German School Barometer: Concerns About Social Skills in the ChatGPT Generation
- A representative study by the Robert Bosch Stiftung sheds light for the first time on AI in the classroom: Teachers feel uncertain about using AI tools and fear negative effects on students’ social and communication skills.
- The main stress factors for teachers remain challenging student behavior and lack of time.
- Every second teacher wants more civic education, but implementation often fails due to time constraints or fear of conflict.
Stuttgart/Berlin, June 25, 2025 – Germany’s teachers are skeptical about the influence of artificial intelligence (AI) in the classroom: The majority expect mostly negative effects on their students from chatbot applications like ChatGPT. They are particularly concerned about social and communication skills (61 percent) as well as critical thinking abilities (60 percent). At the same time, an equal number recognize the potential for personalized learning (57 percent). These findings come from the newly published German School Barometer by the Robert Bosch Stiftung GmbH.
The representative study also reveals significant gaps in AI competence: 62 percent of teachers report feeling uncertain, and one-third did not use AI tools professionally at all in the past year. Those who do use them primarily apply them for creating assignments (58 percent) and lesson planning (56 percent), while far fewer use them for performance assessment (6 percent) or learning data analysis (3 percent).
“ChatGPT and similar applications are already part of young people’s everyday lives and can no longer be banned from schools through prohibitions alone,” says Dr. Dagmar Wolf, Senior Vice President Education at the Robert Bosch Stiftung. “Teachers should gain their own experience with these technologies. In addition, systematic training on the use of AI in teaching is essential. Only then can students be empowered to use AI reflectively and responsibly. When used correctly, AI can ease the burden on teachers and give them more freedom for pedagogical tasks.”
What burdens teachers most: Student behavior and lack of time
An increasing number of teachers cite student behavior as the greatest challenge in their daily work. Forty-two percent of respondents identify it as their main burden – a significant increase from the previous year (35 percent). Teachers at lower secondary schools (Hauptschule, Realschule, and comprehensive schools) are particularly affected (52 percent).
The second most frequently mentioned issue is high workload and chronic time pressure (34 percent, up from 28 percent in 2024). The effects are tangible: One-third of teachers feel exhausted several times a week, and ten percent feel this way daily. Despite these burdens, satisfaction with their own work (84 percent) and their school (90 percent) remains remarkably high.
Civic education: Desire for more engagement meets structural barriers
For the first time, the German School Barometer also examined how teachers assess civic education at their schools. The result: More than half (54 percent) believe more should be done in this area. However, practical challenges stand in the way of implementation. The biggest obstacle, cited by three-quarters of teachers (77 percent), is a lack of instructional time. Nearly half (45 percent) also see a lack of subject knowledge among staff as problematic.
There are clear regional differences, particularly between eastern and western German states: Teachers in the East more frequently report a lack of interest among colleagues (38 percent compared to 26 percent in the West). Concerns about conflicts among students (29 percent vs. 17 percent) and anticipated resistance from parents (27 percent vs. 9 percent) are also more commonly cited in the East.
Teachers’ assessments of student participation are contradictory: While 68 percent say students’ concerns are considered in school decisions, 45 percent believe student councils have little real influence.
“Civic education doesn’t only happen in politics class. Schools must become democratic, participatory, and inclusive spaces shaped jointly by learners and educators,” says Wolf. “This requires real change – structurally, in staffing, and culturally. A key step is the consistent implementation of the announced Education Investment Program and the Digital Pact 2.0 by the federal and state governments.”