Research and Science

Research at the Chair of Didactics and Digitalization in the area of physical and motor development is interdisciplinary in nature and operates at the intersection of special education, educational science, disability studies, digital education, and phenomenological anthropology. The central concern is the question of how education can be designed under conditions of disability, difference, and social heterogeneity in such a way that it enables social participation, recognition, and justice.

A guiding concept here is the pedagogy of enabling, which is based on a subject- and lifeworld-oriented approach. It understands pedagogical action not as the control or standardization of behavior, but as a professional practice of perceiving, understanding, and responding to human forms of expression—especially physical, nonverbal, or supposedly deviant behaviors. Based on a phenomenological understanding of the body as a place of world reference and subjective meaning, this perspective aims to open up educational processes that take individual attributions of meaning seriously and help transform structural conditions. The pedagogy of enabling does not ask about deficits, but about the conditions of possibility – even and especially where education has previously been excluded.

The chair's research projects therefore focus on the development and empirical testing of inclusive, digitally sensitive, and professionally ethical concepts in the context of physical and complex disabilities as well as chronic somatic illnesses. Other research focuses include the analysis of democracy education processes, structural educational inequality, intersectional disadvantages, and pedagogical challenges in the context of illness and care.

The methodological approach is diverse: in addition to qualitative and reconstructive research approaches, participatory and phenomenological approaches are also pursued. Of particular importance is the integration of the perspectives of those affected themselves – for example, in the form of inclusive research designs, cooperative knowledge production, or research-based learning in teacher training.

The chair understands research as a contribution to critical reflection on educational practice and to the creation of more equitable educational and social conditions. Research and teaching are closely linked and engage in dialogue, underpinned by a professional responsibility for education as an enabler.

Research Focus

- Inclusive Didactics and Digitalization
Investigation of digital learning environments and technologies to promote the participation of people with disabilities.
- Ethics of Care and Reflective Care
Analysis of care practices and their significance for educational processes in the context of disability and illness.
- Democracy Education and Social Justice
Research on educational processes that promote democratic participation and social inclusion.
- Intersectionality and educational inequality
Investigation of the interactions between disability and other social categories such as gender, origin, and socioeconomic status.
- Pedagogy in illness and care
Development of concepts for educational work with people in care contexts or with chronic illnesses.