Germany’s future teachers work in an increasingly globalised environment. International experience and intercultural knowledge help them to teach to the best of their ability. The DAAD assists teacher training students during their stays abroad, simultaneously supporting higher education institutions as they internationalise teacher education courses. We also provide advice at political level in order to eliminate structural barriers associated with broadening teacher education concepts. 

Background to the “Lehramt.International” programme

Ideally, preparing young people for the international labour market and responsible conduct in global contexts should begin at school. Teachers must be able to place global developments and the consequences of this on society in context, on the basis of their own experience, and convey relevant content in a specialised, authentic manner.

As a result, guaranteeing an international orientation within the field of teacher training is essential. This includes both curricular content and formats as well as specialist, practice-related stays abroad. A consolidation of the international elements present within the study courses would also help to make teacher training degrees more appealing to prospective students.

To date, however, internationally positioned teacher training courses remain a rarity. Mobility rates among teacher training students, particularly as regards primary school and upper secondary level education, are comparatively low. The systematic exchange with partner institutions of higher education, practice-related, intercultural experience, the internationalisation of curricula and the deployment of international guest lecturers are all desirable. The programme “Work Placements at Schools Abroad” has been created specifically for the target group teacher training students, and is designed to boost mobility and simplify the arrangement of stays abroad via support with scheduling and potential financing hurdles.

Objectives of the programme initiative

In light of these challenges, the DAAD seeks to increase the international mobility of teacher training students, facilitate practical experience at educational establishments abroad and enter into an intensive dialogue with the federal and regional governments, as well as higher education institutions, in order to raise awareness of the required changes and of the need for international teacher training. 

To this end, we have developed a comprehensive funding programme for the internationalisation of teacher training, which provides scholarships for work placements abroad and funds model projects for teacher training at German higher education institutions. In addition, we offer information, guidance and project monitoring.

The measures due to be implemented as part of the programme are designed to promote the internationalisation of teacher training in Germany. We seek to continually improve our offering by engaging in a dialogue with the relevant stakeholders active in the field of teacher training itself, as well as the domains of economics and politics.

The overriding programme objectives of the “Lehramt.International” programme are as follows: 

• Future teachers should be enabled to approach the issue of international and cultural diversity at German schools.
• The programme contributes to the international positioning and visibility of teacher training courses.
• The programme helps remove the barriers to a systematic internationalisation of teacher training present within higher education and legal framework conditions.

Modules

The programme aims to achieve these objectives by taking a holistic approach that addresses higher education institutions, students and policy makers through 3 modules. These are briefly outlined below.

Module A: Funding for model projects

The project funding module is aimed at all German higher education institutions offering teacher training courses, which seek to promote the structural internationalisation of said teacher training courses and provide working models of their application in the context of cooperations with partner higher education institutions abroad. For more information, see our website "".

Module B: Scholarships (prospective teachers)

As far as individual funding is concerned, a target group-specific scholarship programme in the field of teacher training will be launched, funding work placements at schools abroad via two programme lines. For more information, see our website "".

Module C: Consultancy and policy dialogue (prospective teachers and teacher education stakeholders)

"Lehramt.International" not only supports selected higher education institutions and prospective teachers, but als also fosters change in the overall framework under which mobility and internationalization in teacher education takes place. To do so, it conducts student-oriented marketing, analysis and dialogue events addressing diverse stakeholders in teacher education. For more information, see our website "".

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