ABSTRACT
The distinction between general education and professional education is made according to so-called "educational content". The core of the ideal of general education was a matter of the basic overall education of the person in all essential aspects or strengths. Since all citizens should acquire these strengths, they were also regarded as part of the education shared by all of them. However, general education was limited to elementary education, with the elementary schools serving as means of providing it. Today there is internationally a high regard for the ideal of citizens' shared "basic-competence". This is a good sign, because the ideal includes anthropological and moral-philosophical presuppositions that are realistic and support the community. The ideal of general education is, however, not a matter of scientific knowledge, but rather of elementary world- and life-knowledge. Certainly, the results of scientific research flow into their contents, but overall it is a matter of life-practical orientation knowledge.
