Germany

Two educational researchers, Heiner Barz and Manfred Weiß, are interviewed and discuss whether private schools create divisions in society or are pioneers of school reforms. The researchers, who have opposite opinions about private schools, argue about performance of pupils, PISA results comparing private and public schools, social equity, and school funding.  According to Weiß, “Private schools are not better when you consider the composition of the student body. Therefore, OECD has recently come to the conclusion that private schools are not the solution to raise the performance level of a country.”  But, Barz retorts:  “It’s not so simple. Schools must do more to teach than knowledge. Equally important is the school climate, cooperation with parents, the satisfaction of the students.”