TEACHER TRAINING PROGRAMS FOR PRIMARY SCHOOL IN GERMANY

ABSTRACT:

This article discusses the reorganization of teacher training programs for the elementary school after the Boulogne guidelines and the implementation of educational norms enacted by the KMK in 2004 in the German Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW). It analyses documents and curricular proposals of two universities (UDE and WWU) as well as data produced in 2017 by narrative interviews with professors of the Institute of Educational Sciences and with coordinators of the Teacher Training Centers of both universities. Based on the data analysis, we found that the pedagogical projects of the courses are organized according to the Teacher Training Act of the NRW, with the national agreements of the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs and with the guidelines of the Boulogne process. The focus of the training programs is to prepare future teachers with the necessary competencies for the work in primary schools. Such guided proposals, despite the received critics, were incorporated in the bachelor and master courses. The curriculum clearly focuses on the professionalization and development of teaching abilities for primary education.

Keywords:
International and comparative education; Curriculum; Teacher training; Teaching in the early years; German universities