ABSTRACT
Germany has 83 million inhabitants living in 16 federal states which are jurisdictionally independent with regard to the education and the sport system. Compulsory education covers ten years, beginning in grade 1 at the age of six years with gender co-education. In most of the states, primary education includes the first four grades (until the age of ten) and another six years of secondary education (up to 16 years). Two more school years (grades 11 and 12) are offered in Grammar Schools and Comprehensive Secondary Schools to achieve the German ‘Abitur degree’ in order to receive a licence for entry for studies in higher learning institutes at universities, e.g. to become a teacher. Physical education (PE) is a compulsory school subject in all grades and is delivered for two/up to three hours (45 minutes) per week in all grades. Teaching is usually given by specialised PE teachers. However, in most of the primary schools, between 50 and 75 per cent of all PE lessons are given by general teachers without any studies in PE. Over the past ten years the German school system has been in a transition process from the traditional ‘morning school’ to an ‘all-day-school’ with additional extra-curricular after-school programmes for pupils. These include physical activities, games and sports offered mainly by volunteers and coaches of local sport clubs. Physical activities, games and sports have become the most popular afternoon activities, and are attended voluntarily by about 40 per cent of all primary school children with up to two extra hours per week in addition to the curriculum time allocation for PE. There are primary schools in each state of the country where physical activities are offered for each student who attend all-day schools a total of four to five times a week.
