When presenting the report “Education and Social Cohesion”, the President of the Bavarian Business Association, Wolfram Hatz, initially cited negative examples: the attack on Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck as he wanted to leave a ferry, the increase in hate speech, the rise extremist parties or the bitter debates on climate change – “the list goes on.”
Society is struggling with crises. However, in order to maintain the economy and the welfare state, the expert committee of the Education Action Council sees great potential in the school system. In a report it addressed the question of how schools can help strengthen social cohesion. Concrete recommendations for action were derived.
The report sees language as the lowest common denominator for social cohesion and recommends doing more to strengthen language skills. “Without a common language, cohesion cannot work,” says Hatz. School classes are much more heterogeneous today than they were many years ago. Many children do not have German as their native language. That’s why language development has the highest priority.
Only when language barriers have been overcome can democratic values be conveyed. To achieve this, school staff are called upon to “nip bullying, hatred and violence in the bud.” Music or sports clubs that contribute to the development of cultural identity could help. In Bavaria you can consider yourself lucky: around 40 percent of all citizens are involved in voluntary work.
When presenting the report, Tina Seidel from the Technical University of Munich suggested rewarding the commitment of clubs in schools, for example with certificates awarded by the school. In addition, social cohesion should also be measured in schools in order to get an overview of what the social situation is like and to be able to develop preventive measures based on data.
The Federal Minister of Education Bettina Stark-Watzinger (FDP) and the President of the Conference of Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs, Christine Streichert-Clivot (SPD), acknowledged the report with greetings.
The Education Action Council was founded in 2005 on the initiative of the Bavarian Business Association. The report is available on the website www.aktionsrat-bildung.de available for download.