Aggression, a lack of willingness to learn, and bullying, the behaviour of pupils is, according to a new survey, the greatest source of strain for almost every second teacher in Germany. Forty-six percent of educators currently identify student conduct as the biggest challenge in their professional lives, as revealed by the German School Barometer published on Tuesday in Stuttgart by the Robert Bosch Foundation.
That figure has risen steadily in recent years. In 2024, 35 percent of teachers said student behaviour was their primary professional burden; by 2025, the share had already climbed to 42 percent.
The current findings suggest the issue goes well beyond straightforward misconduct. Many pupils, the data shows, struggle to integrate into a group setting (25 percent) or find it difficult to motivate themselves to learn (13 percent). Teachers also report finding it challenging to deal with pupils' mental health problems (seven percent), as well as with concentration difficulties, aggression, violence, bullying, and problematic media use, each cited by five percent of respondents.
Teachers at lower and intermediate secondary schools, covering the Hauptschule, Realschule and Gesamtschule tracks, reported the highest rates of concern, with 55 percent saying they find student behaviour challenging. The figure is similarly elevated at vocational schools, where 53 percent of teachers said the same. Both groups reported higher rates than colleagues at other school types.
Despite the pressures described, the large majority of teachers remain broadly content with their profession: 83 percent said they are satisfied with their work. Willingness to leave the profession, however, remains high. Slightly more than a quarter of all teachers — 28 percent — said they would give up teaching if a suitable alternative presented itself.
The German School Barometer has been commissioned by the Robert Bosch Foundation since 2019 to collect representative data on the current state of schools in Germany. Since 2024, pupils have been surveyed separately alongside teachers. The current study was conducted by the polling firm Forsa in November and December, with more than 1,500 teachers taking part.
The survey also highlights a rapid increase in the use of artificial intelligence among teaching staff. The share of teachers who use AI tools several times a week has more than doubled compared to the previous year, reaching 25 percent. AI is proving particularly popular as an aid for creating teaching materials, cited by 64 percent of users, and for lesson planning, cited by 58 percent.
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