Civic education in Germany: facts, challenges and solutions!

Civic education in Germany: facts, challenges and solutions!

On June 10, 2025, the pilot monitor for political education was presented in Berlin, an important instrument developed by the Federal Agency for Civic Education (bpb) under the leadership of four professors. This new monitor is now available for free download and provides valuable indicators on civic education in various educational sectors, including schools, universities, teacher training and extra-curricular education. How puk.uni-frankfurt.de reports, there is an acute lack of reliable data that depicts the opportunity structures, processes and outcomes in civic education.

The importance of political education is essential in times of fundamental social upheaval. The pilot monitor analyzes both existing and specially collected data and identifies central interfaces between the different educational areas as well as the information needs. Initial results show significant differences in the opportunities for political education for learners at schools, which depend heavily on the federal state, type of school and socio-economic background of the parents. Socioeconomically disadvantaged groups often have limited access to civic education, which represents a serious deficit.

Challenges in higher education

The project has been pursued since 2021 and also focuses on higher education. There are only a few institutionalized places for qualification in extracurricular political education. Universities often focus on teaching political education, while the training of teachers during their studies in this area is rated as inadequate. Currently, a high proportion of politics lessons in schools are taught by teachers from outside the subject. This situation makes the quality of teaching in political education considerably more difficult.

In addition, there is a lack of access to further education and training opportunities for active teachers. The training of lateral and lateral entrants is perceived as being inadequate in terms of content. These deficiencies mean that the quality of teaching in political education suffers and therefore the educational participation of all population groups cannot be sufficiently achieved, even though there are open offers.

Regional differences and future perspectives

Another point that the pilot monitor highlights are the regional differences in the density of actors and educational spaces in extracurricular political education. Teachers' remuneration often does not correspond to the level of their qualifications and tasks, which represents an additional obstacle. The pilot monitor not only highlights the challenges in political education, but also the need to increase political responsiveness and identify data deficits.

In this context, the importance of initiating in-depth studies is highlighted in order to sustainably improve the future of political education in Germany. This commitment goes hand in hand with efforts to promote educational reporting in the country. The 2024 education report, which is on kmk.org draws attention, also offers comprehensive information on the current educational conditions in Germany and represents a valuable resource for political decision-makers, educational institutions and the public.

The online version of the education report is also available free of charge and can be used as a basis for further discussions about improving political education bildungsbericht.de. Improved data and analyzes should help make political education structures more effective and ensure access for all population groups.