Dhe recently published report by the Standing Scientific Commission (SWK) of the Conference of Ministers of Education paints a devastating picture of primary school: a growing number of primary school students are failing to meet the minimum standards in German and mathematics.
In 2021, 18.8 percent of children were below the minimum standards in reading, which is 6.3 percent more than in 2016. In orthography it is 22.1 percent (up 8.3 percent) and in mathematics 21.8 percent (up 6.4 percent). In addition, many children have problems behaving socially competently and regulating their emotions. The KIGGS study on the health of children and young people in Germany showed that 23.1 percent of seven to ten year olds belong to the risk group of children with mental health problems.
20 recommendations of the SWK
In order to rectify these shortcomings, the SWK makes 20 recommendations that range from the implementation of educational standards to more individual diagnosis and support to increasing the learning times in German and mathematics and better qualifications for teachers. That’s all well and good – one might think. On closer inspection, however, one has to admit that it is not least the failed education reform of the past twenty years that has led the education system to this situation. It was fueled by a euphoria for educational standards and a focus on skills that focused on the core subjects. And it is supported by constant evaluation in order to collect more and more data.
If evidence is required in this context, then studies should be mentioned that examine the effectiveness of such measures: The use of data ranks at the bottom, such as a meta-analysis by Beth E. Schueler and colleagues from 2021 shows. At the forefront is: teacher professionalism and time. From our point of view, children no longer need what has been taming them for decades anyway, but something else.
deficits of the corona pandemic
The children, especially those who are already left behind, that is 20 to 25 percent, need other approaches to learning. In addition, the deficits of the corona pandemic must be compensated. This not only includes catching up on cognitive learning deficits, which have now been proven in several studies and correspond to an average learning loss of around 30 percent. The psychological stress is also immense. More than 70 percent of children and young people are still suffering from the consequences of the corona pandemic, as the Federal Ministries for Family and Health recently jointly explained.
More important than ever are experiences in the group, games and interaction, movement and sport, art and music, nature experiences and handicraft activities. The children have to experience belonging and recognition, self-efficacy and success – especially at school. This can be done, for example, through experiential educational tasks that can only be solved in a team, or through intensive skill experiences, such as learning to swim. Ultimately, the educational process can only succeed if the other side of education is also addressed. Because education not only includes mathematical, scientific and linguistic skills, but is always aimed at the whole person.
The point made by Ken Robinson, one of the most influential educators of the past decades, is a central starting point: people don’t just have their bodies to carry their heads around. Because man is more than his head, he is a body-soul-spirit unity. Corporeality and movement are therefore basic principles of education that cannot be circumvented. Both meet the needs of children to a high degree. When used in a targeted manner, movement can help to compensate for sitting too much at school, support well-being and health, and playfully address emotional and social skills.
Small games in the schoolyard or in physical education, for example, always require coordination with other children, taking back one’s own person, but also asserting one’s own interests. Last but not least, targeted movement activities also promote the cognitive abilities of the children. Cognitively demanding movement breaks in class lessons can promote the children’s ability to concentrate, cognitive flexibility and self-regulation. In “Visible Learning”, the largest data set in empirical educational research, twenty meta-analyses are listed that confirm this positive connection.
Child-friendly rhythm of the lessons
Today’s schools don’t need more German and mathematics first. Above all, she needs more exercise. These include exercise-friendly school buildings and courtyards, a wide range of exercise and sports activities in the classroom and throughout the day, active school festivals and school trips, exercise breaks in class lessons and also active learning in subject lessons.
Getting the school moving means changing the school through a child-friendly rhythm of teaching, through active learning and active breaks, and ultimately also through flexible organizational structures. That would not only help the children with learning difficulties to find access to German and mathematics. It would also be a contribution to a primary school that all children enjoy attending.
Nils Neuber is Professor of Education and Teaching at the University of Münster, Prof. Klaus Zierer Professor of School Education at the University of Augsburg.