German education policy and the challenge of migration - Deutscher Bildungsserver

German education policy and the challenge of migration

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The author provides a theoretical framework by reflecting on the scientific debate on education and intercultural pedagogy. After a sketch of the German school system and its discriminatory effects, she reflects the discourse on the low achievements of migrant students, on ‘problematic schools’ and on the ‘threat of Islam’. Second, the author analyses education policies and recommendations on the national and federal state (Länder) levels. Finally, she gives some insights into practices in Berlin schools as well as investigating the statements of three headmasters and an elected parents’ representative. Apart from interviews with these four central figures in their respective school policies, the study is based on interviews with policy makers and experts in the field of education and integration, conducted between June and August 2007, as well as on the review of policy papers and secondary literature. Special focus is given to the State of Berlin, an urban centre with a relatively long history of immigration and cultural diversity, from which the related issues may be investigated more in depth.