The educational standards for geography at the intermediate school level start from one idea. Da sich die Geographie als Systemwissenschaft versteht, ist das Hauptbasiskonzept des Faches das Systemkonzept. Because geography sees itself as a systems science, the main basic concept of the subject is the system concept. Its parts are structure, function and process. The German Geographical Society published the 10th edition of the standards in 2020.
The subject looks at the earth as a system of people and environment. The society’s standards for the Abitur of 2024 speak of die komplexen und dynamischen Wechselbeziehungen innerhalb und zwischen physischen und anthropogenen (Sub-)Systemen, the complex and dynamic interactions within and between physical and human systems.