Beratungslehrer/Beratungslehrerin

Media and resources used in this profession include Berufsbildungsforschungsnetzbildung.digital, Bildungspraxis, Bundesinstitut für Berufsbildung (BIBB), DDS Die Deutsche Schule, didactaDIGITAL, DigiBits, Fachportal Pädagogik, Gutes Aufwachsen mit Medien, PÄDAGOGIK, School Education Gateway, Schule im Aufbruch, SCHULEWIRTSCHAFT, SeLF - Selbsterkundung zum Lehrerberuf mit Filmimpulsen, and Was tun bei (Cyber)Mobbing?.

Digitalization in the classroom and hybrid learning are key trends in this profession. The digital transformation requires schools to equip students with the necessary competencies for a digitalized world. This involves the right learning media and didactic concepts, such as notebooks, smart boards, camera and microphone systems, augmented and virtual reality, and robotics. Teachers will increasingly focus on using digital media in their lessons. Hybrid learning combines digital and analog learning forms to maximize learning outcomes, adapting existing blended-learning models to the target group and intensifying online coaching.

Guidance counselors usually work in office and meeting rooms, as well as in classrooms.

Core competencies required for this profession include educational counseling, didactics, parent work, educational science, pedagogy, methodology, compensation for disadvantages, and school-based teaching. Other important competencies may include reporting, information, career counseling, educational work, parental counseling, teaching at vocational schools (Berufsschule), special education, gymnasium, Hauptschule, primary school, Realschule, secondary level I and II, learning objective control, pedagogical psychology, school psychology, rhetoric, school organization, school administration, and school social work.

Guidance counselors advise students and parents empathetically and responsibly on school difficulties or career paths. Professional conversation skills and active listening are crucial for building trust with students and finding solutions to learning problems. Patience, pedagogical skill, confidence, and assertiveness are needed to assess situations correctly and respond appropriately. As they are often confronted with problems and misfortunes, the ability to maintain professional distance is required. Discretion is also essential, as they gain insight into personal documents and confidential information. Conversations and counseling sessions are usually conducted in offices, where they also create documentation and reports on the computer.

In civil service, income is regulated by the Federal Salary Act (Bundesbesoldungsgesetz) or state salary acts. Basic salary rates are determined by the respective salary group of the entry-level or awarded position and may be supplemented by family allowances, additional allowances, remunerations, and foreign service pay. Monthly gross basic salary rates: Salary group A 12, level 1: 4,334 €; Salary group A 12, level 8: 5,815 €. Teachers at primary schools in civil service are assigned salary groups A 12 or A 13 as entry-level positions and can be awarded positions up to salary group A 16. The basic salary rates of the federal states (Bundesländer) are based on the Federal Salary Act (Bundesbesoldungsordnung) but may differ.

School counsellors typically work in general education schools (primary schools, secondary schools), vocational schools, and public administration units such as state school counselling centres.

The practice of this profession is regulated. To work as a teacher, successful completion of the Second State Examination (Zweite Staatsprüfung) is required. This is taken after completing the preparatory service (Vorbereitungsdienst). Access to the preparatory service generally requires a teaching degree (Studium) with a Master's degree or a State Examination (Staatsexamen). To work as a school counsellor, most Bundesländer (federal states) require an additional 1 to 2 years of part-time qualification and professional experience, in addition to the teaching qualification. Access opportunities may also be available for specialist teachers.

Teaching at vocational schools (Master's/State Examination), teaching at primary schools (Master's/State Examination), teaching at Gymnasien (secondary schools leading to university entrance) (Master's/State Examination), teaching for secondary level I school types (Master's/State Examination), and teaching at special needs schools (Master's/State Examination) are suitable degree (Studium) programs for entry into this field.

School counsellors are employed in primary schools, general secondary schools, vocational schools, and state school counselling centres.

The German job title is Beratungslehrer/in. The English job title is School counsellor (m/f), and the French job title is Conseiller / Conseillère d'orientation.

An extended police clearance certificate may be required for working with minors. Employers may expect a specialization within the degree (Studium) or a corresponding further training. Employees in community and medical facilities must provide proof of their measles vaccination or immunity, if born after 1970, in accordance with the Infection Protection Act.

Guidance counselors are contact persons for students and their parents regarding school problems, questions about their school career, as well as social conflicts or educational difficulties.

BFAS Bundesverband der Freien Alternativschulen, Deutscher Bildungsserver, Diakonie Deutschland Career Portal, Die Internate - Boarding School Teachers, Erziehungskunst, LehrCare - Teacher Placement, Lehrer.biz, publicjobs.ch, Stellenblatt.de.

Bundesverband der Lehrkräfte für Berufsbildung e.V. (BVLB), Bundesverband Deutscher Privatschulverbände (VDP) e.V., dbb beamtenbund und tarifunion, Deutscher Lehrerverband (DL), Deutscher Philologenverband - Bundesgeschäftsstelle, Deutscher Verein zur Förderung der Lehrerinnen- und Lehrerfortbildung DVLfB, Gewerkschaft Erziehung und Wissenschaft (GEW), ver.di - Vereinte Dienstleistungsgewerkschaft, Verband Bildung und Erziehung e.V. (VBE).

They bear responsibility for individuals. They deal with children and young people (e.g., helping students overcome school difficulties). They observe various regulations and legal requirements (school and administrative law). They encounter emotionally stressful situations and activities (e.g., confrontation with serious problems and misfortunes of their students). They perform screen work (e.g., creating documentation and pedagogical-psychological reports). They work in classrooms/training rooms (e.g., providing assistance with school career choices and vocational orientation in general and vocational schools). They work in office rooms (during fixed consultation hours).

They use documents and teaching materials, such as: consultation documentation, pedagogical-psychological reports, teaching materials, textbooks. They use office equipment, such as: PC, internet access, telephone, video conferencing tools. They use presentation tools, such as: projectors, whiteboards, (digital) blackboards.

Guidance counselors inform and advise students and parents about suitable school types, educational paths, and qualifications. They also support students in overcoming, for example, academic weaknesses and learning problems, domestic problems, or conflicts with classmates. They discuss the causes of behavioral abnormalities, learning or performance problems, and identify individual solutions or arrange, for example, remedial lessons. They document their activities and, if necessary, prepare pedagogical-psychological reports. If required, they contact, for example, the School Psychological Counseling Center, educational counseling centers, or vocational guidance services. Furthermore, they teach in their respective subjects.

Specialized teacher for vocational/general education schools or specialized teacher (state-certified) at special education schools provides access to this profession.

Professional adaptation training helps keep professional knowledge current and adapt it to new developments, for example, in areas such as school pedagogy, parent counseling, or conflict management.

Advises and informs students and their parents about suitable school types and career opportunities. Supports students, recognizes and observes behavioral problems. Investigates the causes of learning problems and performance weaknesses, and develops solutions. Mediates conflicts between students. Provides advisory support for domestic problems. Arranges remedial lessons and further assistance. Establishes and maintains contact with school psychological counseling centers, family counseling centers, or career counseling centers. Prepares documentation and, if necessary, creates pedagogical-psychological reports. Teaches students.

Legal regulations for this activity include state civil service and career laws. The overarching regulation for civil servants in the Bundesländer (federal states) is the Law Regulating the Status Rights of Civil Servants in the States (Beamtenstatusgesetz - BeamtStG) of 17.06.2008 (BGBl. I S. 1010), last amended by Article 5 of the law of 20.12.2023 (BGBl. 2023 I Nr. 389). This law contains general regulations, for example, on civil service relationships, the appointment of civil servants in the states, municipalities, and municipal associations, and their career paths. Also applicable is the Law on the Central Register and the Education Register (Bundeszentralregistergesetz - BZRG) in the version of the announcement of 21.09.1984 (BGBl. I S. 1229), last amended by Article 5 of the law of 19.07.2024 (BGBl. 2024 I Nr. 245). For the equivalence of foreign professional qualifications, Directive 2005/36/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 September 2005 on the recognition of professional qualifications of 30.09.2005 (Official Journal of the EU L 255) applies.

The following lists professions or activities that show similarities to the original profession. These professions represent a possible alternative for applicants. Furthermore, employers can consider individuals from these professions as alternatives for filling a position in the original profession. Some alternative professions only encompass partial activities of the original profession, while others may require an induction period, which can vary in length in individual cases. The following immediate employment and staffing alternatives are available for the profession of counseling teacher: For the overall activity (usually short induction): Primary school teacher, secondary school teacher, teacher for secondary school types. A list of all possible degrees of relatedness can be found in the explanations of the individual degrees of relatedness.