Ob Rental agreement and pension scheme, electricity costs or credit conditions – everyone needs basic economic knowledge in everyday life. But at Germany’s schools there are hardly any economic topics.
That also applies to them Baccalaureate exams. Even young people who have chosen an appropriate examination subject and whose economic knowledge is certified with the Abitur usually learn more about politics and social studies, but little or nothing about economics. The strengthening of economic education has been a declared goal of the Conference of Ministers of Education of the Federal States (KMK) for 20 years.
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But it is precisely with the highest school-leaving certificate that you hardly make any progress. For example, economics is weaker anchored in the central Abitur than other minor subjects such as sports or chemistry. This is shown by the study “Economic Education in the Central Abitur”, which the Institute for Economic Education at the University of Oldenburg prepared on behalf of the Flossbach and Storch Foundation and is available exclusively to WELT.
The analysis added the OeBiX study presented in 2021, with which the institute presented a comprehensive inventory of economic education in Germany for the first time. This had shown an urgent need for action, especially in high schools.
In the case of the Central Abitur, which is intended for main subjects such as German and mathematics, but also for a large part of the subsidiary subjects, the Ministry of Education in each federal state determines the written examination tasks for all schools. As a rule, the “Uniform Testing Requirements” (EPA) that are binding nationwide by the KMK should be applied.
The Central Abitur is not only an important instrument for ensuring quality standards, but indirectly also decisive for what the teachers teach in the upper school. In the case of a decentralized Abitur examination, on the other hand, the schools themselves determine the content.
Source: Infographic WORLD
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As the study shows, there are major differences between the 16 federal states. Only in Baden-Württemberg and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania is this possible in the central Abitur independent subject economics checked. In Hesse and Saarland, in addition to the economics subject, there is also a social science integration subject – offered by many more schools – which, in addition to politics or social studies, also provides economic education and is also examined in the central Abitur.
“This means that only four federal states have central Abitur examinations for pure economics subjects,” criticizes research director Dirk Loerwald: “However, two of these subjects are only offered at a few schools and therefore cannot be taken by almost all students.”
In other minor subjects such as chemistry or physics, on the other hand, 14 of 16 federal states have central examinations in the Abitur, and in sports there are at least ten states. “Economics is only the minor subject among the minor subjects in the central Abitur,” criticizes the head of the institute.
Economic education usually takes place in combination subjects
Economic education is therefore mainly examined centrally in the context of combination subjects. However, the quality standard is by no means assured by this. Because only in one of eight social science integration subjects do the central Abitur tasks also meet the nationwide uniform examination requirements (EPA).
This is the decisive criterion for ensuring the comparability and equivalence of the Abitur examinations. Among the combination subjects, only the subject “Economics and Law” offered in Bavaria and Thuringia still performs well, which is tested in the central Abitur and according to the EPA rules.
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In most federal states, on the other hand, economic education is not anchored in the central Abitur at all or not anchored sufficiently. In Berlin, Brandenburg, Schleswig-Holstein or Bremen, some schools offer subjects such as economics, economics or economics/politics.
However, in these countries there are only decentralized Abitur examinations in economic education. Things don’t look much better in Lower Saxony, Hamburg or North Rhine-Westphalia, where there is a central Abitur for an integration subject. However, the economic part provided for in this is often small or can sometimes even be completely avoided by the examinee.
Economics requires dealing with numbers, such as statistics. According to the study, however, the detailed evaluation of the Abitur examination tasks over the past five years shows that text analysis was primarily required for the integration subjects.
Business administration is neglected in the subject Economics
Dealing with figures sometimes played a role only in the independent subject of economics. While the students are taught the political science perspective in class, the economic perspective is given far too little attention.
And so there are no core areas of economics in the central Abitur at all. This applies to business administration as well as to consumer education or entrepreneurship, i.e. entrepreneurial activity.
“Germany’s future as an economic nation also depends on whether we enable young people to think economically at school,” warns Loerwald. In international comparison, the Federal Republic of Germany has an underdeveloped stock culture and also a low proportion of company founders. Both are considered a disadvantage of the location.
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As the study shows, economics education is more solid when it is taught as part of a separate subject. Since 2018, all secondary schools in Baden-Württemberg have had economics as a compulsory subject, which is on the timetable in grammar schools in grades eight to ten.
Accordingly, the students come to the upper school with prior knowledge if they take the subject in the basic course or advanced course. “Baden-Württemberg is a positive example in our study,” emphasizes co-author Stephan Friebel-Piechotta.
Economic education is well anchored in the central Abitur here. In terms of content, however, there is still room for improvement even in the economically strong state. For example, business management topics are still neglected in the exams with a share of only eight percent.
“In order to strengthen economic education, an independent subject of economics is the silver bullet,” Verena von Hugo, director of the Flossbach von Storch Foundation, is convinced. However, significant improvements can also be achieved in the context of combined subjects.
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The “Alliance for Economic Education in Germany”, which was founded in 2019 and has more than 100 mostly institutional members, including business and teacher associations as well as scientists, is also pursuing this goal.
After all, there is now tailwind from the federal government. At the end of 2022, Education Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger (FDP) announced a “National Strategy for Economic Education”, for which a budget of two million euros has been budgeted this year. Because in a world of work that is changing ever faster, economic skills are simply indispensable.
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