“We have set teacher education as a top issue”

21 June 2023, by Newsroom editorial office

Photo: UHH/von Wieding

Well-trained teachers are urgently sought. his means that many young people will need to decide to study education in the coming years. This interview discusses both the challenges of teacher education and the measures being adopted to attract new students with Universität Hamburg president, Prof. Dr. Hauke Heekeren, vice president for studies and teaching, Prof. Dr. Susanne Rupp, and dean of the Faculty of Education and head of the Zentrum für Lehrerbildung Hamburg (ZLH) Prof. Dr. Eva Arnold.

What are the current challenges to teacher training and education?  

Hauke Heekeren: “The need for teachers is going to increase immensely in the next few years: many teachers are going into retirement, and the number of school students is going up. The number of students applying to study education has been going down across Germany. As a University of Excellence and the largest educational institution in northern Germany, we have set teacher education as a top issue, to help resolve it.”

Eva Arnold: “Social development and global crises present great challenges to teacher education: how to foster teacher resilience while helping children and adolescents cognitively and emotionally face the challenges of the future? Various educational studies show that more and more children in Germany lack fundamental skills in reading, writing, and arithmetic. These skills are more important now than ever, this is a problem we need to fix. But we need a lot more people to get into teaching, including at Universität Hamburg.”

What is the situation at Universität Hamburg?

Susanne Rupp: “Universität Hamburg is also seeing a decrease in enrollment applications, in 2016, there were 5,700 applications for 900 university places in our teacher training course, now there are only 3,200 applications for 1,000 places.”

Arnold: “While there are clearly more applications than there are places, the demand for certain subjects varies: English and German are popular, physics and chemistry, less so. Not all applicants will get a place, but some university places remain unfilled despite the number of applicants. ”

Heekeren: “The faculties are receiving additional resources, so we will be able to fill more places as a total. We have agreed with the research and school authorities to an increase of 175 bachelor’s degree places by 2026, and 145 master’s places by 2029. That is quite a strong signal. However, this will only start to effect the numbers of graduates in a few years. In addition, last year we at Universität Hamburg decided to open admission to the Teacher Training for Secondary School degree component without restrictions from next Winter Semester 2023/24.”

How can we make teacher training degrees more attractive?

Arnold: “The teacher training degree programs in Hamburg are currently going through a process of reform, which includes subjects such as the digital world and sustainability. Teacher training degrees are subject to the same systematic quality control and development as all the other courses offered at Universität Hamburg, and student experiences and points of view are used to develop an appealing range of courses.”

Rupp: “Bachelor graduates from subjects like physics and mathematics should be able to earn a qualification as a teacher. This will help further increase the number of teachers. Previously, students studied two subjects as well as educational science. The changes that are happening now are quite revolutionary in terms of finding new ways of teacher training.

What makes a teacher training degree at Universität Hamburg special?

Rupp: “The range of subjects is particularly broad, as is the number of subject combinations. To list a few: German, English, natural sciences such as biology, chemistry, and physics, mathematics, informatics, languages, and other subjects. Particular features include the free elective area and the high level of practical relevance. The teacher training degree at Universität Hamburg also considers many cross-cutting issues such as inclusion, digitalization, and sustainability. The free elective area provides the opportunity to pursue individual interests and specializations. This broad range was requested by students and positively evaluated. Practical relevance has a long tradition at Universität Hamburg.

Arnold: “In general, students complete multiple subjects, subject-specific didactics, educational science, and teaching placements. We offer training for all school types and educational levels, both primary school and secondary school. We also offer a Bachelor of Education in Teacher Training for special needs education or vocational education, and we have introduced a new degree program in caregiving. We try to prepare our students in advance for their teacher training degree, and to inform them about the aspects of personal aptitude, the range of tasks, career opportunities, the structure of the teacher training degree, and the range of services we offer.

Heekeren: “The teacher training degree is research oriented, multidisciplinary, and provides students with a broad range of subjects and methodology skills. Teacher training degree students benefit from our research strength, as their studies are closely aligned to current research. We also provide our students with the newest research findings in the fields of digital teaching and learning. Universität Hamburg also offers opportunities for studying abroad in many countries and continents. ”

How do we raise awareness of teaching as a degree?

Heekeren: “For questions like ‘Should I become a teacher? How do I apply? How is the course structured?’ we have set up a comprehensive website for the teacher training program to provide better and more targeted information for prospective students. We are also increasingly providing information on social media, particularly Instagram, about the teacher training degree, and provide ongoing insights into the degree program.”

What are the chances of obtaining a university place in the Universität Hamburg teacher training degree?

Rupp: “Currently, the Campus Center is seeing increased inquiries and requests for advice about the teacher training degree. We hope that this interest can be reflected in high levels of participation in our teacher training degree. The chances of getting the university place you want and a job to match are higher now than ever before!”