Student teachers in action at schools

Half of the 5,000 or so student teachers surveyed in Hesse are already regularly in the classroom during their university studies - where they also take on tasks that are the responsibility of fully qualified teaching staff. This is shown by the new Hesse-wide study LABORA-HE ("Lehramtsstudierende in Arbeit und Beruf: Organisation, Ressourcen, Aufgaben in Hessen"), which was conducted in the winter semester 2024/25 by the six teacher training universities in the state and is currently the largest survey on the topic in Germany.

A total of 50% of the students surveyed stated that they work either exclusively at a school (33%) or both at a school and in another area (17%) alongside their university studies. Students studying to become teachers of special needs education (58%) and primary schools (56%) do this particularly frequently. On average, students work in schools for around nine hours per week, with the amount of time spent working in schools increasing as their university studies progress.

Broad responsibility in lessons and schools

Most of the students surveyed take on demanding tasks early on in their university studies: 90% teach independently in class, 60% create teaching materials, over 50% manage break supervisors or remedial teaching. Up to 20% of students are even responsible for assigning grades, leading classes or writing reports, in some cases as early as their first academic year.

High proportion of non-subject teaching

According to the study, only 58% of the students surveyed are assigned to a subject that matches their study profile and therefore teach at least one of their subjects in a type of school for which they are enrolled on the appropriate study programme. This is not the case for 42% of students. This is particularly clear from the fact that in 24 out of 26 subjects, the majority of students teach subjects outside of their degree programme - only in German and mathematics do the subject studied and the subject taught usually match. This shows that in many places, students often fill gaps in teaching provision beyond their desired qualifications.

Between practical experience and excessive demands

Even in their first semesters, students who work in schools consider themselves to be more competent and professionally more established than their fellow students without this school experience. However, the cross-sectional data of the study does not admit any causality. It is therefore unclear whether working at a school manages this self-assessment of the students or whether more confident student teachers are more likely to decide in favour of working in schools. At the same time, students working in schools sometimes assess the academic content of their university studies as less relevant. They also experience more frequent clashes between university studies and teaching practice. Institutionalised support via mentors or dedicated reflection opportunities are generally missing at both schools and universities. Instead, the exchange takes place mainly privately or informally.

Significance for teacher training and teaching quality

For the researchers involved, the results point to the tensions of unaccompanied practice in the complex professional field of teaching and school. The results of the study show that many of the students surveyed feel confirmed in their career goal. At the same time, however, the risk of deprofessionalisation clearly passes, as without professional support, unsustainable attitudes can become entrenched early on in university studies due to unreflected practice. In addition, based on the findings of teaching research, it must be assumed that the quality of teaching suffers considerably due to the widespread use of student teachers from other subjects. This is worrying in view of recent findings on basic competences at primary and secondary level.

Cooperation between the Hessian universities

LABORA-HE emerged from the PraxisFlex project at the Philipps University of Marburg, which was funded by the Hessian Ministry of Science and Research, Art and Culture, and was implemented in close collaboration with the teacher training universities in Darmstadt, Frankfurt, Fulda, Gießen and Kassel. With a response rate of 27% of all student teachers in Hesse, it provides a solid empirical basis for future discussions on the role of students in safeguarding school teaching and all-day teaching.

Further information:
Central University Administration results and their discussion and categorisation can be found in the study brochure: https: //doi.org/10.17192/openumr/342

Source: Press release of the University of Marburg