I'm a graduate student in philosophy writing a thesis on Nietzsche's early works on education (Schopenhauer as Educator and On the Future of Our Educational Institutions), and I'm trying to find historical accounts of what universities in the German speaking lands were like before his time.
I've already found the following:
But besides those, I'm having a difficult time figuring out what's worth reading and what isn't. Any help narrowing the field would be immensely appreciated.
First off, I'd do a thorough examination of the notes and works cited of both A Romantic Education and A History of the University in Europe. This will provide you with a substantial list of secondary/primary readings.
The big heavy in Germany in the century preceding Nietzsche's birth would be Wilhelm von Humboldt, a philosopher and the one-time Minister of Education in Germany.
His big works include:
On the Limits of State Action, the second section of which is entitled "On Public State Education"
"Theory of Human Education" which is an incomplete treatise on education.
Here's a good primer on Humboldt from the Schiller Institute. (Incidentally, Friedrich Schiller was deeply influenced by Humboldt, particularly in his (Schiller's) authoring of On the Aesthetic Education of Man; though Schiller is maybe more recognizable today as a philosopher, he was far less significant in terms of his impact on the German education system than was Humboldt.)
Also -- and you may or may not know this -- but Nietzsche was profoundly influenced by Ralph Waldo Emerson (who was influenced by American Unitarianism, which was influenced by Humboldt, but I digress). Emerson had a lot of ideas regarding what an individual's education ought to be. Much of his educational thought emerged from the concept of "self culture," which was sort of the Americanized notion of "bildung." While you should certainly check out Emerson's "Self Reliance" and "The American Scholar", one of Emerson's mentors, William Ellery Channing, wrote a really accessible, less floral explanation of the Unitarian's conception of "Self Culture" that is definitely worth checking out as well.
In terms of theoretical underpinnings for all this talk about education and learning, you'll definitely want to steep yourself in Romantic-era/Modernist philosophy, specifically that of John Locke (Essay Concerning Human Understanding) and Jean Jacques Rousseau (Emile, or On Education). I know that Locke was far more influential in the states than was Rousseau in terms of how the educational system started, but his influence may be greater in continental Europe, though I'm not sure.
And, sure, why the hell not, you should also look into Johann Pestalozzi. Though his educational treatise, Enquiries into the Course of Nature in the development of the Human Race is more to the point, his series of instructive parables, Leonard and Gertrude, were far more popular.
As a side note, this time period (late 18th/19th century) and part of this topic (education, specifically self-education, that is "self culture" or "bildung") is right in my wheelhouse in terms of research (I'm also a grad student). If you ever want to compare notes, or do some draft swaps, let me know.