In an article published in the journal “Die Deutsche Schule” in 1988, i.e. 25 years ago, I put up “Theses on the Structural Development of the Education System within the Next Five to Ten Years” for discussion. In the first part of this article, I will summarize the essence of these theses and explain the central statements on structural developments. These theses not only had a declaratory character intended to evaluate existing trends and forecast future developments, but were also normative statements containing recommendations for action to be taken in educational policy and proposing a reaction to the expected trends. The core postulation was the establishment of a “two-way-model” in the educational system by building up an integrated secondary school in addition to the “Gymnasium” (academic high school). In the second part of this article, I will confront these theses with today’s reality and ask the question of whether the trends and development forecasts described 25 years ago were correct. In the third part, I will update the theses on the structural development of the educational system based on the facts of 2013.

Schlagworte
education policy, education system, two-way-model, Gymnasium, integrated secondary school