Professor: Political Education Should Start in Elementary School - Germany's political education gap leaves young minds vulnerable to extremism
Children develop ideas about power, primary arms, and conflict long before they receive any formal political teaching. Yet, in Germany, structured political education rarely begins before secondary school. Experts now argue that waiting until adolescence may be too late—especially as young voters show rising support for far-right views, influenced by early exposure to radical online content.
In Lower Saxony, political education currently takes up just 2 to 3 percent of classroom time. Tonio Oeftering, a professor from Oldenburg, insists this is insufficient. He believes primary schools should introduce basic political concepts, not to analyse party policies, but to explore questions like 'What is fairness?' or 'Why does war happen?' Such lessons, he argues, would help children understand participation, rights, and diversity before misinformation takes root.
Oeftering has even suggested banning social media for under-14s, comparing it to age restrictions on films. His concern stems from the unchecked spread of extremist narratives online, which studies link to shifting attitudes among young voters. Yet, despite these warnings, no federal state has documented concrete changes to primary school curricula in the past five years.
Broader initiatives exist—Berlin runs anti-discrimination programmes, while Baden-Württemberg reports up to 74 percent implementation of democracy-focused coalition promises by 2026. Nationally, however, recent political demands focus on general improvements. A 2026 Bundestag motion by Die Linke calls for better teacher training and campaigns against intimidation, but it does not target primary schools specifically. Without early intervention, critics warn, democracy risks being taken for granted rather than actively learned and practised.
The push for earlier political education comes as younger generations face growing exposure to divisive content. While some regions have expanded democracy-related teaching, primary schools largely remain untouched by reform. For now, calls to address fairness, conflict, and civic participation in younger years stay just that—calls, not yet classroom reality.
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