At the 28 schools designated as a State Europe School Berlin (SESB), pupils with different first languages are taught together in bilingual classes, half of the children in each class having German as their first language, and half having a first language other than German. Teaching takes place in both languages to an equal extent, meaning that roughly half of the subjects are taught in German and the other half in the other language. There is a particular focus on intercultural exchange.

The state of Berlin, represented by the city’s Senator for Education, Youth and Science, commissioned Professor Jürgen Baumert of the Max Planck Institute for Human Development (MPIB) and Professor Jens Möller of the Institute of Psychology at Kiel University (CAU) to scientifically monitor and evaluate the State Europe School Berlin. The Mercator Institute is the scientific cooperation partner.

During the course of the study, the language, subject-specific and intercultural skills of the pupils are compared with those of pupils taught in conventional schools. In addition, it aims to examine the implementation of the SESB concept with respect to the composition of the student body and with respect to teaching. A parent survey is conducted at the same time.