Blog #25 Excellent educational research in Eastern Germany

Do we want excellent education research or do we already have it? And why do we need it, particularly in the new federal states? In his opening speech, Professor Wolfgang Schareck, Rector of the University of Rostock, indicated that the conference's title initially caused confusion.

Here are some impressions from Professor Axel Gehrmann's keynote, Managing Director of the Board of the Center for Teacher Education and School and Vocational Education Research (ZLSB), on the topic

"Eastern German Education Research in Transition - Does Expertise Meet Practice Anew?"

It quickly became clear that research on the transformation of the school system in the new federal states after reunification was neglected for a long time. There is a lack of theory on formal education in societal transformation processes. Teacher education also long interested nobody. How teachers came to schools after the turnaround remained unnoticed. Axel Gehrmann cited impressive numbers on the aging teaching staff in eastern Germany: Since the turnaround, eastern Germany has lost 40% of its students, 50% of its schools, and 30% of its teachers.

According to Gehrmann, education research on eastern Germany took place almost exclusively at western German research institutions for far too long and was far removed from a comprehensive consideration of the complex development processes. For 20 years, there has been no discussion of the transformation processes after the fall of the Berlin Wall. Other topics are always brought into focus. In doing so, Gehrmann concluded that eastern German education research may be seeing exactly what is still to come elsewhere: teacher shortage, school closures, and center-periphery dynamics.

In the following program points of the conference, 14 scientists reported on their current research projects in Eastern Germany. The topics ranged from teacher competencies to success in the teaching profession to the (re)entry of people with refugee experience.

Professor Nina Kolleck and Lea Fobel​​​​​​​ from the meta-project discussed in their contribution to what extent the category "Eastern Germany" can still be a valuable analytical perspective in studies of participation in non-formal cultural education.

Overall, the conference achieved what it set out to do: promote exchange and networks for education research in Eastern Germany. And all of this successfully in person.  

You can view the conference program HERE​​​​​​​

 

 

Created by: Lea Fobel