Political Education of Pupils in the New Federal States

Abstract

The social upheaval and the change in the political, economic, and sociocultural relations in East Germany are making new demands on young people's understanding of politics, especially as regards democracy and pluralism, and thus on political education and socialization. New social conditions and demands mean new demands on education. Pupils are growing up under conditions of a free market economy and in an achievement society, with which they had not previously been confronted in their life. This places a high demand on the individual, on his fulfillment of his daily duties, on his ability to achieve, and on his social competence.