German School Barometer: Student Behavior Is the Biggest Burden for Teachers

• Biggest challenge in everyday school life: According to a recent representative study by the Robert Bosch Stiftung, student behavior is by far the greatest burden for teachers in their professional daily work.
• Civic education facing obstacles: Around one in two teachers would like to see more commitment to civic education at their school. Many are unsure how to handle political opinions in the classroom.
• AI becomes an everyday tool: The regular use of artificial intelligence in the staff room has more than doubled within a year. At the same time, there is still a strong demand for targeted support.

Stuttgart/Berlin, June 23, 2026 – It is becoming increasingly difficult for teachers in Germany to create a positive learning environment in the classroom. Managing student behavior is the greatest professional burden for nearly one in two teachers (46 percent)—a figure that has risen steadily in recent years (2024: 35 percent; 2025: 42 percent). This is one of the findings of the German School Barometer published today by the Robert Bosch Stiftung GmbH. The current survey of teachers follows the edition published in March, which focused on students’ perspectives.

According to the findings, student behavior reflects more than mere lack of discipline. Many students struggle to integrate into a group (25 percent) or find it difficult to motivate themselves to learn (13 percent). Teachers, the study shows, are increasingly aware that they must also foster skills that go beyond subject knowledge. These cross-cutting competencies include empathy, self-organization, and critical thinking. There is a strong willingness to act: 82 percent of respondents would like to receive further training in this area. However, more than one third (36 percent) feel left to manage this on their own.

“Teachers today do far more than deliver subject knowledge—and we must not leave them to do this alone,” says Dr. Katharina Thoren, education expert at the Robert Bosch Stiftung. “The high level of interest in professional development is a real opportunity we should seize in order to strengthen teachers’ ability to deal with challenging classroom situations. But that alone is not enough. Schools urgently need multidisciplinary teams—more professionals such as social workers and school psychologists, as well as administrative staff and IT specialists—so that teachers can once again focus fully on their core task: providing high-quality instruction.”
 

Civic education is a core responsibility of schools. However, many teachers see a need for improvement. Around half of respondents (48 percent) believe their school should do more in this area—rising to 54 percent in socially disadvantaged school environments. The main reasons cited are lack of time and insufficient expertise within the teaching staff.
For the first time, the German School Barometer also reveals how uncertain teachers feel when dealing with political statements: nearly one in five teachers (18 percent) feel constrained by a perceived requirement of neutrality. A quarter of respondents (27 percent) mistakenly believe they are generally not allowed to express their own political views in class.

“School is the place where young people not only learn about democracy but also experience it,” says Dr. Katharina Thoren. “Teachers need to be able to take a clear role here. Their task is not to be neutral, but to take a stance based on our constitution. To do this, they need backing—from school leadership, school supervision, and education authorities. And, of course, they need high-quality teaching materials and professional guidance that supports them in their daily work.”

AI applications are increasingly becoming part of everyday work in the staff room. The share of teachers who use AI several times a week has more than doubled to 25 percent (2025: 11 percent). Almost half (48 percent) now feel confident in using these tools. AI is most commonly used as a digital assistant for creating assignments (64 percent) and planning lessons (58 percent). Nevertheless, more than half of teachers (52 percent) still express a need for further training.

As in previous years, high job satisfaction (83 percent) contrasts with a persistently high willingness to leave the profession: just over a quarter of teachers (28 percent) would quit if an alternative were available. This intention is particularly pronounced among teachers at primary schools as well as lower and intermediate secondary schools.