Research at the Institute of Educational Science

The University of Münster’s Institute of Educational Science is one of the biggest institutions devoted to educational science in the German-speaking world, based on the number of students as well as professors and academic staff. Few other institutions offer such a comparatively wide range of educational science and its subfields. The plurality associated with this wide spectrum of theoretical and methodological approaches matches the complexity of educational science’s focus on Bildung and education in their institutional, societal, and sociopolitical contexts. With this plurality in mind, a common focus on educational science as a discipline is a hallmark of the different professorships and research areas in Münster. Here, Münster stands out compared to other locations, which increasingly organize themselves into loose interdisciplinary networks made up of different areas of educational research. In contrast, the Münster Institute of Educational Science draws a sharp distinction for itself, arguing that productive development of theory and research cannot take place without a recommitment to disciplinary knowledge. One of our fundamental assumptions is that the increasingly important interdisciplinary exchange with other areas of educational research, particularly teacher training, is most productive when educational science’s specific contribution as an academic discipline remains visible.