Dictionary

real school en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈrɪəl ˌskuːl/ (UK)
• /ˈril ˌskul/ (US)
• /ˈriəl ˌskul/ (US)

Etymology

Calque of German Realschule, from real (“real”) + Schule (“school”), from the view that classical education at Gymnasia was not fit for the real world.

Meanings

1. (historical) A secondary school (especially in German-speaking countries) teaching a curriculum of "real-world" subjects (math, science, modern languages) rather than one heavily laden with literature, Latin, and Ancient Greek.
   • Like a Real School, real research is recognized as the genuine article, and persons engaged with it garner status and power. 2002, Educational Researcher, number 31, page 27:
   • Realschulen, real schools... because they are less occupied with the study of languages (Verbalia) than with the knowledge of things (Realia). 1833 July, W. Hamilton, Edinburgh Review, page 521:
   • The duke of Brunswick... has caused real schools, in contra-distinction to verbal, to be erected at Brunswick. 1765, Johann Gottlob Krueger, An Essay on the Education of Children, page 65:

Forms

Synonyms

Realgymnasium · realshule · Reformrealgymnasium

Translations (4)

de Realschule (Translations) · de Realgymnasium (Translations) · sv realläroverk (Translations) · sv realskola (Translations)