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Studienrat �ʃtuËdi̯ənËŒÊaËt(male) or Studienrätin �ʃtuËdi̯ənËŒÊÉ›Ëtɪn(female; abbreviation StR), literally meaning "Educational Councilor", is an official German title for an
official An official is someone who holds an office (function or Mandate (politics), mandate, regardless of whether it carries an actual Office, working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority (eithe ...
or
civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...
mostly in the regular state-owned grammar schools in Germany. It is a denomination for an official in the so-called "higher service" (''Höherer Dienst'') as opposed to the "elevated", "middle" and "lower" service ranks. This office is located on the 4th "service level" (''Qualifikationsebene 4'') and remunerated according to "A 13" which marks the first salary level of "higher service" officials. Administrative officers of the same rank are usually called ''Regierungsrat'' ("Government Councilor"). The Studienrat normally works as a teacher in
higher education Tertiary education (higher education, or post-secondary education) is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank defines tertiary education as including universities, colleges, and vocational schools ...
up to the
Abitur ''Abitur'' (), often shortened colloquially to ''Abi'', is a qualification granted at the end of secondary education in Germany. It is conferred on students who pass their final exams at the end of ISCED 3, usually after twelve or thirteen year ...
which corresponds to
A-Level The A-level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational ...
exams. In addition, the Studienrat serves as a teacher at
vocational schools A vocational school (alternatively known as a trade school, or technical school), is a type of educational institution, which, depending on the country, may refer to either secondary or post-secondary education designed to provide vocational ...
alongside ''Gewerbeschulräten'' (literally "Vocational School Councillors") and ''Fachlehrern'' ("Teachers with practical experience"). In the
GDR East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from its formation on 7 October 1949 until its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on 3 October 1990. Until 1989, it was generally vie ...
Studienrat was an honorary title for a teacher. Besides, there are also civil servants at ecclesiastical church-owned grammar schools that hold the title of a „Studienrat im Kirchendienst“ ("Educational Councillor in Church Service"), short „StR i. K.“ They are "officials of the church", on a legal basis comparable to officials of the state. During the ''Referendariat'' (practical part of the study), the title is ''Studienreferendar'' ("Educational Aspirant"). The following ranks are ''Oberstudienrat'' ("Senior Educational Councillor"), ''Studiendirektor'' ("Educational Director") and ''Oberstudiendirektor'' ("Senior Educational Director")


Prerequisites for the nomination and promotion

Nomination of a Studienrat requires a master's degree in at least two subjects (e.g. Mathematics and Physics) and additional educational studies. The next step is a teacher training at an Educational College for mostly two years including practical training on the job, and a three-year probationary period at a grammar school.


Introduction of "Studienrat" as a title and its background in social history

In 1918, Wilhelm II passed a
decree A decree is a law, legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state, judge, monarch, royal figure, or other relevant Authority, authorities, according to certain procedures. These procedures are usually defined by the constitution, Legislativ ...
to replace the
title A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify their generation, official position, military rank, professional or academic qualification, or nobility. In some languages, titles may be ins ...
"Oberlehrer" (upper or senior teacher) by the
honorary title A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify their generation, official position, military rank, professional or academic qualification, or nobility. In some languages, titles may be ins ...
"Studienrat". In Prussia, since 1892, two thirds of the grammar school teachers held the title of Oberlehrer, a third was addressed by the honorary title of grammar school professor: "Gymnasialprofessor". Oberlehrer were entitled to teach in higher education. As early as 1892 they were seen as equal to judges or magistrates, acknowledged as "higher service officials of the fifth class". This higher ranking and the coveted title of a councilor ("Rat") boosted the previously rather low social prestige of the grammar school teachers, a success mainly owed to the unremitting efforts of the "Vereinsverband akademisch gebildeter Lehrer" ("Association of unions of academically educated teachers"), founded in 1903, which from 1921 onwards called itself "Philologenverband" ("Association of philologians"). The
teachers' union The following is an alphabetical list of education trade unions: __NOTOC__ A * NEA-Alaska * Alliance of Concerned Teachers (Philippines) * Alabama Education Association State Affiliate of the National Education Association. * American Associatio ...
represented the professional interests of the 95% of grammar schoolteachers who were union members. As explained by the legal expert Rudolf Summer, the basic official title of "Rat" ("councilor") has to be specified by the obligatory supplement of "Studien" (education, studies) to convey the relation to schooling and education. This is meant to avoid the general title of "councilor". With respect to the title of director the supplement is expected to avoid confusion because "Director" like the English "director" is used for a variety of leading positions in different fields.


Attempts at the abolition of the official title and the decision of the Federal Constitutional Court

According to the magazine
Der Spiegel (, , stylized in all caps) is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. With a weekly circulation of about 724,000 copies in 2022, it is one of the largest such publications in Europe. It was founded in 1947 by John Seymour Chaloner ...
, the town of
Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (, ), is the capital of the States of Germany, German state of the Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (), a two-city-state consisting of the c ...
has so far been the only federal state that attempted to abolish the official title of "Studienrat" in 1979 and to introduce the new title "Lehrer/in an Öffentlichen Schulen" ("teacher at public schools"). After several prolonged judicial procedures, the Federal Constitutional Court decided that official titles are not allowed to level off the distinctive qualities of different professional levels of performance, they have to be differentiated, in order to indicate publicly the graded recognition of performance and to refer clearly to the area of service, in this case to education or schooling as opposed to administrative or military services.


References

{{Authority control Education in Germany