After German reunification: the implementation of a two-tier school model in Berlin and Saxony

Abstract

In the last two decades, many German states have enforced a partial integration of school types and have transformed their school systems into a two-tier model. The traditional tripartite school model, for which Germany has long been known, is thus no longer a characteristic of their school systems. This article analyses the determinants of the structural changes in Berlin and Saxony by applying concepts of historical institutionalism. In both states, the reform of the schools’ structures can be described as path dependent, but also a specific constellation of interests, strategies and actors led to a partial erosion of the respective traditional structures.