h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hi Sho and Matodemi - I hope you both read this relatively soon. Yesterday evening, I was asked the following:

We are doing some translation into German for a company which makes news and software which is aimed for use with primary level school children.

There are a couple of phrases which we don't know how to relate to the German market - could you help?

We need to know the titles/phrases/acronymns which are equivalent in the German School curriculum to:

ICT - Information and Communication Technology
and
PSHE - Personal, Social and Health Education


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I answered that

This is not easy, as we (A) have no idea about nor contacts with primary schools now. (B) even if we came up with an answer for our area, it might be completely different in Berlin or Bavaria as education is a purely state affair, and there are no central federal guidelines. Curricula, subjects and institutions have different names in different states. and (C) There is to my knowledge no equivalent for PSHE in Germany at all yet.

So far we have come up with Informationstechnische Grundbildung (ITG) for ICT. I'll ask some friends with kids in primary school - or who have only just left - to see if there's any special Primary school equivalent, but don't be surprised if there isn't - the education system here is generally at least 10 years behind Britain in that respect

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So can either of you help - do you have any equivalents in NRW? Does any state in Germany do computer studies at primary level? Or have any kind of Relationship/Health education?

PSHE - neither of mine did that in the Grundschule. However, #1 told me that in the 5th grade they had SoKo (Sozial Kompetenz)

As for computers and IT - in the Grundschule they had very few lessons with or on the computer. When they did have one it was called... wait for it... Computer Stunde

Actually, it's quite dismal and depressing, isn't it?

Hope that helps.