STEM education's landscape in Germany

EUROPEAN COMMISSION Directorate-General forEducation, Youth, Culture andSportDirectorateB—Youth, Education and Erasmus+ Contact:Maria Podlasek-Ziegler European CommissionB-1049 Brussels STEM education landscape in Author:Dr. Lisa Nieth, Lisa-Marie Steinkampf, Nadia Galati, incollaboration This document has been prepared for the European Commission however it reflects the views only of theauthors, and the European Commission is not liable for any consequence stemming from the reuse of this Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union,2026 © European Union,2026 The reuse policy of European Commission documents is implemented by Commission Decision2011/833/EU of 12December 2011 on the reuse ofCommission documents (OJ L330, 14.12.2011, p.39).Unless otherwise noted, the reuse of this document is authorised under a Creative Commons Attribution4.0 International (CCBY4.0) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). This means that For any use or reproduction of elements that are not owned by the European Union, permission may need PrintISBN978-92-68-38362-9doi:10.2766/4372424NC-01-26-082-EN-CPDFISBN978-92-68-38361-2doi:10.2766/0343466NC-01-26-082-EN-N Contents 1.Backgroundto the country’s education system and STEMperformance.............................................................................................8 1.1.Structure of the national school education system.................................81.2.Governance of STEM education in Germany......................................101.3.Introduction of the country’s recent performance inSTEM education..121.3.1.Performance in STEM and diversity........................................................15 2.Overview of the main policy and structural challenges and factorsrelated to STEM education in schools.................................................18 2.1.Policy framework for STEM education in Germany.............................18 2.2.Overview of the main structural challenges and factors related to STEMeducation in schools............................................................................20 2.2.1.Decentralisation and regional disparities.................................................202.2.2.Shortage of STEM teachers....................................................................212.2.3.Lack of political focus on STEM..............................................................222.2.4.Field-specific disparities in the implementation of STEM education........222.2.5.Gender and diversity in STEM................................................................232.2.6.Declining interest in STEM after primary school and strictseparation ofSTEM fields............................................................................................232.2.7.Lack of continuity in STEM programmes.................................................23 3.Overview of the identified instruments promoting STEM education andtheir results............................................................................................25 3.1.Examples of best practices to support STEM education and theirtransferability.......................................................................................27 4.Recommendations for potential EU interventions..............................35 5.Methodological annex...........................................................................36 5.1.Bibliography.........................................................................................36 5.2.List of interviewees..............................................................................39 Thisdocument presents results of country-specific research on science,technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education and its support inGermany. It was prepared in the context of a wider study on ‘ Promoting STEM 1.Background to the country’s education system 1.1.Structure of the national school education system Germany has a federal education system, in which responsibility for schooleducation lies primarily with the 16Länder(federal states). Each Land has fulllegislative and administrative authority over its education system, including thestructure of schools, curricula, teacher training, and quality assurance. The The education system below the tertiary level is divided into three stages: earlychildhoodeducation and care(ECEC),primary education,and secondary Early childhood education and care (ECEC) in Germany corresponds to ISCEDlevel 0 and serves children from birth to six years old. While ECEC is notcompulsory, it is widely attended. The curriculum focuses on play-based learning,fostering socialisation, creativity, language development, and early cognitive Primary education corresponds to ISCED level 1 and begins at age six, lastingfour years in most federal states (six years in Berlin and Brandenburg). Thecurriculum includes foundational subjects including STEM, such as Mathematicsand General Studies. Assessment in primary scho