The aim of the research project “Adaptivity and Quality of Teaching in Individualized Classes” (Ada*Q) is to generate scientific and practical knowledge on the productive use of heterogeneity in class together with the award-winning schools of the German School Award of the Robert Bosch Foundation.
Most interesting for the research interest is the adaptivity of teaching. In other words, it is to be examined to what extent teaching concepts of differentiation and individualization can help to create the best possible fitting between teaching offers and the individual learning requirements of pupils. Therefor the importance of teaching quality will also be examined.
Low literacy (“functional illiteracy”) and numeracy – that is, difficulties in using mathematics – in adulthood often lead to considerable limitations in the lives of those affected.
To respond to this challenge of low literacy/numeracy, targeted education policy and pedagogical measures are necessary. To achieve this goal, extensive knowledge about the causes of low literacy/numeracy is essential. Unfortunately, no such extensive knowledge exists based on available research, especially regarding the factors causing low literacy/numeracy. The main reason for this is the general lack of longitudinal data. Both in Germany and the rest of the world, extant research is mostly based on studies seeking to analyze the phenomenon with a single instance of data gathering. They are hardly suited to research how low literacy/numeracy emerge – and under what circumstances they can be changed over time.
This cooperation project wanted to identify risk and protective factors for the development and change of low literacy and numeracy in German adults. With the help of data from the National Educational Panel Study (NEPS), two main questions regarding low literacy/numeracy in German adults have been answered:
- Changeability: How stable are low literacy/numeracy and how
changeable are they? How many people are successful in acquiring
competencies over time and thus leave the domain of low
literacy/numeracy? How many people slip into this domain over time?
- Complex causes: Which individual (e.g., cognitive and non-cognitive
basic skills), structural and contextual factors (e.g., employment,
family formation) influence the probability of such growths or losses in
competencies?
The research group on ‘Individual Developmental Trajectories and Institutional Contexts Across the Lifespan’ is a collaborative project designed to run six years, established by DIPF and IPN. The team of researchers will primarily be focusing on the analyses of existing datasets from empirical educational research, striving for a comprehensive and overarching perspective on findings and integrating them.
Thematically, the research group focuses on the longitudinal perspective of educational processes and educational trajectories from adolescence to adulthood. On the one hand, this comprehends a descriptive perspective: How do individuals change and how are developmental processes represented in different life spheres from adolescence to adulthood? How can this be described for different groups of people? For instance, in how far are developments similar across different learning contexts and school types, and how do they differ? On the other hand, an explanatory perspective is taken to research the roles of individual variables as well as institutional contexts. Taking the example of gender differences: are differences between boys and girls reinforced during secondary education, and if divergent developments can be described, are these ‘general patterns’ or does tracking in the German secondary school system come into effect?
Owing to the amendment of school legislation in 2009 that came into effect as of the school year 2009/2010, the federal state of Bremen carried out a comprehensive school structural reform. The introduction of a two-type secondary school system constitutes a core element in this regard, consisting of grammar schools (Gymnasium) and a newly established general secondary school (Oberschule). The Oberschule unites all secondary school types apart from the grammar school, and students can obtain all secondary school degrees there (including Abitur). At Oberschule, the repetition of a school year has been abolished. Moreover, the school structural reform in Bremen aims at contributing to the development of inclusive schools, and to this end the school type ‘Förderzentrum’, i.e. ‘special educational centre’, was dissolved. Improving the performance of the school system in Bremen was determined as the central objective of the structural reform, and the reform targets the decrease of the interdependence between social background and student achievement.
Across political parties, ‘school peace’ was agreed which became known as the ‘Bremen school development consensus’ (‘Bremer Konsens zur Schulentwicklung’) and an external evaluation was set up. This was conducted by a group of scientific experts under the auspices of the DIPF (speaker of the expert group: Professor Dr. Kai Maaz). First and foremost, the analyses were based on student-related and school-related parameters from official school statistical data (Schuldatenblatt) and existing performance data from the IQB comparison of states for the evaluation of national educational standards for an intermediate school leaving certificate and general education certificate. In addition, different actors were interviewed who have been involved in the Bremen school system to elicit deeper insights into school developmental trends and respective challenges. For instance, school principals were questioned in the framework of evaluating the school structural reform. School principals were thus given the opportunity to reflect on their experiences and estimations regarding the new school structure in Bremen, its development and quality assurance respectively quality development measures. The interviews centrally targeted the generation of reliable information on the acceptance and implementation of the new school structure in Bremen and regarding the evaluation of existing quality development instruments, not least of all with the aim of identifying weaknesses and the need for optimisation.
In the spring of 2016, researchers from the Canadian research coalition CYRRC and the Leibniz Education Research Network LERN started to exchange information and initiate research collaborations on the integration of refugees. The partners organized two research workshops funded by BMBF, the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research and SSHRC-CRSH, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. Participants shared information on the structural contexts regarding the immigration of refugees to Germany and Canada and identified four common research themes:
- Economic, social, and political challenges facing refugee children, youth, and families
- Language, literacy, and learning
- Social integration, human rights, social stigma, culture, and security/violence
- Mental health and the social determinants of well-being
The project “Research Exchange and Cooperation between Canada and Germany on the Integration of Refugees” – funded by the BMBF – aimed to support and coordinate the joint research activities in Germany and Canada and their presentation at national and international research conferences. In addition to research networking, the project supported knowledge transfer and activation of research activities and findings.
The CAN-D project worked closely with the Child and Youth Refugee Research Coalition (CYRRC) and the Research Network on Refugees, Institute for Migration Research and Intercultural Studies (IMIS), University of Osnabrück.
For actively participating in school, daily life or at work excellent German language skills are needed. While learning a new languague teachers have a key role in teaching German as a second language. The project COLD (Competencies of school teachers and adult educators in teaching German as a second language in linguistically diverse classrooms) focuses on the following questions:
- What skills and knowledge do teachers have?
- How do they structure their lessons?
- Are there any differences between school teachers and adult educators?
The project is a cooperation between DIE and the MI and is led by the DIE.
From April 2019 until September 2022 researchers will focus on professional competencies of school teachers and adult educators in teaching German as a second language in linguistically heterogeneous groups. The project adresses the special needs in teaching and didactics which occured through the immigration of children, teenagers and adults. The surveys take place in real teaching situations in preparatory classes and integration courses.
The interdisciplinary project team includes experts in adult education, subject-related didactics German/German as a second language, empirical educational research, linguistics, computer lingustics, and psychology. The project is mainly performed by PhD students so that a special focus on promoting young researches is set.
INSIDE (Inclusion in and after Secondary Education in Germany) is a scientific study that examines the conditions and implementation of inclusion in mainstream schools in Germany. From December 2016 to May 2021, the project initially focused on the conditions under which inclusive learning of students with and without special educational needs takes place in lower secondary school and which approaches are successful. In June 2021, the second phase of INSIDE began. Here, we accompany students during their transition to upper secondary school, into vocational training, a profession, or other life situations. The focus is on the goals and aspirations that students have for their transition, the approaches of schools in preparing for and supporting this transitional phase, and the conditions that contribute to a successful transition.
Ongoing exchange of metadata with continuous updates between ZPID reference database PSYNDEX and information infrastructures hosted at the DIPF (German Education Server und German Education Index | FIS Bildung Literaturdatenbank [only in German]). Exchange includes information and scientific publications from German-speaking countries in the fields of (a) Educational Psychology and (b) selected basic subjects of psychology.
In what way are teacher education students different from other students with regards to their interests, occupational orientation, and previous educational biographies? To what extent are teacher education students equipped with domain-specific basic competencies such as, for example, reading competence as well as mathematical competence and scientific literacy? And how are study progress and success connected to the level of these competencies? How does the perceived quality of the preparatory service (“Referendariat”) affect the professional career? And does the professional self-concept change during the course of this second training period?
With the continuation of an additional sample of teacher education students from the NEPS Starting Cohort 5 and by adding survey content specific to the teaching profession to this investigation it will be possible to answer these and similar research questions. Due to its longitudinal approach following teacher education students from the beginning of their studies to their professional lives and also taking into account their life course prior to studying, the project will considerably improve the data pool regarding teacher education. The collected database will be made available as an infrastructure service to the national and international research community.
Homework is a central component of school education and is utilized with the intention to raise students’ performance. Nevertheless, in regards to the effect of the assignment and completion of homework there is a considerable gap between the intended educational relevance and its empirical validation.
The project addressed this gap of empirical research and explored this subject matter in four interrelated partial studies which reanalyzed longitudinally recorded data of almost 2000 eight-graders with the help of latent-profile-models.
