Abstract
The traditional German model of skill formation was based on the rather strict segmentation between vocational training and higher education. However, during recent years this differentiation has slowly dissolved, partly by politically motivated developments to increase the permeability between both sectors and partly as a result of latent changes in the participation in higher education leading to a higher degree of ‘academization’. After a short description and analysis of recent trends in higher education and vocational training, especially the expansion of higher education, the article focuses on two processes to achieve more permeability and cooperation between both parts of the German qualification system: (1) the introduction and extending of dual study programmes and (2) the opening of access to higher education for vocational qualified people without the usual school credentials (e.g. the Abitur). The article concludes with two scenarios regarding trends in the participation in higher education.
Keywords
Introduction
Historically, the German system of skill formation comprises two main pillars: firstly, vocational training for the large majority of young people, either in the dual system combining practical training at the workplace and attendance at a part-time vocational school – the main component of vocational training – or in the system of full-time school-based training; and secondly, the more or less elite sector of academic education in higher education institutions. Vocational training, in particular the dual system, has been widely considered to be the heart of the German qualification model. 1 For many decades both sectors have been strictly separated with a very low degree of permeability (see the second section).
In recent years, this model of skill formation and especially the differentiation between these two sectors have slowly dissolved. To begin with, the traditional qualification system has come under pressure because the institutions of vocational training have to some extent lost their attractiveness and more and more young people are deciding to transfer to higher education. This trend results in a clear shift in educational participation towards academic learning (see the third section). Whereas this process, the shift in the participation patterns, is primarily a latent process undermining the existing institutional structures, a second complex is politically motivated.
Some reforms were carried out that have in common the attempt to overcome the traditional segmentation between vocational training and academic studies and to achieve more permeability in favour of higher education. For example, some (more or less) new concepts of courses of studies called dual studies have been implemented or extended (see the fifth section), as well as some measures to open access to higher education for vocationally qualified people (see the fourth section). With respect to these partly latent, partly intended developments, the critical question has arisen whether the German qualification system has been entangled in an obvious and hardly reversible process of ‘academization’. This article will focus on this question.
The segmentation between vocational training and higher education in Germany
The traditional German model of skill formation comprises two strictly separate main sectors: the academic higher education (sub-)system and the non-academic (sub-)system of vocational training, also embracing different institutions and pathways. Within the non-academic sector there is a division between those fields based on a full-time vocational school qualification and those providing training in the so-called dual system, which combines practical training at the workplace and attendance at a part-time vocational school. During the 19th and early 20th centuries both systems, academic and non-academic vocational education, formed their own institutional structures based on completely different construction principles. The origins of this separation between vocational training and academic education can be traced back to medieval times.
Therefore, it is justified to characterize the relationship between higher education and vocational training as highly segmented. This segmentation, as described by Martin Baethge (Baethge, 2007; Baethge and Wolter, 2015), is reflected in at least four characteristics: (1) the different educational paths leading to one of these (sub-)systems; (2) in the very low degree of permeability between both sectors, in particular for transition from vocational training to academic education; (3) in the structures of employment and work that have been associated either with vocational training or higher education; and (4) in the different governance regimes and regulation procedures for both (sub-)systems.
Whereas the route to higher education has been connected with the academic track in the German school system via the grammar school (Gymnasium) and some other upper-secondary institutions, vocational training has been primarily tailored to school leavers from the lower tracks of secondary education via the secondary general school (Hauptschule) and the intermediate school (Realschule). The monopoly of the grammar school and the Abitur (as its final certificate) for access to higher education is manifested in the very small degree of permeability between vocational training and higher education. Access to higher education, especially to the university sector, depended nearly exclusively on the formal study entitlement linked with the Abitur. 2
This specific construction established step-by-step during the 19th and early 20th centuries was legitimized by a sharp contrast, maybe even a hierarchical order between general education, mostly identified with the grammar school, and vocational education. This was a contrast created by the German neo-humanist and idealistic educational theory in the 19th century characterizing the self-image and the understanding of the mainstream of German educational theory also in the first part of the 20th century (Blankertz, 1963, 1982). According to this tradition, only grammar school education as the prototype of general education (‘Allgemeinbildung’) can qualify for academic studies whereas vocational training provides primarily instrumental competencies, often degraded as only ‘utilitarian’.
At an occupational level there has been a relatively clear distinction between professional activities requiring either an academic degree or a vocational training qualification with a limited area of intersection. Higher education has been mainly aimed at the upper level of the civil service and the so-called liberal professions, whereas vocational training should lead to occupations in the industrial, commercial and craft sectors. In particular, occupational activities performed by academic degree holders have mostly been associated with very narrow notions of adequacy between qualification and employment (for the relevance of this distinction in the labour market see, e.g., Ebner in this issue).
Furthermore, both systems – higher education and vocational training – have been subject to different governance regimes and regulation procedures concerning the function and influence of the state, market mechanisms or collective stakeholders such as the so-called social partners (trade unions and employer associations). Whereas the steering of higher education is a state responsibility, vocational training in particular in the dual system is subject to a mixed regime, including primarily a private responsibility for the practical training in enterprises and a state responsibility for the vocational school as the other component, but both within the legal framework of the Vocational Training Law (Berufsbildungsgesetz) (see, e.g., Kuhlee in this issue).
In particular, the dual system has been considered as something like the backbone of the industrial economy (and of the trades) in Germany as well as of Germany’s economic strength and welfare. In an international perception, the dual system has often been considered as something like the flagship of the German qualification system. The dual system of vocational training that had its origin in the craft sector has been considered as the prerequisite for the model of industrial skilled work and the forming of the social class of skilled workers (cf. Baethge, 2008: 551ff.). Basically, this model of qualified work was also transferred to the sector of commerce and other service occupations except those requiring a full-time school qualification (e.g. in the health sector). For a long time the dual system and the formation of a skilled workforce have been deemed as the embodiment of the German economy and production model.
Therefore, with respect to higher education, the traditional German model of skill formation implied an extensive sector of vocational training and a comparatively small sector of higher education. The majority of the young generation should have (and finish) vocational training in the dual system and, a far smaller proportion, in full-time vocational schools. Both together shaped the mass component of the German system of qualification, whereas only a small minority should be qualified in higher education as the quasi elite sector of the qualification system. Beginning in the 1960s and notably increasing during the past 10 years, this constellation is in a significant process of decomposition.
Several developments can be observed. The first (and the most important) trend is that a massive shift in the participation patterns has taken place from vocational training to higher education – sometimes acknowledged as a ‘turning point in the German history of education’ (Baethge and Wieck, 2015). This trend is reflected in an increasing number of first-year students and a stagnating or even decreasing number of new entrants in the dual system of vocational training (see the third section). In recent years the number of new entrants in higher education has been as large as the number of new entrants in the dual system of vocational training.
This shift from vocational training to higher education generates some severe problems for the next generation of the skilled labour force. In a quantitative perspective, the potential of social demand and applicants for apprenticeship has considerably shrunk and is expected to continue to shrink, especially owing to the expected demographic decline. Moreover, from a qualitative perspective the composition of this potential has already changed, and this process will probably continue also in the future. Because the grammar school attracts rather higher-achieving students, the lasting expansion of advanced education is linked with a selective ‘creaming’ effect. Therefore, the already limited potential for vocational training is increasingly comprised of applicants with below-average school achievements or individual shortcomings in their competence development, even if a quarter of the considerably higher number of school leavers with a study entitlement transfer to vocational training, thus waiving or deferring studying.
The shift in the level of qualification has been considered and discussed very controversially (Schultz and Hurrelmann, 2013). On the one hand, some experts and authors are of the opinion that higher education is on the way to becoming the norm of qualification (CHE, 2014) and Germany is only adapting to a trend of global expansion of higher education. On the other hand, there are some warning voices who argue that the increasing participation in higher education signals academic over-education, which in Germany has been labelled as ‘academization mania’ (‘Akademisierungswahn’) (Nida-Rümelin, 2014; similar by Strahm, 2014). This mismatch between educational choices and the requirements of the labour market is supposed to threaten both the architecture of the qualification system as well as the labour market and employment system with its presumed divergent requirements for the workforce. This controversy refers to the optimal balance between vocational training and higher education with respect to the demands of the labour market. The main dispute is: What kind of educational policy will better match the future qualification requirements: the further expansion of higher education or the continuity and advancement of vocational training?
The second development embraces the traditionally strict segmentation between on the one hand vocational training, and on the other hand the track from grammar school to academic education – or in other words: the traditionally very low degree of permeability between vocational training and higher education. Recently, access to higher education has been formally opened to vocationally qualified persons without traditional school credentials, although only to a small extent (Dahm et al., 2013). Furthermore, some particular models of study organization combining academic learning and practical training at the workplace in different forms have been extended – so-called dual studies (Graf, 2013: 91ff.).
Lastly, the provision of programmes and courses in higher education is entangled in a process of diversification in order to match the special needs of working people – for example part-time studies parallel to work, online-based or distance courses or post-graduate studies. The proportion of students enrolling in one of these ‘hybrid’ types has increased, if only to a small extent. For example, the share of new entrants in distance learning programmes has risen from 2.9% in 2005 to 4.2% in 2012 (Autorengruppe Bildungsberichterstattung, 2014: 122). All these approaches have in common that they are trying to overcome the traditional segmentation between vocational training and higher education, even though this has so far been taking place at the periphery of the German higher education system.
Furthermore, some complementary trends towards the ‘vocationalization’ of academic studies can be observed in the higher education sector. Already in the early 1970s the establishment of a second type of non-university institution, the Fachhochschulen, introduced a more practice- and occupation-oriented type into the German higher education system, which in the meantime includes about 40% of first-year students. In addition, all courses of studies, even in the university sector, came under pressure with the Bologna reforms to aim their syllabi at the objective of employability. Even though the results and success of such measures are not really clear (Wolter, 2013), there is a complementary trend noticeable to adapt higher education more to the professional requirements of the world of work. Another part of this trend is the introduction of dual studies (see the fifth section).
The expansion of higher education in Germany: facts and reasons
In recent years there has been massive growth in the number of first-year students in Germany and a parallel slight decline in the number of entrants in the dual system. Whereas in the year 2000 there were 315,000 first-year students compared to 582,000 new entrants in the dual system, the difference became continuously smaller in the following years. In 2013, for the first time, access to higher education exceeded access to the dual system: 507,000 first-year students were registered compared with 497,000 new entrants in the dual system (all data according to Autorengruppe Bildungsberichterstattung, 2014: 99). This obvious process of approximation has not only been a recent short-term convergence. It can actually be observed in several waves beginning in the late 1950s (Baethge and Wolter, 2015). But this slow convergence did not provoke any concern for many years, because the difference between both sectors remained large until recently.
The share of new students, related to the age cohort, was in Germany clearly below the OECD average. Indeed, in nearly all world regions – except sub-Saharan Africa – a steep growth in the number of (first-year) students related to the age-cohort or the population could be observed (Schofer and Meyer, 2005; Wolter, 2014a: 31). Germany has been rather a delayed nation with respect to the ‘massification’ of higher education. The enormous change in the participation in higher education becomes clear in terms of the share of new entrants related to the age-cohort. The first-year student ratio increased from 5% (1950) to over 20% (1980), 29% (1990), 40% (2008) and then steeply to 58% in the year 2013, approaching the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) average (Wolter, 2014a).
However, it is necessary to take some special features into account. Firstly, the number and ratio of first-year students includes the international students in German higher education – currently about 15% of all new students. Without international students the present ratio of first-year students is about 48%. According to recent changes in the migration regulations, many of the international students are available on the German labour market after graduation, and many of them intend to stay in Germany (cf. DAAD, 2012). That is the main reason to include this group in the ratio of first-year students. Secondly, a small proportion in the number of first-year students results from a one-time effect in 2011, namely the suspension of compulsory military service. More importantly, between 2007 and 2014 there were double cohorts of school leavers with Abitur, a consequence of the reduction of the school time in the Gymnasium from 9 to 8 years in most of the German states. Because of both of these two time-limited reasons it can be expected that the number of new entrants in dual vocational training will again exceed the number of new students in the next few years, but without changing the general trend of convergence.
Thirdly, the picture is not complete without taking into account the fact that there are a large number of young people leaving the school system but not transferring directly to any kind of formal vocational training. Many of them do not receive apprenticeships but enter into one of the very heterogeneous programmes, institutions or measures of the so-called ‘transition system’ (Baethge et al., 2007) that does not offer any final certificates or diplomas but only an interim provision to compensate competence deficits or to bridge the time (see, e.g., Granato et al in this issue). Even if the number of young people entering the transition system considerably decreased from 460,000 (2000) to 258,000 (2013), primarily for demographic reasons, many of them do not have a realistic chance to obtain a formal qualification. Therefore, 17% of all Germans in the age-cohort 30–35 do not have any kind of occupational certificate – either from non-academic or from academic training (Autorengruppe Bildungsberichterstattung, 2014: 237).
Against this background it is fair to say that, presently, there are not too many students in Germany but too many young people in one of the diverse measures provided by the transition system. If half of them transferred into dual vocational training there would not be any public excitement about the supposed Akademisierungswahn in Germany. Thereby it is important to differentiate between politically intentional and non-intentional effects.
It has been a more or less official political objective in recent years to increase the proportion of first-year students to the target of 40–42% of the age group (Wissenschaftsrat, 2006). The reason for this was the concern about a skills shortage at the level of the academically qualified workforce, primarily due to demographic decline. The perception of a growing gap in the supply of a highly qualified workforce in the labour market has been widespread – provoked partly by the high replacement need as a result of the generation change, partly by the increasing need as a consequence of the ongoing transformation of employment into knowledge-based work.
However, the actual development shows that the intended target of a share of approximately 40–42% has been significantly exceeded in a very short period. Therefore, the massive growth in the participation level in higher education cannot be attributed only to politically intended objectives. In fact, there seem to be some unintended forces at work, a dynamic with its own momentum. That means that these forces can hardly be politically controlled and affected. The most important factor behind this expansive development consists of substantially changing educational awareness (‘Bildungsbewusstsein’) in the German population, that is, an increasing level of educational aspirations, especially in the younger generations. This change is not at all a recent trend. Instead, it can be traced back to the 1950s when the ongoing trend of expansion of social demand and participation slowly evolved as a part of the extensive change of the social structure and the living conditions.
In modern society, education and – in particular – formal degrees, certificates and titles provide a crucial function in the social process of position and status distribution. Furthermore, education is an attribute and instrument of social distinction. This effectively operative function of education has obviously changed the educational attitudes of relevant parts of the population, as a quasi latent societal trend. Parents and young people orient their education decisions and behaviour more and more towards these allocation and distribution functions of formal education.
As a consequence, the altered educational consciousness and attitudes result in a higher aspiration level: parents and their children consider education more and more as an option for status improvement, looking for the best starting point that promises the best opportunities for post-school qualification and the competitive constraints of the labour market. Because the Abitur is the highest school leaving certificate in Germany, blocking the fewest and opening the most opportunities, more and more parents and young people aspire to the Abitur. In addition, there is a self-reinforcing effect from previous waves of expansion: the larger the share of Abitur – or degree-holders – the larger the pressure on the next generation at least to equal, if not even to surpass this level.
Interacting with the changing education decisions there is a second factor, an institutional one, influencing the growth: the institutional permeability of the Gymnasium track within the German school system has been enlarged at the most important transition points – for example between primary and secondary school and between the lower and the upper level of secondary school – and by the diversification of alternative school types leading to a study entitlement. Although not all holders of a study entitlement transfer to higher education, the steep growth of the share of school leavers formally qualified to study has had an impact on access to higher education.
The rising social demand for and the rising level of participation in higher education has been sustainably affirmed by the observable current trends on and the absorption of graduates into the labour market. Since the 19th century there have been historically alternating cycles of imbalance between the supply of and the need for graduates in the academic labour market (Titze, 1990). However, despite such fluctuations the level of academic employment has continuously risen in a long-term perspective as a result of the socio-economic structural transformation from an industrial society to a post-industrial, knowledge-based and human-capital intensive economy. Up until now, signs of a saturation in the academic labour market have not been visible. During the last four decades the average proportion of unemployment among graduates, so-called qualification-specific unemployment, was not only at the very low level of 3–5% but also by far the lowest compared with all other qualification groups (Weber and Weber, 2013
All available data show for Germany a clear correlation between, on the one hand, the level of qualification and, on the other hand, the opportunities in the labour market, income distribution, continuing education chances, health indicators or other indices –summarized under the term of life chances (see Ebner in this issue). Attempts to estimate the individual monetary and non-monetary returns of education clearly confirm these relationships (Autorengruppe Bildungsberichterstattung 2014: part I; OECD, 2014: A5, A6, A7). Of course, these correlations vary significantly between the different subjects but they are nevertheless valid for the average of all graduates employed. As a conclusion it can be stated that during the last decades the labour market has definitely reinforced the choice of an advanced educational path – or in other words: education has monetary and non-monetary benefits so that individual investments in education pay off.
Opening up access to higher education for non-traditional students
The previous explanations should demonstrate that educational decisions and the actually pursued career paths of the younger generations follow less and less the traditional industrial model of skilled work for the majority and academic education for a small elite. Instead of this there has been a massive shift in the educational behaviour patterns triggered and supported by changes in the world of work and employment. These developments are paradigmatic for the loss of the normative power of the traditional mode of segmentation – among other reasons because larger and larger parts of the population perceive the distinctive distribution of life chances and social and economic opportunities as being linked with the different educational paths. This is a lesson showing how historically evolved structures of the relationship between education and employment have been undermined by changing decisions and behaviour patterns in the population and have lost their social acceptance and more or less obligatory character.
In the following two sections we will present two examples that demonstrate how the strict institutional segmentation between vocational training and academic education has recently become more permeable and open, and how new concepts of training and studying have emerged beyond the traditional orders of two separate qualification routes. The first example is the policy to open up access to higher education for vocationally qualified people (without the usual school credentials), in particular for non-traditional students.
In the past, opening up higher education for graduates from vocational training without the traditional study entitlement was only a marginal topic on the higher education policy agenda in Germany. Since the late 1960s the main focus of higher education policy has not been on strategies to open up to non-traditional students but rather on the assurance of access and admission for ‘regular’ students with a view towards the massive expansion of social demand for higher education and also the proliferation of restricted admission (Numerus clausus). 3
This constellation has changed slightly. During the past 10 years there has been a new policy concern with regard to the establishment of regulations to open up higher education for highly qualified persons with a vocational qualification but without a school certificate that entitles them to take up academic studies (Dahm et al., 2013; Wolter et al., 2014a). There are several driving forces behind this new interest in widening participation in higher education, including the following:
firstly, the concern about a demographically caused decline in the social demand for higher education, particularly in economically disadvantaged and demographically shrinking regions;
secondly, the perception of a growing gap in the supply of a highly qualified workforce in the labour market;
thirdly, the emergence of the idea of implementing lifelong learning structures in higher education as an element of the Bologna process and the idea of more permeability between vocational and higher education as a central aspiration of European education policy;
fourthly, strategies of institutional profiling and functional diversification in higher education systems that have stimulated some institutions to develop a lifelong learning profile;
and finally, the interest of economic stakeholders to increase the attractiveness of dual vocational training by formal upgrading and opening access to higher education.
However, it has been continuously difficult to precisely define what is meant by the concept of non-traditional students, in particular in an international-comparative perspective (Schuetze, 2015; Slowey and Schuetze, 2012). There are differences from country to country and often also within countries in what is defined as non-traditional. Depending on the definition, the number or proportion of non-traditional students can vary considerably between countries. Sometimes, the term ‘non-traditional students’ is something like a synonym for the diversity or heterogeneity of the student body in general and covers nearly all characteristics of their composition. A wide definition often leads to an overestimation of their proportion.
Therefore, in the context of the discourse about changing relationships and more permeability between vocational training and academic learning (Severing and Teichler, 2013), the meaning of the notion ‘non-traditional’ should be narrowly defined and limited to those entering higher education with a vocational biography and via an alternative access route. In Germany, this route is often called the ‘third educational route’. The issue of non-traditional students is linked very closely to the topic of permeability between vocational training and higher education. In the specific German context it is the strong segmentation between vocational training and ‘general’ education, for example in the Gymnasium, and the close link between access to higher education and the Abitur that justify the emphasis on vocationally qualified applicants (without the traditional school credentials) when talking about non-traditional students (Wolter, 2012).
During the past few years a political consensus has been reached between the political actors and stakeholders, especially the trade unions and the employer associations, to widen access for these target groups (Ulbricht, 2012). In March 2009 the Conference of the State Ministers of Education (Kultusministerkonferenz, KMK) agreed an arrangement to increase the permeability of access to higher education for non-traditional students. According to this KMK decision, access has been widened for applicants with a vocational background, in particular for applicants with a further education qualification (at the level of an industrial or craftsman’s master, technician, etc.). All holders of this professional qualification now have a general study entitlement equivalent to the Abitur. Other persons with a vocational training certificate have a study entitlement limited to one subject and they must often pass a university entrance examination.
Beyond this agreement there are some further promotion programmes to foster access for non-traditional students. The most important programme is the competition ‘upward mobility by education – open universities’, provided by the federal government in cooperation with the German states (Banscherus and Wolter, 2013). Currently, this programme promotes more than 70 projects at more than 100 higher education institutions. Its focus is on the development and implementation of flexible studies at the BA or MA level, sometimes also at a certificate level (e.g. for a single module), including part-time studies parallel to work, procedures of recognition of prior learning, new media-based learning technologies and so on.
According to the available data the quantitative importance of non-traditional access routes has been very modest so far. However, a small but significant increase can be observed (Autorengruppe Bildungsberichterstattung, 2014: 126 f.).
- Based on data from 2013 at all institutions together only 3% of first-year students are non-traditional according to a narrow definition. At least, their proportion has more than quintupled since 1993.
- Based on data from 2012, about 90% of all new entrants to the university sector had the general entrance entitlement, the Abitur, including the second route via evening Gymnasium. A total of 2.5% of first-year university students have taken the non-traditional route. In the sector of universities of applied science (Fachhochschulen) – a vocational-related college type of higher education with some special access routes – their proportion is a little bit but not really very much higher. However, at universities the Abitur has maintained its de facto monopoly as the main gateway (‘Königsweg’). Even in the Fachhochschulen the proportion of students with Abitur is more than 50%.
It can be stated that the structure of access in German higher education is very Abitur-centred, and non-traditional access routes have played only a very marginal role up to now. The main reasons for this are as follows.
The resistance or disapproval by many universities based on two arguments: the already existing ‘over-crowding’ of the university so that further opening policies are not necessary at all; and individual shortcomings in study proficiency because non-traditional students do not have the Abitur as the epitome for study proficiency and general education provided only by Gymnasien. Both these arguments are based on the myth of a contrast between opening the university and academic excellence.
A lack of transparency and information concerning admission prerequisites and procedures because the concrete regulations vary not only from state to state but also between institutions.
The lack of flexibility in the organization of studies and delivery modes. The traditional mode of studying in Germany still comprises on-campus presence and full-time studies for the large majority of students. Distance and digital modes of learning are becoming more widespread but are rather peripheral so far. The same is true for part-time studies or studies parallel to work.
A persisting lack of flexible admission procedures, including recognition of prior learning. Undoubtedly the degree of openness at higher education institutions has at least de jure increased during recent years owing to the KMK agreement (2009) and following amendments of the state higher education laws. However, even in the same legal framework universities practise very distinct implementation policies. So it can be said that institutions have developed a highly differentiated welcoming culture, ranging from very cold and restrictive to more inclusive. Furthermore, the Numerus clausus is an important obstacle because many universities limit admission of non-traditional students by fixed quota.
In particular, the lack of flexibility in study organization is the main obstacle to the participation of non-traditional students (Kerres et al., 2012). Because they have to decide between leaving or staying at work (even part-time), the predominant mode of studies is not really attractive for aspirants with vocational involvement. Despite some measures to open up access and admission over recent years, it is fair to emphasize that studies are not very conducive to the specific needs of students with a non-traditional biography. The high demand for flexible forms of studying is shown in the very large proportion (about 30%) of non-traditional students in distance learning programmes (compared to 4% overall) and their preference for private higher education institutions that offer socialized programmes for vocationally qualified students with high interest in further (academic) education (Autorengruppe Bildungsberichterstattung, 2014: Tab. F2-23web).
Establishing and dissemination of dual studies
A second example of changing relations between higher education and vocational training is the development and dissemination of dual study programmes (Graf, 2013). Dual study programmes combine a higher education programme usually leading to a Bachelor degree with some elements of vocational training. The notion of ‘dual’ refers to some parallels to the dual system of vocational training: the programme takes place at two different locations, whereby the vocational school (Berufsschule) is replaced by a higher education institution. Phases of learning at the educational institution, for example a university of applied sciences (Fachhochschule) that provides academic knowledge, alternate with practical training phases in a company (or another employment institution). In contrast to ‘regular’ students, those in dual studies usually have an apprenticeship or another contract with their company and they get also an apprenticeship salary.
Similar to access for non-traditional students (see the fourth section), dual study programmes are not such a new phenomenon. Since the mid-1970s dual study programmes were provided by special post-secondary institutions (Berufsakademien), at first in Baden-Württemberg, later also in other regions, especially in most of the new states (Länder) in the eastern part of Germany. In the German educational system these institutions were originally located between the higher education sector and the sector of vocational training and therefore they granted qualifications at the ISCED97 5B level. During recent years some of these institutions were integrated into universities of applied sciences or changed their formal status into a higher education institution now awarding the Bachelor degree. Most important was the transformation of the Berufsakademien in Baden-Württemberg into the Baden-Württemberg Cooperative State University (Duale Hochschule Baden-Württemberg) in 2009 (see Deissinger in this issue). This new higher education institution has nine branches all over the state. Nearly half of all first-year students in dual study programmes in Germany are enrolled at the Cooperative State University that is one of the 10 largest universities in Germany. The next step in the transformation of the former Berufsakademie into a full higher education institution (indicating an academic drift) is the development of Master programmes.
Besides the large public Cooperative State University Baden-Württemberg, the development of dual study programmes is mainly the domain of the universities of applied sciences, especially those that are run privately. In 2011 about three-quarters of all dual students were enrolled at only 12 higher education institutions; 11 of them are private. Universities offer only very few dual study programmes and have less than 10% of the dual students (Autorengruppe Bildungsberichterstattung, 2014: Tab. F1-14web). There are two main reasons for this minimal interest on the part of universities. The strong orientation towards academic standards and excellence seems to be incompatible with the somewhat practical character of dual study programmes. In addition, many of the subjects taught at universities do not seem to be appropriate for the dual structure because there are no corresponding occupations in companies, for example in arts and humanities or many sciences.
Besides the practical orientation as the constitutive feature of dual studies the attractiveness of dual study programmes for students results mainly from the training salary during the study phase and the high likelihood to gain a job in the company immediately after graduation. Students expect to have very good career prospects because they are already part of the human resources development of the firm during their studies. For the companies, the main advantages of dual study programmes are that the students develop company-specific competencies, they are integrated into organizational processes and can acquire organizational knowledge and values.
It is not easy to get a proper overview of the dual study programmes at German higher education institutions. Owing to the lack of a common definition, a broad range of study programmes is subsumed under this label. Furthermore, the available databases provide different results. Despite such difficulties, a strong growth in the number of dual study programmes can be seen as a general trend. According to the BIBB 4 database it has tripled between 2004 and 2014 (BIBB, 2015: 7). The number of programmes increased from 500 to 1500, more than 1000 of them offered by universities of applied sciences, 204 by the Baden-Württemberg Cooperative State University, 188 by Berufsakademien and only 71 by universities. These programmes concentrate on very few subjects, primarily on business, engineering and computer sciences (covering 83% of all programmes). There are about 9200 cooperating firms all over Germany. About 20,000 new entrants (2012) and a total of at least 95,000 students (2014) were registered in dual studies (BIBB, 2014: 12). Hence, compared with the number of new entrants in vocational training or higher education in total (see the third section), the number and share of those in dual programmes are rather small.
The concept of dual studies is becoming rather vague because of this rapid growth since 2009 and the lack of a commonly accepted definition. Therefore, a broad variety of forms of dual study programmes is subsumed under this heading.
- In the ‘strongest’ form a dual study programme leads to two full degrees: a Bachelor degree awarded by the higher education institution and an apprenticeship qualification according to the legal framework (Berufsbildungsgesetz, Handwerksordnung) recognized by a Chamber of Commerce or a Chamber of Crafts. This type leading to two certificates is called ausbildungsintegrierend (training integrated). These programmes usually take four years and generally start with the apprenticeship period continuing with the university programme often in the second year. This form symbolizes the new relationship between higher education and vocational training very clearly. The students do not have to decide exclusively between the academic or vocational track; instead, they can integrate both options in a joint programme.
- The second format of dual study programmes combines the academic programme with comprehensive phases of practical work and training in the company, but leads only to the academic degree. Quantitatively this is the main format; not only all programmes provided by the Baden-Württemberg Cooperative State University belong to this type but also many of the courses provided by the other institutions. This type is called praxisintegrierend (practice integrated).
The crucial problem with this second form of dual studies is the insufficient combination of both worlds, the academic world and the world of work. An analysis undertaken by the Wissenschaftsrat (German Council of Science and Humanities) (2013) showed that in many programmes a systematic relationship, embedded in the curriculum, between the practical and the theoretical phases did not exist. In these cases the learning environments of practical and academic learning remain only loosely coupled. The idea of interdependence between the theoretical reflection of practical experience and the systematic application of newly learned theoretical knowledge in practical contexts is not fully realized. Therefore, the Wissenschaftsrat suggested considering the systematic and organized connection between both learning environments as a core element of dual study programmes (Wissenschaftsrat, 2013).
Based on this proposal it should be possible to differentiate between dual programmes in a strict sense and the variety of programmes that contain only some elements of duality. Probably due to the growing public interest, many study programmes were labelled as ‘dual’ that did not meet the definition of the Wissenschaftsrat. Some of them include practical phases only as internships. Others connect the concept of duality with organizational features of the programme, for example the possibility to combine study and employment in a part-time Master programme.
Irrespective of these somewhat confusing terminological difficulties, some questions and challenges regarding the function and future of dual study programmes in German higher education remain. In general, the consequences of the development and dissemination of dual study programmes are presently difficult to assess. It is open whether or to what extent dual studies will replace traditional modes of vocational training in some of the more demanding occupations. Of course, this varies depending on the field of occupation. While in the banking sector graduates of dual study programmes are seen as an alternative to graduates of vocational training and further education (Aufstiegsfortbildung), in industry sectors dual studies open up additional options of recruiting and human-resource allocation (cf. Krone and Mill, 2014). In industry new career paths for graduates with a (dual) Bachelor degree could emerge, leading to a coexistence of both kinds of vocational education.
The future development of dual study programmes as a new pillar in the German system of skill formation also depends on the career expectations and professional attitudes of dual students and graduates. A recent study shows a large interest among dual students to continue their studies after the Bachelor degree in a Master programme (Wolter et al., 2014b). Students may have a stronger academic orientation than firms, which usually prefer vocational training at a higher level. Even though the interest in dual study programmes is high among school leavers with a higher education entitlement, they are faced with a rather limited number of dual study places. Due to the resulting strong competition between the applicants, firms can select applicants with good or very good school grades and profit from a ‘creaming effect’. Firms may also prefer to recruit more students with a ‘standard’ Bachelor degree in particular if more and more graduates from dual studies transfer to Master programmes, thus resulting in a considerable loss of qualified personnel so that the investments in dual students do not generate sufficient returns.
In summary, dual study programmes add a new element to the German qualification system beyond the traditional segmentation between vocational training and higher education. However, the large public interest contrasts with the rather small quantitative importance of these study programmes. They may contribute to an increasing awareness of the need to develop more complex or appropriate models for the integration of vocational or practical orientation into higher education, especially with respect to massively increased participation. Probably, dual studies will extend training options but not replace vocational training in the dual system to a larger extent.
Summary: scenarios
The changing relationships between vocational training and higher education within the German system of skill formation are reflected in two different processes: firstly, the introduction of some measures to realize more permeability and cooperation between both sectors, which was politically intended. This is true for the two examples analysed here: the introduction and extension of dual studies and the opening of access for vocationally qualified applicants. However, neither measure affects the core of the higher education system; rather, they are situated at the periphery of the higher education system – to a certain extent owing to their modest quantitative relevance. Their qualitative and innovative relevance is, however, greater. However, it can be expected that the proportion of students enrolled in dual studies (and the number of courses) as well as the proportion of non-traditional students will increase slightly, and there is no wider political concern about this.
The second change is more crucial – the latent change in educational aspirations and participation, the growth in social demand for higher education and the stagnation or even decline in social demand for vocational training. On the one hand, the dual system of vocational training is compelled to recruit more young people (and to qualify them subsequently with provisions that compensate their shortcomings) who currently pass into the transition system. On the other hand, projections about the future development of the labour market do not give a clear picture concerning the need for an academically qualified workforce. According to most of these forecasts, the demands of the labour market and employment system will grow because of a high replacement need and additionally an extension need as a result of the upgrading trend in the qualification structure of the complete workforce (Cordes, 2012). Quite the contrary, one important forecast even estimates a shortage until 2030 primarily in the segment of occupations based on vocational training (Helmrich et al., 2012).
One scenario may be that the growth of participation in higher education is more dynamic than the parallel increase in the demands of the labour market. Because there is a feedback effect between the opportunity structure in the labour market and social demand either for vocational training or higher education, such a contingent development can adjust the social demand for higher education, resulting in a reverse trend towards taking up vocational training. Another scenario leads to the contrary conclusion that a decline in labour market chances for graduates will even reinforce the aspirations to study because subtle distinctions in the qualification status will become even more important. So it might be that decreasing returns will intensify future qualification efforts and the latent competition on the qualification market.
The conjecture that there is an ‘academization mania’ in Germany overestimates the politically influenceable component in the expansion of participation in higher education. If the change in educational awareness and aspirations in relevant parts of the population more or less has a dynamic of its own – the summative result of all individual educational decisions – then it is hardly feasible to reverse this development within a relatively open system of educational choices and paths. The changing participation patterns are not the result of a pathological mania but of relatively rational choices in so far as parents and young people have realistically recognized the social allocation function of education and training and orient their behaviour exactly towards this function.
Footnotes
Funding
This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.