Reappointment of the SWK: Felicitas Thiel and Olaf Köller confirmed as chairpersons of the SWK

The members of Germany’s Standing Scientific Commission on Education Policy have re-elected the current co-chairs Prof. Dr. Felicitas Thiel and Prof. Dr. Olaf Köller for a second term of office (July 1st, 2024 to June 30th, 2027).

The Standing Scientific Commission on Education Policy (SWK) is an independent scientific advisory board attached to the Standing Conference of Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of the Länder in the Federal Republic of Germany (KMK). Its sixteen members are education researchers from a range of disciplines. The SWK’s remit is to advise Germany’s federal states on matters of education policy. It identifies existing challenges and offers evidence-based recommendations for resolving them. The Commission adapts an interdisciplinary, long-term and systemic perspective. The SWK involves external experts and is advised by representatives from politics, administration and civil society. The Commission is supported by a permanent office.

The SWK was appointed for the second term of office at the 386th Conference of Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs on 13/14 June 2024. All members were reappointed with the exception of Prof. Dr. Michael Becker-Mrotzek, who is leaving the SWK at his own request due to his retirement at the end of his term of office on June 30, 2024. Michael Becker-Mrotzek will be succeeded by German education specialist Prof. Dr. Michael Krelle (Chemnitz University of Technology). The four permanent members, who remain in office in the SWK on account of their function as Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Steering Group for “Determining the Performance of the Education System in International Comparison”, Director of the Institute for Quality Development in Education (IQB), Spokesperson of the Author Group on Education Reporting and Chair of the Board of the Center for International Comparative Studies in Education. Initially, the SWK was established for a limited period of six years until 2027. The decision on its continuation will be based on an evaluation.

Prof. Dr. Felicitas Thiel, Co-Chair of the SWK and Professor of School Pedagogy and School Development Research at Freie Universität Berlin: “Over the past three years, the SWK has worked at high speed and with great dedication to provide evidence-based recommendations on current challenges and to advise the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs on this basis. I would like to thank all SWK members for their commitment, as well as for their trust in Olaf Köller and myself as Chair. Our thanks also go to Michael Becker-Mrotzek. He was instrumental in shaping the necessary debate on the focus on basic skills in German and math in elementary school. We would also like to thank Prof. Dr. Harm Kuper, who was highly committed to the SWK as Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board of the steering group “Determining the performance of the education system in international comparison” until the end of 2022.”

„We are delighted that the KMK has placed its trust in the SWK. The continuity enables us to develop recommendations on the topics that concern us in light of current developments.“

Prof. Dr. Olaf Köller, Co-Chair of the SWK and Managing Director of Research at the IPN - Leibniz Institute for Science and Mathematics Education

The commission is currently preparing an expert report on ensuring school skills at the end of lower secondary level. In light of the latest PISA results and the increasing number of students who are unable to find a vocational training placement while at the same time there are unfilled spaces (mismatches), the SWK's recommendations for action focus on how more students can be guided to a minimum level of academic competence at the end of lower secondary level and how transitions into vocational training can be improved.

Links

Members of SWK: https://www.swk-bildung.org/mitglieder/, in German

Contact

Dr. Isabelle Sieh
The Standing Scientific Commission on Education Policy (SWK) Secretariat
+49 (0) 228 501 701
isabelle.sieh@swk.kmk.org