Welcome in the Department of Education and Culture

Welcome to the Department of Education and Culture in Sport at the Institute of Sport Science at the Universität Münster. The research area was established in the winter semester 2022/23 and thus represents the most recent expansion at the Institute of Sport Science and underlines the importance of a qualified (initial) education of future sport teachers.
In teaching and research, we deal with sports pedagogical issues that primarily relate to school sports, i.e. to physical education and other extracurricular activities (e.g. class trips with a sports focus, physical activity programs in all-day programs, etc.) that complement or deepen physical education pedagogically. One focus of our work is the education and training of physical education teachers and the support of their professional development, because not only future teachers, but also those who are already in the profession, are constantly confronted with social transformations that also have an impact on physical education. More recently, the right of all children and adolescents to participate in the general school system ("inclusion"), but also ongoing migration movements, for example, have brought the heterogeneity of the student body into focus. However, the ubiquitous availability of digital media is also changing the face of (school) sport and the associated sport pedagogical requirements, which we are contributing to researching on the one hand and for which we are developing training concepts on the other, in order to prepare pedagogical specialists appropriately.
On the following pages you will find further information on our research areas, on topics related to teaching as well as on the team of the department. We hope that you will find all the information you need on our homepage. If you still have questions, please do not hesitate to contact us directly!
 

News

© Tobias Braukmann

First Special Olympics NRW Volunteer Congress

On Saturday of the first weekend in November, Special Olympics North Rhine-Westphalia (SONRW) held its first volunteer congress at the Institute for Sports Science. Around 80 participants with and without disabilities came together to discuss volunteering within Special Olympics, learn from each other in a wide range of workshops, and look to the future with new inspiration and ideas. Students from the institute's teacher training programmes took part with great interest and contributed to the exchange. The cooperation and provision of the facilities was made possible by Jun.-Prof. Dr. Helga Leineweber, so that the congress could take place on the same site as the 2024 State Games.
In addition, the SONRW sports coordinators took advantage of the event and held a conference in conjunction with it.
 

© Helga Leineweber

Language education in physical education

The scientific foundations and practical implementation possibilities of subject-specific education in a language-sensitive physical education classroom were the focus of a workshop offered by Prof. Dr. Helga Leineweber as part of an interdisciplinary conference at Ratsgymnasium Minden. The one-day conference, titled “Language Education in Subject Teaching – Foundations and Perspectives for a New Learning Culture,” emphasized cross-phase networking: teachers from several schools, experts in teacher training, and researchers discussed current concepts of continuous language education—an interdisciplinary task that concerns all school subjects and to which physical education can make an important contribution.

© Kai Reinhart

Special scientific volume on the history of sports science

To mark the 100th anniversary of the Institute of Sports Science, Kai Reinhart and Michael Krüger have published a special edition of the journal STADION, which was officially presented at the IfS anniversary celebration (16 September 2025). It focuses on the history of the IfS in Münster, but also covers numerous other exemplary sports science institutions in Germany and around the world.

© Eike Boll

‘Lunchtime training’ at the university hospital

Eike Boll presented the cooperation project between the Institute of Sports Science and the Department of Paediatric Haematology and Oncology as part of the lunchtime training course - a series of training sessions at the University Hospital for paediatric doctors and anyone interested. The focus was particularly on the snow sports project and its development in recent years. The exchange with colleagues from the clinic was very beneficial for the perspective of the overall project, which also offers various water sports and a climbing and bouldering programme for children and young people with cancer. Once again, the multi-professional orientation of the project became clear: in addition to doctors from the various paediatric disciplines, the training also involved specialists from the fields of sports, occupational and physiotherapy.