School OF EDUCATION

The researchers at the faculty ask about individual and institutional preconditions, processes and results of education, development and social interaction. Both basic and applied research form the foundation of an interdisciplinary, cooperative and internationally compatible education, development and social research.

The Academic Initiative Educational Research

The researchers of the faculty (approx. 35 professors and 150 employees) involved in the academic initiative educational research investigate the individual, institutional and social preconditions and processes of learning in (extra-)school contexts and communicate the resulting findings to students and teachers. Leuphana has thus made a national and international name for itself both in teacher training and in empirical educational research, including research into teaching and competences. As one of the first universities in Germany, it implemented an institutional cooperation of educational sciences, subject didactics and related subject sciences in the sense of a "School of Education" as early as 2008 and bundled it at the Faculty of Education in order to support interdisciplinary research, coordinated teaching content and institutional cooperation with school practice and other institutions.

Further research centres and research foci of the faculty

The Faculty of Education is currently developing its profile in educational research through two research centres, which cut across the research profiles of the individual institutes. The research centre ERLE (Educational Research on Language and Education) creates space for innovative and interdisciplinary research in which academics from a wide range of disciplines participate and conduct interdisciplinary basic research on common issues. The research and development work in the "Future Centre for Teacher Education" (ZZL) aims to dovetail theory and school practice, to work in a network of currently six campus schools and, in doing so, to strengthen the cooperation between schools, study seminars and extracurricular institutions.

Research Focus Social Pedagogy in Diverse Societies

Leuphana is one of the few locations in Germany that is currently establishing a research focus on social pedagogy with a polyvalent orientation. Basic and application-oriented research is being conducted with a view to both occupational field-specific and training-specific topics. The professorships assigned to the research focus conduct research from an interdisciplinary social science perspective on numerous internationally relevant topics in social pedagogy, such as child welfare/child protection; diversity (gender, generational, ethnic); (forced) migration; social work education; trust and client-provider relationships; social inequality. Anchoring in the main reference disciplines of social pedagogy (educational science, psychology and sociology) and interdisciplinary collaborative research projects play a decisive role in this. The research topics of the priority area are all grouped around the overarching theme of „Social Pedagogy in Diverse Societies“.

Psychology as a unifying element

In its role as a hub science, psychology sees itself as a connecting element between the faculties. Within the framework of the teaching and research focus "Psychology and Society", it not only takes a look at socially relevant topics in the context of education, school and social work, but also connects with the research activities of sustainability and economics as well as political science. These are examined in various research projects funded by the DFG, ministries and other third-party funding sources. The various focal topics, such as reading regularity, negotiation and sustainability, digitalisation of prevention and health promotion, mindfulness, or education and gender justice, are bundled across faculties under the guiding theme "Psychology of Transformation", which is intended to express the social relevance of psychological research at Leuphana University.

 

AG DIGITAL TEACHING AND LEARNING

In the recent past, the effects and impacts of digitally enhanced teaching/learning scenarios on educational and social processes have been intensively discussed. While education policy is primarily concerned with the expansion of Germany's digital infrastructure, scientists are increasingly called upon to generate evidence-based findings on processes, people and products and to discuss these on an ongoing basis. The presumed potential of digital media in areas such as the individual support of pupils and the effects of digital skills on the participation in and shaping of society are thus critically questioned.

In several research and structural projects, the Faculty of Education faces up to these tasks in order to train and further educate prospective or active teachers on the basis of the latest findings and thus optimally prepare and support them for tasks in the areas of digital teaching and learning processes.

Participating researchers (sub/project managers) from Lüneburg:

Prof. Ahlers

Prof. Besser

JProf.'in Friedrichs-Liesenkötter

JProf.’in Kuhl

Prof. Schmidt

Prof.’in Süßenbach

 

AG SUBJECT AND LANGUAGE

In view of the realization that the heterogeneity of students in all school subjects, which has always existed, also plays a major role in the learning process, various subject didacticians and educational scientists from the Universities of Hamburg and Lüneburg have been meeting regularly since summer 2011. The aim of these meetings was and is the interdisciplinary investigation of the influence of linguistic heterogeneity on the teaching of subjects in secondary school.

Participating researchers (part-/project leaders) from Lüneburg:

Prof. Leiss

Prof. Ehmke

Prof'in. Neumann

Prof. Ahlers

A separate homepage of the AG can be found here.

 

AG Inklusion

The discussion about the diversity of children and adolescents in the school context and how to deal with it appropriately has increasingly moved to the forefront of educational policy and school pedagogical debates in recent years. School reforms (e.g. the ratification of the UN Disability Rights Convention in 2006 and the associated implementation of inclusive schools) and social developments (e.g. through migration) are leading to a change in the composition of learning groups. Teachers are faced with the challenge of constructively addressing this ever-increasing diversity and enabling all pupils to participate in school and thus in social life. Taking up these challenges, teacher training institutions are adapting their training concepts in order to adequately prepare future teachers for the demands of an inclusive education system.

In several research and development projects, questions concerning the implementation of an inclusive education system are also being addressed at the Leuphana University of Lüneburg and compiled within the framework of the Inclusion Working Group of the Faculty of Education. On the basis of current scientific findings, a profile study programme on inclusion is being designed to prepare and support future teachers for their tasks in the field of school inclusion and dealing with diversity.

Participating researchers from Lüneburg:

Prof.’in Abels
Prof. Besser
JProf.'in Friedrichs-Liesenkötter
Prof.’in Henschel
JProf.’in Kuhl
Prof. Maset
Prof.’in Ruwisch
Prof. Schmidt
Prof.’in Süßenbach

MORE ON EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH

Contact

  • Heike Behrens