Educational Science in the Context of Media and Digitalization

Prof. Dr. Kai Hugger

Profile

This research focus examines the social, political, and cultural implications of media and digitization processes with regard to upbringing, learning, and education. The focus is on questions of media socialization of children, adolescents and adults, on the acquisition or appropriation of media competence and processes of media education as well as aspects of the design of teaching and learning scenarios (media didactics). The research focus always considers media developments in a socio-cultural context and in connection with the entire spectrum of formal, non-formal and informal educational contexts during the course of life. The subject areas of the research focus are examined from the perspective of educational science. Approaches from other disciplines (communication studies, media studies, psychology, etc.) are taken into account and integrated into our own questions and concepts. A broad methodological repertoire is used (e.g. interviews, surveys, group discussion, observations, reconstructive and interpretative procedures, image analyse, or critical data mining) to describe and/or explain the phenomena that are focused on in the empirically as well as theoretically-conceptually oriented research projects. 
From an organizational point of view, the research focus represents a network of different professorships and working areas of the Department of Education and Social Sciences, which cooperate on a project-related and interdisciplinary basis with professorships and working areas of other departments of the Faculty of Human Sciences. 

Key questions

• How are phenomena in the fields of media and digitalization related to structures, discourses and practices of formal, non-formal and informal education?
• To what extent do central media pedagogical terms and concepts need to be modified or completely rethought in light of media change?
• How do (special) discourses on media competence and media education develop under the conditions of digitization? Which design questions follow in the didactic sense?

Selected Publications

• Kramer, M. & Müller, J. (2022). Peer group and school in a culture of digitality. Digital (image-) practice as a border processing between two lifeworlds? Discourse on Childhood an Youth Research (4/2022), pp. 409-423.
• Sander, U., von Gross, F. /Hugger, K.-U. (Eds.) (2022). Handbook on Media Education. 2nd ed. Wiesbaden. Springer VS.
• Hugger, K.-U./Tillmann, A. (2021). Childhood and youth in transition: changing media environments and media use. In H.-H. Krüger, C. Grunert & K. Ludwig (Eds.),
• Handbook of childhood and youth research [3rd ed.]. Wiesbaden: Springer VS.
• Bettinger, P./Hugger, K.-U. (2020). Practice-theoretical perspectives in media education. Wiesbaden: Springer VS.
• Kramer, M. (2020). Visual Biography Work. Smartphone photography in adolescence from a media educational perspectie. Baden-Baden. Nomos.
• Hugger, K.-U./Braun, L. M./Noll, C./Nowak, T./Gräßer, L./Zimmermann, D./Kaspar, K. (2019). Between authenticity and staging: On adolescents' media-critical assessment of information-oriented YouTuber* videos. In: von Gross, F. & Röllecke, R. (Eds.), Instagram and YouTube of Teens and Tweens - Inspiration, Influence, Participation. (Series Dieter Baacke Preis Handbook 14). Munich: kopaed.
• Hugger, K.-U./Tillmann, A. (2016): Methods workshop: mobile methods. In: Journal of the Sociology of Education and Socialization. 36th Jg. H. 2. Beltz Juventa: Weinheim, pp. 213-220.
• Kammerl, R. & Kramer, M. (2016). The changing media environment and its impact on socialization processes in families. Studies in Communication Siences, 16 (1), S. 21-27.
• Hugger, K.-U. (Ed.) (2014): Digital youth cultures. 2nd ed. Wiesbaden: Springer VS.

Selected research projects

• All-day school - digital - Digital media and media education in the social world of all-day schools (BMBF project 2019-2022). Head: Prof. Dr. Kai-Uwe Hugger (together with Prof. Dr. Angela Tillmann, Prof. Dr. Dr. Kai Kaspar, Prof. Dr. Ivo Züchner, Dr. Harald Gapski).
• Youtuber videos, peers and political orientation of young people (Grimme Research College, 2017-2018). Head: Prof. Dr. Kai-Uwe Hugger (together with Prof. Dr. Dr. Kai Kaspar, Lars Gräßer).
• Shaping Heterogeneity and Inclusion - Future Strategy for Teacher Education Cologne (ZuS). 2nd funding phase: focus on competence orientation, inclusive, digital and linguistic education, promotion of young researchers, and quality assurance. (BMBF project, 2019-2023). Project partner: Prof. Dr. Kai-Uwe Hugger