GermanSocialLab

Home English courses Flat rate €199 For institutions German course library My courses About us Contact

The Education System in Germany – Institutions, Education Policy and Educational Inequality

The education system in Germany: federalism, day-care centres (Kitas), schools, all-day provision (Ganztag) 2026, educational inequality and the Startchancen programme – companion material for your studies.

Self-study course as companion material for students of education studies, social work, childhood studies and special needs education (Bachelor's/Master's, including dual and part-time programmes) as well as early-career professionals in educational fields of work. Self-study course – companion material for your studies; it does not replace any taught course or any practical placement – 8 modules, approx. 8 hours, at your own pace, with a confirmation of participation after working through all modules. Sources in APA 7, as of October 2026.

The modules:

Education as a system: areas, terms and educational pathways at a glance
Who steers education? Federalism, the KMK and federal–Länder cooperation
Supporting children early: day-care centre (Kita), primary school (Grundschule) and the legal entitlement to all-day care
After primary school: secondary levels, vocational education and higher education
Funding and measuring education: expenditure, reports, performance studies
Background and educational success: understanding and explaining inequality
Inclusion, Startchancen and social work in the school setting
Placing the education system in critical context: synthesis, debates and transfer

Self-study without supervision, assignments or evaluation of learning progress by instructors; the voluntary self-reflection is for your own orientation only. Not a course of study and not offered by a university; it does not replace any taught course or any practical placement.

📘 Subject knowledge on the topic: Academic work in your studies: good practice, citing and AI

Self-study without supervision, assignments or evaluation of learning progress by instructors; the voluntary self-reflection is for your own orientation only. Your confirmation of participation becomes available once you have marked all modules as done yourself.

Learning objectives

What you will learn

You can name the six areas of the KMK basic structure of the education system and their typical institutions.
You can name the basic norm of Land responsibility (Article 30 of the Basic Law, GG) as well as state supervision of schools and the freedom to establish private schools (Article 7 GG).
You can name and classify institutions of the early years level and the primary level under the KMK basic structure.
You can name the areas after primary school (lower and upper secondary level, vocational education and training, tertiary level, continuing education) and describe the three categories of types of school at the lower secondary level.
You can state key figures on education financing for 2024 and give the reference year, unit and status (nominal, real, provisional) correctly.
You can explain educational inequality using a well-sourced working definition and distinguish it from statements about individual children.
You can state the central provisions of Art. 24 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UN-BRK) on the right to education and the Länder's commitment to inclusion, and explain them in your own words.
You can name the four areas of tension in the education system (federalism, all-day provision, measuring and steering, fairness) and set out two positions on each.

Self-study at your own pace
Confirmation of participation after working through all modules

Course access

Included in the e-learning flat rate

One year of access to all self-study courses of the online academy – at your own pace, with a confirmation of participation after working through all modules.

Get the flat rate →Team access for institutions

Keep learning

The Education System in Germany – Institutions, Education Policy and Educational Inequality

What you will learn

Included in the e-learning flat rate

Related courses