About Die kaufmännische Schule

Die kaufmännische Schule

Die kaufmännische Schule is the membership magazine of the Verband der Lehrerinnen und Lehrer an Wirtschaftsschulen in NRW (vLw), the professional association of teachers at business and economics schools in North Rhine-Westphalia. Published from Düsseldorf with production in Hamm, it serves as the association's communication channel to its members, covering education policy, professional law and salary questions, news from the state's Berufskollegs, and association affairs. Founded by OStD Dipl.-Hdl. Dr. Erich Schmitz, the journal carries the ISSN 0724-7613 and appears several times a year, with the subscription price included in the association membership fee. It remains listed among the association's current publications alongside its newsletter vLw – Aktuell and the association's brochures, confirming its continuing role as the vLw's print voice.

Overview

Die kaufmännische Schule is a classic German Verbandszeitschrift: a membership magazine that informs, organizes, and represents a professional community. Its publisher is the vLw, the association of teachers at Wirtschaftsschulen in North Rhine-Westphalia, headquartered at Völklinger Straße 9 in Düsseldorf. The magazine addresses teachers at the state's Berufskollegs with a commercial and economic focus, covering the full range of their professional concerns.

The magazine appears multiple times a year; the imprint recorded ten issues per year in the early 2010s and eight issues per year by 2013, with editorial deadlines published for each issue. The single issue was priced at 2.10 euros including postage, with the subscription price included in the membership fee, which is the standard model for German professional association magazines. Production and advertising management are handled by Gebrüder Wilke GmbH, a printing and publishing company based in Hamm, which explains the Hamm city attribution. The editorial office, or Schriftleitung, has been based in Dortmund and later in Erkelenz, with Jens Pätzold and later Angelika Schuhmacher serving as editors.

The content mix is typical of a teachers' association journal: editorials on education policy, reports from the association's committees and district groups, news from individual Berufskollegs, legal and salary guidance, media tips, and a section for retired members. The magazine's tone is practical and member-oriented, translating state education policy into the daily concerns of classroom teachers and keeping members informed about the association's positions and activities.

History

The magazine was founded by OStD Dipl.-Hdl. Dr. Erich Schmitz, whose name the imprint carries as founder. The vLw itself is the North Rhine-Westphalia state association within the federal structure of teachers' associations for business schools; the federal association celebrated its 75th anniversary in 1983 at Hambach Castle with broad participation of its members, indicating a founding year of 1908, and the state associations share this long tradition of professional organization. The Rhineland-Palatinate sister association's history notes that its state board publishes the journal Die Wirtschaftsschule, formerly Die kaufmännische Schule, showing that the title has a shared history across the state associations of the federation.

Over the decades, the magazine has documented the transformation of commercial education in Germany's most populous state. Its pages have covered the introduction of new teacher training structures, such as the aptitude internship and the practical semester; state parliamentary elections and the association's election audits of education policy spokespersons; the didacta education fair, where the association maintains a presence; and the ongoing questions of teacher pay, working hours, and civil service law reform. The magazine's archive, with issues from the 2010s available through document platforms, provides a running record of North Rhine-Westphalian vocational education policy.

The magazine's publication rhythm has varied over the years, from ten issues annually to eight, reflecting the changing economics and communication needs of the association. Throughout, it has remained the primary print channel through which the vLw leadership speaks to its members.

Coverage and Content

The magazine's fixed rubrics structure its content. The Leitartikel, or lead editorial, addresses current education policy questions, from teacher training reform to state election campaigns. Aktuelles covers news from the association and the education world, including dpa news on science and education policy. Berichte carries reports from the association's committees, such as the committees on law and salary and on education, and from its district and local groups. Medientipps reviews books and media relevant to commercial education, keeping teachers current with professional literature. Im Ruhestand serves retired members with news, event invitations, and excursion reports. Regional covers the district associations, from Arnsberg to Münster, with reports on local events, elections, and excursions. Zum guten Schluss closes each issue with a lighter piece, often with a humorous or reflective tone.

Typical topics include the modernization of commercial training occupations, the European Qualifications Framework, competence-oriented curricula in higher commercial schools, teacher pay negotiations, the recognition of home offices for tax purposes, and the payment of overtime for part-time civil servants. The magazine also covers the association's presence at the didacta fair and its positions on state education policy, such as its questions to the state parliament's education spokespersons ahead of elections. A 2010 issue, for example, carried the association's election audit questions to the state parliament's education policy spokespersons ahead of the state election, an invitation to the didacta fair, and coverage of the upcoming civil service law reform, while a 2013 issue covered the didacta fair, the EU's new education strategy, a specialist conference in Hamburg, and continuing education on Norderney.

Organization and Ownership

Die kaufmännische Schule is published by the Verband der Lehrerinnen und Lehrer an Wirtschaftsschulen in NRW e.V., headquartered in Düsseldorf. The association's structure includes district associations in Arnsberg, Detmold, Düsseldorf, Köln, and Münster, local groups, and committees on school and education policy, civil service and tariff law, teacher training, and public relations. The magazine serves as the communication channel for this entire structure, carrying the committees' reports, the districts' news, and the leadership's positions to every member.

The editorial office has been led by Jens Pätzold in Dortmund and later by Angelika Schuhmacher in Erkelenz, with contributions and articles invited directly to the editorial office, preferably as text files. Named contributors do not necessarily reflect the association's opinion, as the imprint notes, giving the magazine room for debate within the membership. Production and advertising management are handled by Gebrüder Wilke GmbH in Hamm, and the design concept comes from a graphic design studio, giving the magazine a professional visual identity that matches its institutional role. The journal's ISSN is 0724-7613, and its bibliographic abbreviation is recorded in the German serials databases.

Digital Presence

The magazine is present through the vLw's website, where it is listed under the association's publications alongside the vLw – Aktuell newsletter and the association's brochures. The website also hosts the association's service offerings, including model letters, legal collections, a members' area, and member benefits, which complement the magazine's print content and give members a digital counterpart to the journal.

Past issues of the magazine are available through document platforms, where full issues from the 2010s can be browsed, providing a public archive of the association's recent history and positions. Whether the magazine maintains its own dedicated website or social media channels, separate from the association's platforms, is not publicly confirmed from the sources consulted. Its digital identity is integrated into the vLw's web presence, which is typical for German professional association magazines of this size, where the association's site serves as the primary digital home.