education matters sit with the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR). A separate Federal Ministry for Digital Affairs and State Modernisation also exists.

KMK portal (https://www.kmk.org/ - only in German)

BMBFSFJ (education remit) (https://www.bmbfsfj.bund.de/bmbfsfj/meta/en) 

BMFTR (research & higher education) (https://www.bmftr.bund.de/EN/Home/home_node.html)

Education System Structure

Education Structure Overview* (e.g., primary, secondary, K-12, tertiary or higher education, with technical/vocational tracks)

     Primary (Grades 1–4 or 6)

→ Lower secondary (Grades 5-10 or 7–10)

→ Upper secondary (gymnasiale Oberstufe Grades 11-12 or 11-13 and vocational)

→ Tertiary (universities, universities of applied sciences, and dual study). Computer science appears as a subject mainly from lower secondary schools; there are vocational IT tracks throughout upper secondary schools.

Education System Structure
Pupil age range when computing/IT is introduced into the curriculum*

This depends on the State. See https://informatik-monitor.de/ for an overview – only in German.

This depends on the State. See https://informatik-monitor.de/ for an overview – only in German.

There are German education standards that organize school computer science as a matrix of five content areas:

1. Information and Data (ID) – representation, storage, security
2. Algorithms (AL) – design, analysis, implementation
3. Languages and Automata (SA) – formal languages, state machines, compilers
4. Informatics Systems (IS) – hardware, networks, distributed systems
5. Informatics–Human–Society (IMG) – ethics, law, social impact

These are crossed with five process areas:

●       Modelling and Implementing (MI)

●       Reasoning and Evaluating (BB)

●       Structuring and Networking (SV)

●       Communicating and Co-operating (KK)

●       Representing and Interpreting (DI)

See https://informatikstandards.de/ for details – only in German. 

Many languages are possible, e.g., Scratch, Java, Python, Snap!

Recommendations for educational standards for computer science (developed by the German Informatics Society (GI), are not binding, but are an accepted basis for implementation)

(https://informatikstandards.de/ - only in German)

Educational Institutions and Access

Notable institutions providing computer science/IT education* (universities, colleges, technical schools);

 Carl von Ossietzky Universität, Oldenburg

●       Christian-Albrechts-Universität, Kiel

●       Freie Universität, Berlin

●       Friedrich-Alexander-Universität, Erlangen-Nürnberg

●       Humboldt-Universität, Berlin

●       Leibniz-Institut für die Pädagogik der Naturwissenschaften und Mathematik

●       Pädagogische Hochschule Heidelberg

●       Pädagogische Hochschule Karlsruhe

●       RWTH, Aachen

●       Technische Universität Dresden

●       Technische Universität München

●       Universität Duisburg-Essen

●       Universität Hamburg

●       Universität Hildesheim

●       Universität Jena

●       Universität Leipzig

●       Universität Münster

●       Universität Osnabrück

●       Universität Paderborn

●       Universität Potsdam

●       Universität Trier

●       Universität Würzburg

Educational Institutions and Access

Digital access in schools (such as Internet access, computer-to-student ratios); 

There is nationwide Wi-Fi/fibre expansion via DigitalPakt; device ratios and bandwidth vary by State and Municipality.

Educational Institutions and Access

Equity and access challenges* (rural versus urban, gender disparities, etc.)

National Initiatives and Policies

Digital education policies, including uses of Generative AI in schools (with weblinks where possible)

Key policies are:

• DigitalPakt Schule (phase I) and a planned/ongoing successor (often termed “DigitalPakt 2.0”).
• KMK strategy “Bildung in der digitalen Welt” (https://www.kmk.org/themen/bildung-in-der-digitalen-welt/strategie-bildung-in-der-digitalen-welt.html - only in German)
• Guidance on AI/Generative AI in schools (https://www.swk-bildung.org/content/uploads/2024/02/SWK-2024-Impulspapier_LargeLanguageModels.pdf - only in German).

National Initiatives and Policies

Computer science/IT teacher training programmes; 

Programmes are run by State teacher training institutes and university computer science chairs.

There are also GI offerings (e.g., “Informatikkompetenzen für alle Lehrkräfte” (https://dl.gi.de/server/api/core/bitstreams/e271f87d-1087-4617-83f5-b0ef98984b04/content - only in German), and regional CPD initiatives.

National Initiatives and Policies

Government or NGO partnerships; 

National Initiatives and Policies

Sources of funding and investment in educational technology; 

National Initiatives and Policies

Language of instruction in IT; 

National Initiatives and Policies

Government/state/public versus private sector involvement; 

National Initiatives and Policies

Key industry involvement

Statistics and Data

Number of students enrolled in computer science/IT subjects at specific ages (linked to longitudinal data if possible); 

Statistics and Data

Numbers of graduates in computer science /IT (linked to longitudinal data if possible); IT workforce pipeline data (linked to longitudinal data if possible); Gender ratios in IT fields (linked to longitudinal data if possible)

Not known

Resources and References

Links to Resources (e.g.: Curricula)  or Guideline websites;

Research reports or case studies;

Policy documents; Contact information for the National Representative

Links include:

• Educational recommendations of the GI (https://informatikstandards.de/ - only in German)
• Website on the position of computer science education in Germany (https://informatik-monitor.de/ - only in German)
• Wiki of the GI Specialist Group on Computer Science Education (https://ddi-wiki.gi.de/ - only in German)

Resources and References

Research reports or case studies;

Policy documents; 

Educational recommendations of the GI are accessible at:  https://gi.de/service/publikationen/empfehlungen - only in German

Freie Universität Berlin

Königin-Luise-Str. 24-26

14195 Berlin

Germany

E-Mail:  ralf.romeike(at)fu-berlin.de

https://www.mi.fu-berlin.de/inf/groups/ag-ddi/team/prof/romeike/index.html

https://computingeducation.de/