Not Translatable but Comparable to Environmental, Scientific and Social Education

Sachunterricht

(not translatable but comparable to “Environmental, Scientific and Social Education”)

Hans-Werner Kuhn

Definition attempt:

The subject „Sachunterricht“ (Integrated Studies) is one of the newest subjects in Germany ´s primary school. The Brockhaus- encyclopaedia (1992) defines “Sachunterricht” as the part of primary school education that has the aim to help pupils to understand their experienced world in it ´s structures.

“Sachunterricht” is a rarely differentiated `pre- subject` that connects to pupils´ experience and surrounding, clears and puts observations and experiences in order and at the same time prepares pupils for specific subjects in secondary school.

While other subjects in primary school cover knowledge that is subject specific, knowledge covered by “Sachunterricht” is not comprised by only one subject, but is subdivided into the following education areas:

social, social- cultural and economic education, Biology and sex education, History, Geography and road safety education.

“Sachunterricht” didactics stands therefore in reference to didactics of other subjects.

(compare to Brockhaus- Enzyklopädie 1992/ Reinhoffer 2000, 25;27)

History of „Sachunterricht“

The subject „Sachunterricht“ was developed out of Local Studies, which became a recognized subject in the 1920´s with the Weimar Primary School Reform.

1923 Eduard Spranger defined home (“Heimat”) as a mental feeling of roots (“geistiges Wurzelgefühl”). This metaphor became a thread running through the discussion of Local Studies.

During times of National Socialism Local Studies were terribly misused. In the 50´s and 60´s Local Studies were still strongly controlled by the government. Social and political connections were dealt with as child friendly, harmonized, personalized or played down studies about institutions, such as “Our town hall”, “The mayor”, or not dealt with at all.

At the end of the 1960´s, beginning of the 1970´s Local Studies were massively criticized:

- Local Studies would equate primary groups, such as family, with secondary systems, such as economy or politics. This would lead to wrong analogies between common and social facts.

- Local Studies would not any longer suit the political and social experience of children.

With the second point of criticism, the surrounding of children became the central reference point and criterion of selection for school education.

The term “Sachunterricht” was first mentioned in “Strukturplan für das deutsche Bildungswesen” (1970), an important document of education politics. With it Local Studies were replaced by „Sachunterricht“.

Empirical research showed that children even in infant school perceive their political surrounding and develop political attitudes.

The didactics of social themes was oriented on the New Social Studies in the USA.

Didactical concepts

In short, didactics of „Sachunterricht“ can be described as a combination of „Elementary Science“, which include aspects of Physics, Chemistry, Technology, Biology, Geology and Astronomy and “Elementary Social Studies”, which include aspects of Geography, Histroy, Anthropology, Sociology, Political Science, Economy and Psychology (compare to Schreier 1994, 17).

Didactical programmes of „Sachunterricht“ consist of opening processes, that have been developed over generations, up for pupils direct experience.

Dimension of political education in integrative „Sachunterricht“

One of the newest didactical concepts of “Sachunterricht” integrates dimensions of different subject areas.

The “Handbuch zur politischen Bildung in der Grundschule” (George/ Prote 1996, 7-11) attempts to extend political education in primary school, which has been believed to be integrative political and social education, with various other areas of learning. Altogether “Sachunterricht” consists of seven learning areas:

Social, moral, economic- social, political, historical, geographic and science- technical learning.

One central aspect to integrate the seven areas is to form a basis for political thinking and acting, which is the aim of “Sachunterricht”. Pupils are able to see conditions of their life as results of human acting.

However, the necessity of political education in primary school is not undisputed.

Various reservations stand against political education in primary school. Herdegen (1996) however describes what political education in primary school should and can fulfil:

- training of democratic capacities, attitudes and virtues.

- Dealing with problems of the modern industrialized society.

Themes dealt with in the area of social studies are:

Family, school, living, liberty, work, service, administration, politics, economy, mass media, money, consumption, advertisement, power… (compare to Kiper/ Pau 1995, 11).

Curriculum Primary School: „Heimat- und Sachunterricht“

Objectives, contents and methods of „Sachunterricht“ can exemplary be shown by the curriculum of Baden – Württemberg (1994, 22-23). In Baden- Württemberg, the subject „Sachunterricht“ is called „Heimat- und Sachunterricht“, which showes that it has a double orientation.

The enumeration of topics related to the pupils´ surrounding demand a structuring of “Heimat- und Sachunterricht” into different working areas. Some topics are dealt with holistic the rest are divided into the following working areas:

“Heimt und Fremde” (home and abroad), “Leben und Gesundheit” (life and health), “Raum und Zeit” (space and time), „Pflanzen und Tiere” (plants and animals), „Natur und Technik“ (nature and technic), as well as „Medien und Konsum“ (media and consumption).

Research of teaching and learning

The necessity for research in the field of „Sachunterricht“ results from heterogeneous didactical concepts as well as from a discrepance between high demands and the reality of everyday teaching. Furthermore it is to be assumed that we do not know enough about children ´s networks of explanation or which accesses for scientific oriented learning are possible (compare to “Zum sokratisch- exemplarisch- genetischen Ansatz in der Physikdidaktik”: Thiel 1973, 90ff).

One approach of research is call political science hermeneutics (“politikwissenschaftliche Hermeneutik”). It has the purpose to reconstruct lessons of “Sachunterricht” in the area of social studies.

Five perspectives

The Society of Didactics for „Sachuterricht“ has developed a paper which describes a core curriculum for “Sachunterricht”. The paper describes areas of learning as perspectives, which are constructed on the basis of children ´s points of views on one side and on the perspectives of science and cultural knowledge on the other side.

Five perspectives for „Sachunterricht“