Research Proposal: Education Reform Through Policy in Germany from a Historical Context
By: Kate Persson May 2020 Available to download as a PDF here
Introduction In post-World War II Germany there have been many waves of migration and immigration into the country. Directly after the war ended Germany was divided into East and West, both countries began to invite migrants from all over Europe and Asia to help rebuild the country beginning the period of “Willkommenskultur”. Many migrants from Turkey, Italy, the former Yugoslavia and the USSR came to Germany during this period and thus the Wirtschaftswunder began. Due to this migration history many German students have migration background and there are systems in place in the German school system to integrate students arriving from these countries. Therefore, when the Refugee Crisis of 2015 left more than a million Syrian, Libyan and Gambian refugees in Germany – with many more trying to arrive in a new wave from Turkey – the German school system has been unable to cope with the number of students arriving. The old frame of integration that stems from the 1950-60’s Wirtschaftswunder is no longer applicable to migration of this level, but there is much to learn from it so that there can be improvements to help better integrate migrant students into a better future in Germany.
Research Question
To what extent has the Wirtschaftswunder period of West Germany shaped immigration and integration legislation in united Germany and how has the aftermath of the Refugee Crisis of 2015 highlighted the need for enforced federal integration legislation within Germany?
This question is important to investigate because as tensions arise in many countries around the world and natural disasters force migration there will be a large displaced population to integrate into many societies. Many of the migrants that are arriving in these crises are children of school age and with the birth rates declining in many Western countries educating and giving these children opportunity and incentive to stay can inversely mean an economically, and culturally healthy future of innovation and acceptance. The tumultuous history of Germany makes it an interesting place to research this question because there are many factors that will affect the research – such as the migration countries of the Wirtschaftswunder in East vs. West Germany and how that plays into the attitudes surrounding migrants as well as the framework in place for integrating them. If there is something to be learned and derived from this research that can make the integration of students more effective and streamline in Germany, then it is worth pursuing. I believe that Germany is a wonderful test subject for how Western countries can better adapt to migration and immigration in a time where isolationism is becoming vogue.
Annotated Bibliography –
Bauder, Harald. "A Nation of Wirtschaftswunder?" Immigration Dialectic: Imagining Community, Economy, and Nation. Toronto: U of Toronto, 2011. 137-60. JSTOR. Web. 2020 This book chapter discusses the history behind immigration in Germany post-World War II and how the rhetoric on migrants and their value have changed. The author of the book juxtaposes Canadian immigration thought with that of Germany to discuss the role of national identity in the economy and immigration. The chapter creates a clear understanding of the importance of German national identity when accepting and integrating migrants – as well as when drafting legislation having to do with migrants and immigration. After WWII the Wirtschaftswunder period defined West Germany and the economic prosperity through immigration and guest work became the new national identity. That was not the case in the East of Germany and as Eastern Europe (Communist Europe) began to crumble in the 1980’s the view of migrants changed, and the unification of Germany create identity crises which led to immigration crises. The chapter was an interesting read as it defines unified Germany’s immigration stance and laws as weak and unrelated to the goals of the Wirtschaftswunder yet in media within Germany immigration is still seen as a matter of economics – its effects seen in both a positive and negative light. The chapter challenges how I argue what immigration and the integration of refugees means to Germany and supplies synthesis that could translate to the fundamental challenges integration legislation faces.
Blossfeld, Hans-Peter, Wilfried Bos, Hans-Dieter Daniel, Bettina Hannover, Olaf Köller, Dieter Lenzen, Hans-Günther Roßbach, Tina Seidel, Rudoplf Tipplet, and Ludger Wößmann. Integration Durch Bildung: Migranten Und Flüchtlinge in Deutschland. Publication. Münster: Waxmann, 2016. Print. This report was published in 2016 after the height of the 2015 Refugee Crisis and provides a wealth of information on the history of migrant integration into the German school system, legal rights and legal problems of migrants in the school system, data for each stage of school (Kindergarten – Gymnasium [High School]), adult education and problems that arise in migrant groups. This report is one of the most important sources I have as it provides a lot of up to date background, data and broken down legal rights/issues that migrants face in different regions of Germany. It highlights the historical background of migration which is important to me when understanding the different integration strategies and attitudes in the East and West. Grimm, Dieter. Braucht Europa Eine Verfassung? München: Carl Friedrich Von Siemens Stiftung, 1995. Print. This book is brief but discusses the international law in Europe and how the EU’s constitution is not legally binding within the member states as national law overrides international. Grimm discusses how it could be arguable that Europe needs a constitution to create a uniform, overarching system that is enforceable. This was an interesting read as it provided me with the argument that transcends Germany and could be a possible broad solution to my research question. A large part of the integration problem in Germany is the difference in historical policy and attitude between East and West regarding migrants as well as the overwhelming number of migrants taken in by Germany as a whole. The ideas and arguments in this book could be a way to talk about research and solutions in regard to integration strategy and effectiveness.
Hariri, Rafik. Boon, Not Burden. Rep. Washington D.C.: Atlantic Council, 2017. JSTOR. Web. 2020. This is a section of a report that discusses German immigration and economy pre-2015, during 2015 and in the aftermath of the 2015 crisis. The report highlights impromptu amendments to the 2005 immigration law multiple times in 2015 in order to address the unrelenting number of refugees seeking asylum and how the German government can continue to amend to better integrate these refugees in the future. In the discussion of creating an integration process unique to the aftermath of the 2015 crisis the report details how German immigration law works (a 3-tier approach that uses international law, federal law and individual state law) – the federal government passes legislation and the individual federal states are in charge of implementing the law (which is loosely monitored). This structure for immigration legislation and integration framework within each individual state is a large reason as to why the quality of migrant integration is so different in the school system. These laws provide migrants with the right to 500 hours of language classes and 100 hours of civic training – but the leeway states get in implementing and the dearth of instructors makes this part of the law hard to effectively provide. The main reason migrants are not integrated into secondary education and the workforce is the lack of language proficiency (The German education system and certification/qualification/ training system is complex and requires German language proficiency). The report ends with the daunting truth that if there are not changes in the integration and education of children and young adults in this migrant population then there will be a small return of labor from these migrants due to their lack of education and language which are in Germany much needed transferrable skills.
Klusmeyer, Douglas B., and Demetrios G. Papademetriou. "From Policy Vision to Legislative Reality: The Making of the 2005 Migration Law." Immigration Policy in the Federal Republic of Germany: Negotiating Membership and Remaking the Nation. New York: Berghahn, 2009. 251-60. Print. This book chapter discusses the long road to an actual immigration law in unified Germany in the early 2000’s and the essential parts of its creation. It is fundamentally important to understand the political rhetoric from inside the parties regarding immigration and the creation of a federal immigration law was much disputed. The chapter focuses on Germany’s previous identity as a nationalistic state that is not a country of immigration and highlights the shift of German politics from internal to the international stage. In order to be an economic global player Germany would have to open immigration so the drafts for the first immigration bill in Unified Germany began in 2001. Immigration was framed as a positive boost to the economy that would bolster German national identity and used language that minimized the intrusion migrants would have on daily life. This chapter is useful in understanding the legal and political rhetoric that was used to shape the immigration bill, the thoughts and hesitations of the public as well as parties in Germany and is also important when reflecting on how this bill will change in 2015 and whether or not the attitudes of the early 2000’s on immigration have remained the same although the law was haphazardly altered to fit the increasing demand for asylum.
Lange, Valerie. "Ergebnis Und Best Practice Beispiele." Integration Durch Bildung Im Fokus: Schule Und Ausbildung. Proc. of Integration Durch Bildung in Bremen. Bremen: Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, 2018. 1-2. Print. A write up of the main takeaways from the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung Conference on Integration Through Education In Focus: School and Training in Bremen in 2018. Bremen (City-state in the Northwest of Germany) is a stellar example of successful integration strategy regarding the large number of refugee children entering their school system in 2015. It breaks down the data of the number of migrant students in the Bremen school system, discusses the opening of a Center for Interculturality in Bremen that offers advanced training to teachers to prepare them for diverse classrooms, and discusses the importance of creating a school community that also acts as a form of socialization. What is unique about Bremen is that the Center for Interculturality focuses on working with the parents as well as the students to reinforce language and help with resolving trauma from fleeing. It is a report that guides my search for information on what types of programs are working in Germany already, their age groups, migrant’s country of origin, economic standing and federal resources. All of these things play a factor in positive integration but are not uniform.
Lange, Valerie. "Ergebnis Und Best Practice Beispiele." Integration Durch Bildung Im Fokus: Schule Und Ausbildung. Proc. of Integration Durch Bildung in Sachsen-Anhalt, Magdeberg. Magdeberg: Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, 2017. 1-4. Print. A write up of the main takeaways from the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung Conference on Integration Through Education In Focus: School and Training in Magdeberg in 2017. Magdeberg is a city in East Germany and has a large migrant population. Many families living in Magdeberg have been in Germany for less than 4 years and both the language and school system are foreign to them. Like Bremen there is a Cultural Center that provides brochures in different language to prepare migrant parents on what German school is like, the choices that have to be made regarding a child’s educational track and what a student will need when attending school (food, supplies, bookbag, etc.). The report highlights the dearth of teachers for language classes – a skill that is most desperately needed to succeed in the German school system. The report highlights the actions of local community members, older students and universities getting involved to help teach and create a more cultural community. This report in comparison to Bremen shows the different solutions to integration challenges and also highlights the inconsistency of federal funding/teaching resources between East and West.
Madubuko, Nkechi. "Das Forschungsfeld: Gesellschaftliche Akzeptanz Von Migranten in Deutschland." Akkulturationsstress Von Migranten (2011): 25-51. VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften, Wiesbaden. JSTOR. Web. 2020 This is a chapter from a book titled Acculturation Stress of Migrants [English translation] and provides information on the relationships between education, migration background and integration into society. The main discussion of the chapter is the reality of how the state of being (or feeling) integrated is closely related to being accepted as an equal citizen. It provides discussions of current studies that show that two thirds of the native German population are in favor of stopping immigration and a quarter think that migrants are a burden on the German social systems. There is a discussion on how this negative view of migrants currently effects policy and legislation on integration and the historical background of the integration framework in Germany. This chapter provides important information on previous immigration policy and its contents, ethnic segmentation on the labor market and stereotypical ideas of the native German majority population. It is organized to show the development phases of the acceptance of migrants in the German majority population (and the differences within regional populations), the history of the foreign policy and the employment/secondary education of migrants after the Second World War (briefly presented and analyzed in a historical review).
Siegert, Manuel. Schulische Bildung Von Migranten in Deutschland. Rep. Berlin: Bundesamt Für Migration Und Flüchtlinge, 2008. Print. This is an official report from the Federal Office for Migrants and Refugees [Bundesamt für Migranten und Flüchtlinge] that provides federal statistics. The contents of this report begins with data from surveys conducted on the German population on attitudes of migrants in the school system (a micro-consensus) and then breaks down data of the numbers of migrants within the school system (country of origin, language, age group) with the school performance statistics. The rest of the report is broken down into studying the results/performance of schools through the lens of migrant student population in different years and the graduation rates. It is important to note that these graduation rates and types of degrees are divided by those that have graduated Gymnasium (college track) and those that have a degree through Hochschule (vocational track). The conclusion discusses the statistics, through test scores and degrees how well migrant integration in education is doing and then compares the educational differences between migrant students (and those with migration background) with German/non-migrant students. This comparison in statistics is important when showing the reality of how well the infrastructure is helping migrant students adapt and succeed in school and beyond.
Literature Review
During this preliminary period of reading through different scholarly articles, journals and books I have encountered many different sources that have provided essential information towards the foundation and growth of my research question. This essential information has not only been valuable to the development of my research question by reinforcing it but also through challenging my prior knowledge and forcing me to look at information through a different perspective and or change the way in which I am looking at my research completely in certain aspects. I tried to find a balance of literature ranging from scripts/notes of conferences, newspaper articles to policy, federal reports, as well as books and scholarly articles – the range of medium allowed me to gain a broader perspective of the research around about but also closely surrounding my research question.
I focused on two main veins of literature/scholarly research in my annotated bibliography – literature that focused mainly on immigrant integration in the German school system and literature that focused on particular aspects of immigration policy and migrant attitudes in the East, West and unified Germany. Some of the literature had these two main themes overlapping but often there was little direct connection mentioned within the texts, but I was able to find places where I could hypothesize and synthesize how the two themes converge. Some important things to note when discussing my chosen literature and topic is firstly, my sources are not all in English – many are in German as there is not literature in English to discuss the legal and political rhetoric regarding migrant integration into the school system and secondly, some of my sources are from the Cold War era to discuss the historical background and inevitably there is bias in the writing – that bias is important when discussing different policy and attitudes regionally. For each vein of research – education integration and historical/current migration policy – I found there to be certain mediums that were most informative. When looking at education integration I found that reports were the most helpful resources as they provide statistics and historical/political background which gives me a lot of concrete data to form hypotheses from. I also find that reports not only contained actual data and surveys but reinforced the numerical findings by providing examples of strategies being implemented in schools, clearly defining obstacles that certain regions faced and providing possible future outcomes based on the data. Having concrete data as well as real life examples of how that data is represented is important when researching the effectiveness (and ineffectiveness) of integration tactics in schools. Most of the reports that I read were from government organizations or federal ministries, so the policy and data were all relatively recent and reliable. When looking at immigration policy and the history of migration in Germany I found book chapters to be most helpful. Books as a medium are conductive to giving background information, explaining the stages of creating a law and is able to fully explain and provide a comprehensive understanding of what is being discussed. I found that the book chapters which talked about the transformation of immigration legislation as well as the historical/current attitudes towards immigration were able to break down complex ideas into digestible pieces. Having a book chapter provides the space to discuss real world events, relate certain policies or laws similar better known examples for synthesis and more often than not provides footnotes which are helpful with clarification and or further reading on the subject. Although my literature did not often directly overlap there were two themes that were heavily present in both the educational literature and the policy literature: the economy and national identity. These are incredibly important themes whose stability is the basis of any nation – but the connection between these two themes is unique to Germany. It is not a surprise that economics and immigration are so tightly intertwined in German history and policy as during the post-WWII period “Germany’s policies towards migration were also labour market policies” (Bauder, 140) and those policies have heavily influenced the legislation currently. In much of the literature I read it is argued that the basis of Germany’s attitude towards immigration is based on economic profit and if the foundation of immigration policy in Germany is purely economic then it is in a state of constant instability. In the “A Nation of Wirtschaftswunder?” by Harald Bauder he discusses the problem of having immigration being constantly conflated with economics stating, “…in public and policy debate, the economic benefit of attracting immigrants was increasingly juxtaposed with the need to protect domestic workers from foreign competition” (Bauder, 147), showing that the rhetoric of bringing in refugees and migrants as workers has a negative effect on populations native to Germany that do not have jobs. The economy and the types of jobs available in the market are always changing meaning that the attitude surrounding migrants is constantly changing as well. Economic factors tied to immigration are present in both policy and education as the German government must make legislation appear as though it is stimulating the economy, yet to stimulate the economy most migrants are sent to regions where unemployment and poverty is high (the East), “An analysis by the Financial Times found that the 10 percent of German areas with the highest numbers of refugees per capita have greater unemployment and fewer jobs compared with the country average… The result is that many people are disproportionately placed in areas of high unemployment, which limits opportunities. Moreover, some Germans express resentment towards the benefits, including housing stipends, received by Syrian refugees” (Hariri, 3). This placement ultimately translates into sending migrant students to schools that do not have the resources to properly integrate them.
The economy and German national identity go hand and hand influencing attitudes on immigration policy more than anything else. According to much of the literature I read West Germans regard the Wirtschaftswunder as their defining national trait therefore a progressive economy was part of the national identity of West Germany, “[West] Germany and its national economy have been structurally dependent on immigration for much of the post–Second World War period. This economic importance of international migration has not been lost on lawmakers and the media” (Bauder, 138). But that also means migrants and guest workers were a large part of the fabric of the West German national identity and that economic identity which purely Western ostracizes the East when unification happens. The attachment of immigration and migrants with national identity as well as the economy is the basic foundation of post-WWII West Germany, “the perspective of immigration as a matter of economic utility has been a staple of post-war media discourse in [West] Germany”(Bauder, 139), and therefore their view of migrants and immigration tends to be more positive than that of the former East. The former East as the secondary sources suggest see migrants as outsiders that are there to take jobs away from “true” Germans. This clear difference in what makes a German an actual German citizen between East and West is an underlying factor for many differing strategies of integration in the school systems from the amount of federal money they receive to the dominant political parties of each federal state that are in charge of implementing the legislation. These cultural problems are seen in the data and employment records of companies that express problems between the transferrable skills and education of refugees and migrants regionally. In a report regarding these cultural pseudo economic challenges between regions it is noted that, “Germany will face challenges to absorbing asylum seekers and refugees into the labor market who lack education or have little to no transferable skills. The German government will also have to expend considerable effort to determine the skill level of asylum seekers and refugees to better determine how to integrate people into different segments of the German economy. The broader challenge will be figuring out how to design an approach to integrate very-low-educated refugees beyond language and civics training and to build basic skills that will allow refugees to enter the low-skilled employment market fully prepared” (Hariri, 5). The cultural stigma of being a refugee in the East weighs on both economic and educational opportunities that are not seen as often in the West due to the Wirtschaftswunder background. During this period of reading, sifting and discovering I have been able to uncover and learn from many fields of research that relate in some way to my topic of research. For the fundamental historical basis of my research question I have found the literature by Harald Bauder regarding the Wirtschaftswunder period to be very helpful. His knowledge base in this area of research has helped me more narrowly look at both West and East German attitudes towards globalization and national identity that are key factors in the regional attitudes of the present day and which traits are shared as “German”. This idea of economy and identity has been reoccurring and had played (continues to play) a vital role in Germany policy. The difference of attitudes between East and West has made passing legislation a problem, “The categorical distinction drawn between “Germans” and “foreigners” perpetuated the binary approach to national membership that has long characterized state policy on migration and citizenship in the FRG. This ambivalence, as well as a certain defensiveness on the part of immigration proponents, undermined the underlying spirit of an immigration law, which, consistent with the thrust of the findings of the Independent Commission, should admit most newcomers as prospective citizens—that is, as persons occupying a middle or transitional membership category somewhere between foreigner and citizen” (Klusmeyer, 253). This attitude difference and the legal status of refugees and migrants has made passing and enforcing immigration law in united Germany extremely complex. Another area of research that I have fallen upon is the comparison of Canadian immigration policy to Germany. This is an area of research that I am not incredibly familiar with but it was interesting to see research done on the relationship between the Canadian economy, policy makers and migrants and attempt to use some of those relationships to identify similarities and differences within Germany. There is a lot of extensive research that already exists on how Divided Germany influences the current unified state as well as research on integration of migrants in schools and the strategies that have worked/challenges they have faced within the educational system. But, the lack of overlap between the revision and unification of federal immigration policy with standard integration policy makes me want to further pursue my research question to fill in the gaps and create educated solutions.
Research Methods There are a few methods that I will employ when conducting the field and further scholarly research on my question. I will be studying abroad for the Academic Year 2020-21 in Berlin, Germany so I will be able to have a more hands-on experience with my research question and it will allow me to do field research. During my time abroad I have the opportunity to work with a school in Wedding [a neighborhood of Berlin] where I will be able to observe migrant students, attend their Vorbereitungsklassen [Preparation courses] and participate with teaching German language skills. I also intend on traveling around the country to see schools in different regions and there will conduct interviews, observational research and surveys on the attitudes toward both migrants and integration effectiveness. In my research the more contact I have with members of the community (those with migration background and German citizens) the better as it will give me a real grasp on the issues migrants face, will allow me to collect actual data and converse with others about possible solutions. As I collect this firsthand data, I will continue doing research though literature to better understand the politics of my question, similar case studies that will hopefully provoke thoughtful revisions/challenges of my observations and previous work. In the interviews I am planning to conduct while I am abroad will be structured in two different ways: formal and informal. I will use formal interviews when I am at schools, organizations and governmental agencies to ask questions about protocol, data, strategic planning in regard to where students are placed in school and the resources put in place to prepare students and families for integration. In this case the schools and organizations will be my quantitative data of the present time in schools which will help me when thinking about differences currently and interviews with governmental agencies will be my quantitative data of both the past and present so I will be able to have a solid factual foundation of past structures, integration laws and migrations numbers (origins, age, gender, etc.) in comparison with the present day data. My informal interviews will be my qualitative data and will be conducted with refugees from the 2015 refugee crisis, citizens with Wirtschaftswunder migration background, German students, teachers and community members of all ages. These informal interviews will give me a rounded perspective of the experience of living in a changed Germany (both past and present) and how migration is seen generationally, how refugees feel they are being integrated, public opinion on refugees and migrants, the plight of teachers bearing the burden and what strategies are effective/ineffective when creating a healthy educational and social atmosphere in a newly diverse Germany. These two types of interviews will be a significant part of justifying my research question and helping to provide solutions because I will be able to make educated synthesis and conclusions through data and public opinion.
Hypothesis
Through my research I expect to find both cultural and economic tensions that create differences in the integration practices within the school system of each federal state. These cultural and economic tensions stem from the different political histories of East and West Germany making the West more wealthy and diverse from the guest workers and international community of the Wirtschaftswunder period to present whereas East Germany was not economically stimulated during the Cold War causing increased poverty and isolation meaning after unification they were still economically behind the West in infrastructure and lacked a history of diversity causing intense pockets of xenophobia. I hope to demonstrate that the lack of federal enforcement on uniform resources, migrant distribution and integration strategy after unification to present day has caused the attitudes surrounding migrants to be unstable. I believe that my research will be important in three different yet significant ways: (1) it will present strategies that have been successful in cities and states that can provide a foundation for every school system in Germany; (2) bring the lack of resources and cohesion regarding migrant students to light which will hopefully prompt communities to speak out or get involved with their local schools to provide cultural and or linguistic support; and (3) it will make Germans and the German government want to properly invest in the futures of these young migrants.
The secondary literature that I have read has brought me to this hypothesis because it was apparent through all of them that many cities are able to effectively integrate large numbers of children such as in Bremen (Lange, 2). In general the main problem for being able to adequately integrate is lack of teachers and or lack of resources and the underlying fact that if Germany does not properly invest in young migrants by setting them up to become a part of the workforce then their economy is not headed upwards in the future, “To date, Germany has done a good job of dealing with the crisis. However, as the immediate crisis recedes, there will be challenges with implementing policy across the different levels of the German government and the myriad agencies involved in this task. The German government has already had difficulties determining individual skill sets and education levels, an essential aspect of helping to integrate asylum seekers into the economy. The problem may grow more acute after able workers find employment, leaving a plurality of individuals who are not qualified for low-skilled jobs. The lack of education for adults exacerbates this problem, creating a potential “skills challenge” in addition to language barriers. The German government is aware of these issues but finding feasible policy solutions is not straightforward” (Hariri, 5). The ability to create positive members of the German society and workforce is abundantly there but there needs to be more access to resources in order to generate a positive return investment. Germany is aware of the opportunities these refugees are giving their economy in the long-run but there needs to be more uniform education in place to prepare them to be competitive and have transferrable skills in the market.