Professional Teaching Qualification from Abroad

If you have completed your teaching qualification abroad and wish to work as a teacher in the Rhineland-Palatinate school service, you will need the recognition/determination of the equivalence of your education for the application.

Requirements and Legal Foundations

Requirements

Citizenship of a member state of the European Union (EU), another contracting state of the Agreement on the European Economic Area (EEA, currently Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein), or a state equated by agreement (currently Switzerland).

  • The professional qualification certificate must be issued by the competent authority of an EU member state, an EEA state, or a state equated by agreement. (Special conditions apply to third-country diplomas.)*
  • The professional qualification certificate must entitle the holder to direct access to the teaching profession in the country of origin, and the professional profile must essentially correspond to the professional profile for the respective teaching position in Rhineland-Palatinate.
  • The training required for the professional qualification, possibly taking into account relevant professional experience or other formally recognized knowledge, skills, and competencies, must not exhibit significant differences compared to the training prescribed in Rhineland-Palatinate for the respective teaching position. Identified significant differences can be compensated by a compensatory measure.*

Legal Basis

The basis for recognition is Directive 2005/36/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7 September 2005 on the recognition of professional qualifications (OJ EU No. L 255 p. 22) as amended.

The implementation of this directive with regard to teaching positions in schools was carried out in Rhineland-Palatinate through Section 17, Paragraph 1 of the State Civil Service Act and the EU Teaching Positions Recognition Ordinance issued on 6 April 2016, as amended.

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Requirements

  • The professional qualification must grant access to the teaching profession in the country of origin.
  • The teaching professional qualification must have been obtained after at least three years of university study. The university study must have been completed at a recognized university and successfully concluded.
  • The training required for the teaching professional qualification, possibly taking into account relevant professional experiences or relevant academic achievements, must not exhibit significant differences compared to the training prescribed in Rhineland-Palatinate for the respective teaching position. Identified significant differences can be compensated by a compensatory measure (adaptation course or aptitude test).

Legal Foundations

  • The basis for determining equivalence is the State Law on the Determination of Equivalence of Foreign Teaching Professional Qualifications in Rhineland-Palatinate - Teaching Professional Qualification Equivalence Determination Act Rhineland-Palatinate - of 10 October 2023 (GVBl. p. 259) and the State Ordinance for the Implementation of the Teaching Professional Qualification Equivalence Determination Act Rhineland-Palatinate of 28 April 2024 (GVBl. p. 109).

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Direct Access to the Profession

Direct access to the profession refers to the qualification that, in the respective country of origin where it was obtained, is a prerequisite for immediate entry into the teaching profession. Access to the profession can be achieved either directly through the diploma/university degree or only after completing additional pedagogical training (e.g., teaching internship) or after successful participation in a special selection or competitive procedure (e.g., Concorso in Italy) or after successful participation in a special selection or competitive procedure followed by successful completion of practical training (e.g., CAPES in France). Access to the profession can also be obtained through a decision by an authority (e.g., QTS in England).

If direct access to the profession cannot be demonstrated, recognition under the EU Teaching Positions Recognition Ordinance or an equivalence determination under the State Law on the Determination of Equivalence of Foreign Teaching Professional Qualifications is not possible.

Significant Differences

Compared to the training in Rhineland-Palatinate, there may be deficiencies in the areas of subject-specific, artistic, subject-didactic, subject-practical, educational-scientific, or school-practical training (significant differences).

Examples:

  • The basic teacher training in Rhineland-Palatinate requires two subjects. If the diploma submitted for recognition only lists one subject, a significant difference exists.
  • If the subject German as a foreign language was studied, there are generally significant differences compared to the training in Rhineland-Palatinate, as the subject German is taught as a native language in Rhineland-Palatinate.
  • If a school-practical training phase equivalent to the preparatory service is missing or essential training content is lacking, a significant difference exists.

This enumeration of significant differences is not exhaustive

Compensatory Measures for (a)

If there are significant differences, these can be compensated for in the recognition of a teaching qualification from an EU state, an EEA state, or a state equated by agreement through a compensatory measure. The compensation can be chosen by the applicant either through an adaptation course or an aptitude test. Deviating from this, in the case of large level differences, the competent ministry may determine which compensatory measure (adaptation course or aptitude test) is to be carried out. In the case of very large level differences, recognition may be made dependent on the successful completion of an aptitude test and successful participation in an adaptation course. Since independent teaching in German is required as part of an adaptation course, it is recommended to acquire the necessary language skills before starting this compensatory measure. Information on this can be found in the EU Teaching Positions Recognition Ordinance, regarding the adaptation course in §§ 6 - 13 and the aptitude test in §§ 14 - 23. The significant differences are determined on a case-by-case basis and specified in our decision.

Compensatory Measures for (b)

If there are significant differences, these can be compensated for through a compensatory measure if the foreign teaching professional qualification includes at least one subject of the corresponding Rhineland-Palatinate teaching position. The compensation can be chosen by the applicant either through an adaptation course or an aptitude test. Since independent teaching in German is required as part of the adaptation course, German language skills at level C1 of the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages are required. Information on this can be found in the State Ordinance for the Implementation of the Teaching Professional Qualification Equivalence Determination Act Rhineland-Palatinate, regarding the adaptation course in §§ 7 – 14 and the aptitude test in §§ 15 – 25. The significant differences are determined on a case-by-case basis and specified in our decision.