UA Ruhr researchers heavily involved in accompanying scientific research

In the Startchancen program, the federal and state governments support up to 4,000 schools in challenging situations so that children and young people there can receive comprehensive support in basic mathematical, linguistic and interdisciplinary skills. The aim is to strengthen educational equality, as educational success in Germany still depends on social background. Over the next ten years, 2 billion euros will be made available annually for this education offensive.

The program will also be scientifically monitored. The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) is funding the accompanying scientific research for the innovative Startchancen program of the federal and state governments and offers 4,000 schools in socially disadvantaged areas access to innovative school and teaching development. The BMBF is focusing the project on working with the federal states to develop tailor-made support programs for schools and lessons for the participating elementary school, lower secondary schools and vocational schools, which decouple the link between educational success and social background.

University of Duisburg-Essen and Ruhr University Bochum involved in the “Multi-professional school development in social spaces” competence center
Together with Ruhr University Bochum and in cooperation with UC Berkeley, Prof. Dr. Isabell van Ackeren-Mindl, Prof. Dr. Sybille Stöbe-Blossey, Prof. Dr. Heike Roll and Prof. Dr. Kerstin Göbel at the University of Duisburg-Essen (UDE) will coordinate the competence center “Multiprofessional School Development in Social Spaces” nationwide at the Interdisciplinary Center for Educational Research (IZfB).

Prof. Dr. Isabell van Ackeren-Mindl explains the specific sub-project of the UDE: “We will strengthen schools as learning, democratic organizations in dealing with the diverse learning requirements of children and young people in and with the school support structures of the federal states. Among other things, we will develop and research new management approaches and multi-professional cooperation structures in schools and their environment. In cooperation with the other competence centers in the project, such as for teaching development, we want to systematically strengthen the students' self-concept and learning success.”

The Vice-Rector for Studies and Teaching at UDE, Prof. Dr. Stefan Rumann, points out the potential of the project for the further development of UDE: “By coordinating the accompanying scientific research, UDE will make a significant contribution to developing school quality in a broad perspective and over a decade in an evidence-based and sustainable manner. In this way, UDE is living up to its claim to be committed to equal opportunities on a scientific basis in the Ruhr educational region, but also nationwide - and will do so even more systematically for the school education phase in the future.

Participation of TU Dortmund University in the Startchancen Competence Center for Mathematics
The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) is now funding the Startchancen competence center for mathematic with 15.2 million euros over 10 years. Half of the funds will go to TU Dortmund University for research, development and transfer work. The IPN Leibniz Institute for Science and Mathematics Education, the Freiburg University of Education and the universities of Münster, Osnabrück, Paderborn and Potsdam are also involved.

“All children and young people can find access to mathematics if they are given appropriate learning opportunities,” say didactics professors Susanne Prediger and Daniela Götze and their colleague Christoph Selter from TU Dortmund University. Some children already receive numerous stimuli at home, while schools can compensate for this very successfully for others. This is possible when mathematics lessons consistently meet learners where they are and initiate rich thought and communication processes about the most important mathematical aspects.

Interdisciplinary research network
The structure of the research network comprises competence centers cooperating with the federal states (data-supported quality development, interdisciplinary learning and vocational orientation, multi-professional school development in social spaces, language education, mathematics), a management center and so-called transfer and transformation hubs.

The interdisciplinary network is coordinated by Prof. Kai Maaz from the Leibniz Institute for Research and Information in Education (DIPF) in Frankfurt. A central component of the work in the interdisciplinary network will be to develop binding and constructive cooperation formats together with the players in the steering and support system and to build up new steering knowledge. The aim is to create a governance structure that jointly and efficiently activates and interlinks all resources.

Another focus will be on concepts and materials for school and lesson development and for working in networks. These will be compiled in a purpose-oriented manner, dovetailed with existing approaches and newly developed or further developed on the basis of research. The network will also professionalize teachers and multipliers. The materials and further training will relate to subject-specific fields such as language education and mathematics, to interdisciplinary topics such as problem-solving and teamwork as well as to socio-spatial and multi-professional organizational development. All concepts and structures are intended to be sustainable and benefit all schools in the long term.