The German Half-Day Model: A European Sonderweg?

/ Termine

The German Half-Day Model: A European Sonderweg?

Veranstalter
Cristina Allemann-Ghionda (University of Cologne, Institute of Comparative Education and Social Sciences); Karen Hagemann (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Department of History ); Konrad H. Jarausch (Center for Research on Contemporary History (ZZF))
Veranstaltungsort
University of Cologne
Ort
Cologne
Land
Deutschland
Vom - Bis
01.03.2007 - 03.03.2007
Deadline
15.02.2007
Website
http://www.time-politics.com/
Von
Hagemann, Karen

International and Interdisciplinary Conference:

THE GERMAN HALF-DAY MODEL: A EUROPEAN SONDERWEG?

The 'Time Politics' of Child Care, Pre School and Elementary School Education in Post-War Europe

University of Cologne, March 1-3, 2007

Funded by the Volkswagen Foundation and supported by the Ministry for Education and Research

ABSTRACT
The conference compares the time policies of public child care, pre-school and elementary school education in eastern and western Europe since 1945. It focuses on the one hand on the question of the causes for the differences and similarities between national discourses and policies; on the other hand it analyzes the factors that impede and promote a reform of the time structure.

AIMS AND AGENDA
All-day child care and schools are today the norm in almost all European countries The Federal Republic of Germany is one of the last countries with a "half-day" system, i.e. a child care and school system with institutions that are only open half of the day. All-day schools only exist as exceptions. In elementary schools, the timetable of schools hours is moreover "unregulated": schools start and end every weekday differently. The German '"time politics" of child care and school education is nowadays almost unique. Only Austria and the German part of the Switzerland organize the time structure of their child care and school system in a similar way. Such a time politics makes it extremely difficult for parents to combine having a family with a regular gainful occupation. This is particularly so for women, who are still more responsible for the childrearing, despite all the rhetoric about equal sharing of parental obligations. But the consequences of a half-day time politics of child care and school education extend beyond individuals and families to the economy and society, because this type of time politics is inextricably bound up with social and labor market policies based on the traditional "breadwinner-homemaker" family model, with the man as fulltime breadwinner and the woman as fulltime house-wife and at best part-time earner.

Over the past twenty years, the problematic nature of such a time policies has become increasingly apparent in the Federal Republic of Germany. As a result, the need for an all-day child care and school system for all children has recently moved to the top of the agenda of social, demographic and educational policy. One major reason for this is the dramatic decrease of the birth rate. Germany has one of the lowest birth rates in the European Union. This development is alarming for politicians, because they believe that it endangers the future of the welfare state. A second reason is the poor performance of schoolchildren, particularly those from disadvantaged social and ethnic back-grounds, which became obvious over the last five years in different comparative international surveys of the Organization for Educational Development (OECD), in particular the studies by the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA).

As a means to solve both problems, German politicians - even Christian Democrats who argued for a long time vehemently against all-day child care and schools - are becoming more open to the extension of an all-day child care and school system. This represents a major shift in the public discourse, which for centuries regarded all-day child care and schools as acceptable only for so-called "problem" and "latchkey" children. For 'normal families' they feared a corrosion of the family bonds as a result of all-day education. This was perceived as politically and socially dangerous, because the family was considered the basic unit of state and society. In practice this cultural traditions is still powerful, and the introduction of an all-day system faces substantial resistance. Because of changing time patterns in the work place, however, i.e. the increasing demand for flexible working hours and employees who are available around the clock, the time patterns of child care and school education have increasingly become an issue elsewhere too.

Even if politicians in many European countries rhetorically agree nowadays on the importance of a high-quality all-day child care, pre-school and elementary school education for children between three and twelve, the concrete shape of this education, the necessary reforms, and the question of how they might be realized, remain controversial. Financial strictures are considered in the public debates as the main obstacle for an expansion of high-quality all day-child care and elementary school education. Less public attention is frequently paid to other factors: the interrelationship between the extremely diverse economic, political, institutional and sociocultural starting-points; the setting of educational policy priorities; the division of labor between the family and the state; the models of women's role in the family and society; and thus to the societal acceptance of different models of child care, pre-school and elementary school education.

In order to understand which specific circumstances promoted or hindered reform in a given case, and which historical institutional and cultural starting-points can be expected to affect efforts to expand public education in an increasingly united Europe, a comparative interdisciplinary analysis that takes the historical background into account is essential. To initiate more research in this direction is the major aim of the project "The German Half-Day Model: A European Sonderweg? The 'Time Politics' of Public Education in Post-War Europe (1945-2000): An East-West Comparison" and the upcoming conference.

For more information see the project website: http://www.time-politics.com/

Programm

PROGRAM

THURSDAY, MARCH 1, 2007:

Registration and Welcome Coffee

12:30 - 2:00 p.m.

WELCOME AND INTRODUCTION

2:00 - 2:30 p.m.

- Cristina Allemann-Ghionda (University of Cologne, Institute of Comparative Education and Social Sciences)

- Karen Hagemann (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill , Department of History)

I. GENDER, CHILD CARE AND SCHOOLS: THEORETICAL AND METHODOLOGICAL
REFLECTIONS

2:30 - 4:00 p.m.

Karin Gottschall (University of Bremen, Center for Social Policy Research)

Prof. Cristina Allemann-Ghionda (University of Cologne, Institute of Comparative Education and Social Sciences)

Comment: Sonya Michel (University of Maryland, Department of History)

Chair: Konrad Jarausch (Center for Research on Contemporary History,
Potsdam)

II. FAMILY POLICIES IN COMPARISON

4:30 - 6:30 p.m.

- Ute Gerhard (University of Frankfurt, Interdisciplinary Center for Women and Gender Studies):

"Comparing Family Policy in Western Europe after 1945"

- Jacqueline Heinen (Université de Versailles St-Quentin-en-Yvelines, Laboratoire Printemps):

"Comparing Family Policies in Eastern Europe after 1945"

- Christina Bergqvist (Uppsala University, Department of Government):

"Scandinavian Family Policies after 1945 in Comparison"

Comment: Hans Bertram (Humboldt University of Berlin, Department of Sociology)

Chair: Karen Hagemann (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Department of History)

FRIDAY, MARCH 2, 2007:

III.I THE TIME POLITICS OF CHILD CARE AND PRE SCHOOL EDUCATION IN COMPARISON

9:00 - 11:00 a.m.

- Jeanne Fagnani (Université de Paris 1-CNRS):

"The Time Policy of Child Care and Pre-School Education in France after 1945"

- Monique Kremer (Netherlands Scientific Council for Government Policy/WRR):

"Care Ideals Compared: Belgian and Dutch Child Care and Pre-School Policy after 1945"

- Kevin J. Brehony (Roehampton University, Froebel College):

"The British Child Care and Pre-School Policy after 1945"

Comment: Kimberly Morgan (George Washington University, The Elliot School for International Affairs) (10 minutes)

Chair: Rainer Treptow (University of Tuebingen, Department of Education and Social Education)

III.II THE TIME POLITICS OF CHILD CARE AND PRE SCHOOL EDUCATION IN COMPARISON

11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.

-Celia Valiente (Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Department of Political Sciences):

"The Time Policy of Child Care and Pre-School Education in Spain in the second half of the 20th century"

- Tora Korsvold (The Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norwegian Center for Child Research):

"The Development of Child Care and Pre-School Education in Norway and Sweden after 1945 in Comparison"

- Hana Haskova (Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Institute of Sociology):

"Public and Private Child Care and Pre-School Education in pre 1989 and post 1989 Czech Society"

- Éva Bicskei (Central European University Budapest, Center for Gender and Culture):

"Child Care and Pre-School Policy in Hungary, 1945-1989"

Comment: Dorottya Szikra (ELTE University Budapest, Faculty of Social Work and Social Policy)

Chair: Dominique Groux (College of Teacher Education, Versailles)

IV.I THE TIME POLITICS OF SCHOOL EDUCATION IN COMPARISON

3:00 - 5:00 p.m.

- Karen Hagemann (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill , Department of History):

"A West German "Sonderweg": Women, Work and the "Time Politics" of Child Care and School Education"

- Monika Mattes (Center for Research on Contemporary History, Potsdam):

"The East German All-Day Education. The Time Politics of the East German Education System, 1945-1989"

- Ulrike Popp (University of Klagenfurt, Department of Educational Science):

"The All-Day School in Public Discourses and Policies in Post-1945 Austria"

Comment: Merith Niehuss (University of the Bundeswehr, Department of
History)

Chair: Elke Kleinau (University of Cologne, Institute of Comparative Education and Social Sciences)

SATURDAY, MARCH 3, 2007:

IV.II THE TIME POLITICS OF SCHOOL EDUCATION IN COMPARISON

9:00 - 11.00 a.m.

- Wolfgang Hörner (University of Leipzig, Institute of General and Comparative Education)

"The French All-Day School and its History after 1945"

- Agostino Portera (University of Verona, Department of Education):

"Development of Education Policy and the Public Discourses on All-Day Schools in Italy after World War II"

- Claudia Crotti (University of Bern, Department of Education):

"The Half-Day Model vs. the All-Day Model in Switzerland since 1945"

Comment: Miguel Pereyra (University of Granada, Department of Education)

Chair: Mechthild Veil (Institute for Social Policy and Gender Research, Frankfurt a.M.)

IV.III THE TIME POLITICS OF SCHOOL EDUCATION IN COMPARISON

11:30 am - 1:30 pm

- Dr. Anatoli Rakhkochkine (University of Hildesheim, Department of Education):

"The Time Politics of Russian School Education after 1945"

- Sally Tomlinson (University of Oxford, Department of Educational Studies):

"The Development of the Time Politics of British School Education after 1945"

- Lisbeth Lundahl (Umeå University, Department of Education)

"The History of Time Politics of School Education in the Scandinavian Countries after 1945: The Example of Sweden"

Comment: Thomas Coelen (University of Rostock, Department for Philosophy of Education and Social Education)

Chair: Argyro Panagiatopoulos (University of Koblenz-Landau, Department of Education)

V. THE SOCIAL CONSEQUENCES OF DIFFERENT MODELS OF TIME POLITICS IN CHILD CARE AND SCHOOLS IN COMPARISON

2:30 - 5:00 p.m.

- Ludwig Stecher (German Institute for Educational Research, DIPF, Frankfurt):

"The Consequences of Different Time Models in Pre-School and Elementary School Education for Chil-dren"

- Christiane Lemke (University of Hanover, Department of Political Sciences):

"The Consequences of Different Time Models in Pre-school and Elementary School Education for a Gendered Participation in the Labor Market"

- Livia Sz. Oláh (University of Stockholm, Department of Sociology):

"The Effects of Different Time Models in Pre-School and Elementary School Education on Childbearing Trends"

Comment: Klaus-Dieter Mende (University of the Arts, Berlin, Department of Comparative Educational Sciences)

Chair: Cristina Allemann-Ghionda (University of Cologne, Institute of Comparative Education and Social Sciences)

ORGANIZERS

Cristina Allemann-Ghionda (University of Cologne, Institute of Comparative
Education and Social Sciences)

Email: <cristina.allemann-ghionda@uni-koeln.de>

Karen Hagemann (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Department of
History )

Email: <hagemann@unc.edu>

Konrad H. Jarausch (Center for Research on Contemporary History (ZZF))

E-Mail: jarausch@zzf-pdm.de

Conference assistant: Larissa Apisa, Email: <larissa.apisa@uni-koeln.de>

REGISTRATION

A registration until February 15, 2006 is necessary.

The registration fee is 30,-¤, plus 10,- ¤ for each lunch.

If you wish to register please go to the following website:
http://www.time-politics.com/conference/registration.htm

http://www.time-politics.com/
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