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Productive Learning in Berlin Schools - PLEBS
From September 1996 to July 2003 the IPLE,
in co-operation with the Berlin school authority, implemented a total
of 16 Productive Learning school pilot projects running over
a number of years for pupils in their 9th and 10th year in school. 13
Berlin schools and three educational institutions outside of school
were involved in these pilot projects which were funded by the European
Social Fund. The projects were aimed at supporting pupils during their
vocational orientation period and in their professional choices. They
also wanted to school and firms closer together in order to combat jointly
the problem of unemployment among young people.
As of school year 2004/2005 Productive Learning
will form part of the school programme in Berlin schools.
Project Aims
The Productive Learning projects
combine personal education and general education (subject-specific competencies
and 'key qualifications') with individual vocational orientation. They
also include exchanges and the co-operation with international partners
within the framework of the International Network of Productive Schools
(INEPS). Educationally, they have the status of school pilot projects
according to paragraph 3 of the Berlin school law (cf. license agreement).
As of school year 2004/05 they will be incorporated as permanent forms
of education into the framework of the school programmes of respective
schools according to the new Berlin school legislation.
In view of the immense economic and labour market
reforms currently being undertaken in the federal state of Berlin, there
is a need for long-term innovation within education, so that school
leavers are better prepared for the world of work. The rate of unemployment
among young people in Berlin is higher than in all other German federal
states: 18% in Berlin (West) and 11.6% in Berlin (East) (cf. Statistics
of the Federal Authority for Work and Employment 1995). In this respect
it is vital that young people from socially and educationally deprived
backgrounds in particular are assisted in finding new opportunities
to get into the labour market. The latter is the aim of Productive
Learning as it combines general education with vocational orientation.
Young people are thus able to get hands-on experiences over a one- or
two-year period in various professional areas of their choosing alongside
their general education. In this way, a close co-operation between schools
and firms is facilitated.
It was thus possible - through the vast local but
also international experiences of the Institute of Productive Learning
in Europe (IPLE)- to achieve high success rates among young
people who leave school in order to enter professional life. In this
way, small and medium-sized firms were also encouraged to create new
apprenticeships and jobs. In other words, the Productive Learning
Project in Berlin Schools used the 9th and the 10th year in school to
avoid unemployment among educationally disadvantaged young people when
they left school, and it also stimulated the creation of new apprenticeships
and jobs.
Innovation tasks for teachers and educators
Teachers participating in the school
pilot projects and the educators of youth educational projects take
on - in addition to their normal tasks - innovative tasks within the
framework of
Productive Learning Projects in Berlin Schools for the development
of the model projects.
Innovative tasks are divided into two areas:
1. Project development and international
networking
One area consists of the development
of the educational provision as well as international networking. Educators
develop, document and evaluate the educational provision in agreement
with institutions and persons who are responsible for the legal aspects
of school law. They also carry out exchange and networking activities.
On the basis of its varied experiences and the materials which the Institute
of Productive Learning has developed over the course of its existence
(cf. I. Böhm and J. Schneider: Productive Learning - An
Educational Opportunity for Young People in Europe, Milow, 1996), the
institute advises participating schools when preparing, initiating,
establishing, implementing, documenting and evaluating their educational
provision.
Furthermore, the institute advises and supports
the schools in international networking tasks (telecommunication, conferences,
exchanges etc.), is involved in PR work, supervises publications and
disseminates information in order to transfer the positive results to
regular schools and to other areas of educational practice.
Of particular importance for the project is the
International Network of Productive Schools (INEPS) with its
participants in EU countries including Finland, France, Greece, Italy,
the Netherlands, Sweden, Spain, Russia and Hungary. All of these countries
are engaged in an exchange of experts and personnel.
2. Project-related further education
The second area of innovative tasks
is the project-related further education and qualification of participating
educators. The IPLE gives educators the opportunity to take part
in a programme of further study and training seminars. This further
education consists of a programme of distance study (Briefstudium) and
one weekly seminar, as well as international workshops. Educators explore
the study topics on the basis of Institute's 'study letters' (Studienbriefe).
These study materials deal with the most important topics of Productive
Learning in a theoretical way and on the basis of practical examples.
The practice-related examples make sure that the theoretical knowledge
gained is transferred to the project work. During the seminars the topics
of the study letters are explored in depth in relation to work; they
are discussed and supplemented and here experiences are also shared
among educators.
Productive Learning Results in Berlin
The success of Productive Learning
proves the appropriateness of the educational paradigm and the methodology
for ever-increasing social changes. High quotas of people completing
school and high figures of those who then continue with vocational education
and professional work - 70% to 80 % respectively - show clearly that
Productive Learning is not only theoretically plausible but that
it can be implemented and that it is successful, bearing in mind that
we are talking about pupils who had been told that their time in school
would end in failure. All pupils acquire the school-leaving certificate
for secondary education (Sekundarstufe I). A side-product of Productive
Learning is the fact that the many years of this educational work
in Productive Learning have translated into little aggression,
no vandalism and no xenophobia among its pupil.
Participating Institutions
The results of the Berlin project are published:
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Institut für Produktives
Lernen in Europa,
Produktives Lernen - von der Tätigkeit zur Bildung,
Berlin/Hohengehren 2004
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iple 2007
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