OPINION! Professor Dr. Hermann Schöler from PH Heidelberg: “The importance of early education was underestimated for too long”

Professor Dr. Hermann Schöler, head of the early childhood and elementary education course at the pedagogical University (PH) Heidelberg, has advocated the professionalization and academization of the Vocational Training into early childhood education. Schöler studied Psychology and was more scientific from 1972 to 1982 after graduation Employees at the Universities of Heidelberg and Mannheim. Since 1982 Professor for Psychology of the Learning Disabled at PH Heidelber. Research focus since 1972 child language acquisition, its disorders and diagnostics. Since 2007 he is too Professor for developmental psychology and Methods in the “Felbi” course. Schöler is one of the main initiators of the Heidelberg Declaration and has five adult children between the ages of 19 and 33.

Mr. Professor Dr. Schöler, what does early education mean anyway?

Early childhood education is the area Education and Education of children between 0 and 10 years. At the University of Education we also prepare children between the ages of 0 and 3 for their work.

This does not seem like a topic that contains much explosives. Now, however, you have given the topic additional political impetus with the Heidelberg Declaration. What do you want to achieve?

Right, we have the explanation at the conference “Early Childhood and Elementary Education. Inventory and Future Perspectives ”in Heidelberg and presented by Secretary of State Gerd Hoofe from the Federal Ministry of Family Affairs.

Our concern: Early childhood education is pedagogical, psychological and economic Perspektive one of the most profitable investment opportunities in the Future to our Society Since the first years are decisive for future educational and development opportunities, we demand drastically improved framework conditions - for example manageable kindergarten groups and more generous available times. This also includes a qualification and professionalization offensive for the educational staff. Early childhood education must be recognized and recognized as an equal part of the overall education system. In the medium term, academic training for all educators must become the norm.

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Sounds combative, but a little theoretical. Please explain: Why is it so important that early education teachers are well educated?

Because the experiences that a person has in their early childhood are crucial Significance for his entire later development. In other words, what you learn or don't learn as a small child affects your entire education and career. Of course, this also has an impact Economy and society; The management consultancy McKinsey has also calculated this in figures: Whoever invests in early childhood education achieves twelve times the return. If you invest in tertiary education, only three times as much. From an economic point of view, it makes sense to start investing in education early on.

And is the setting up of study courses the right step?

Yes, but one who is much too late. Because politics, as a result of the results of the Pisa study, has now recognized the importance of education in the age of infants. Otherwise, we have an academic education in all areas of education, but not in early education. All other European countries are one step further.

Will the academic education in the next few years replace the previous educator training?

I would like that. However, this has not been planned so far because it is not politically desired. Rather, both forms of training should run side by side. And while trained educators should continue to take on the "ordinary" work with children according to the will of education policy, we should here at the universities provide the staff for the leaders Features form. I think this distinction is nonsense: A thorough pedagogical-academic training is necessary for any work with children. And in other European countries that has long been the norm. Just not in Germany.

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Why do you think that academic education is definitely better than educator training - where, after all, universities are supposed to be more theoretically inclined than vocationally trained?

Well, first of all you have to know that the nursing education is not much more practical: in Baden-Württemberg, she works at technical schools, takes two years without a lot of practical experience, in the end the educators make a recognition year , This completes the training.

Our training, on the other hand, interlinks practical and theoretical elements whose contents are as closely related as possible. I have even talked to the educators who see more practical parts. In addition, as teaching staff, we were able to attract a number of specialists from practice, Such as the head of the Social Pediatric Center in Ludwigsburg, a recognized neuropathologist, or the dramaturge of the well-known Mannheimer Schnawwl children's theater.

But apart from that, it is of course important to have basic, theoretical knowledge in order to be able to apply it in practice. If you do something wrong in 20 years in practice, it remains wrong even after 20 years. I think it's the best practice.

Do not you have many enemies with this view?

Sure, of course, the technical schools are not very enthusiastic about this initiative. And the politicians are only partly for it. Behind it is that the academically trained educators of course more salary can demand.

But also the neighboring academic disciplines have Problems with our course. We also train our students in diagnostics, for example, ie they should be able to use test procedures to identify language or motor abnormalities in children. Then, for example, the speech therapists fear for theirs Competencies.

Related to the children, who are supposed to be in the foreground, such professional-political demarcations are not always the case useful, because in this way impairments in children can be recognized much more quickly and corrected by specialists. Interdisciplinary cooperation is important here.

Do the academically trained early educators have better chances on the labor market?

The labor market in this area will increase in the next few years clear expand, so the forecasts are generally good. However, academics can expect a higher salary. However, last year our course at the PH Heidelberg was also approved for the technical college entrance qualification (previously you could only start the course with the Abitur).

This is a de facto devaluation of the degree, leaving graduates with less Money can count. That makes it Job still unattractive to men.

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