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

© Authorengruppe ComeNet 5

ComeNet-project on the home stretch

As part of the BMBFSFJ ComeSport project, the departments of education and culture in sport and physical education and teaching research in sport have developed training courses, teaching ideas, and materials for p.e. teachers on the topic of “Body image and social media in school sports.” From December 3-5, 2025, a meeting was held in Münster with colleagues from the ComeNet 5 subproject in Paderborn and Leipzig to implement the digital reuse of the training concepts developed in a uniform manner on platforms such as WirLernenOnline (We’re learning online). The project is thus successfully approaching its conclusion at the end of February 2026.
 

© Nils Neuber

Visit to the DGfE conference

The Sports Institute was represented by JProf. Dr. Helga Leineweber and Prof. Dr. Nils Neuber at the conference of the DGfE Commission for Sports Education in Osnabrück. The conference programme focused on the question of the extent to which current social challenges influence sports education and put it under pressure to transform. Helga Leineweber and Prof. Dr. Sabine Reuker from the German Sport University Cologne gave a presentation on diversity-sensitive teaching perception – a professional requirement that is particularly relevant for sports teachers. In addition, results from the ComeSport project were presented in the form of a poster. In this project, the departments of Education and Culture in Sport and Physical Education and Teaching Research in Sport are jointly working on the topic of “body image and social media” and preparing it for the further training of sports teachers and sports lessons.

© 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.