Laborschule Research Unit

The Research Unit is led by the Research Director, who is elected from the ranks of the professors at the Faculty of Educational Science for a period of five years. The Co-Leadership by the school head and the research director was established in order to ensure the cooperation between the school and the Research Unit and serves the purpose of coordinating school matters, giving advice as well as making suggestions. The Research Director and the board of directors of the Research Unit are the decision-making bodies of the institution. The research activities at Laborschule are supported by a Scientific Advisory Board, which primarily consists of university professors from other universities, representatives of the respective Düsseldorf Ministries and other persons (Research Director of the Research Unit and the school, in a consultative role). 

With regard to this task – which is the development and the implementation of new learning processes at school – the Research Unit fulfils a special role. In close cooperation with the school, the Research Unit develops a school research and development plan every other year and is responsible for ensuring the successful outcome of the projects that are included in this plan. The tasks of the Research Unit are defined as followed in the decree mentioned above: “It is charged with the task of developing the research and development plan, functioning as a scientific advisor to the school to help it fulfil the tasks laid out in this research and development plan as well as implementing, scientifically evaluating and documenting these research and development activities.”

In short, this means that the Research Unit can be described as the research department of the Laborschule. 

Biennially, the Research Unit creates a school research and development plan. It is defined by the projects which will be provided with resources over the next two years (particularly research hours and student and research assistants). In order to be included in a project of this research and development plan, educators and research associates of the Research Unit have to hand in a research proposal, which is then discussed and possibly approved by the board members. After the conclusion of this two-year period, the outcomes and findings of the project need to be compiled in writing, for instance, as a final report, scholarly articles or a book manuscript. These products are presented to the Scientific Advisory Board. In doing so, a diverse number of publications originates from the projects of the research and development plan, thus contributing to the dissemination of the findings of Laborschule research.  

The school research and development work of the Research Unit refers to the progressive education practices at Laborschule. This means that diverse questions lead the research interest of both Laborschule teachers and Research Unit: What measures can be taken to ensure that children of different abilities, capabilities and from different backgrounds learn together? How can individual children and adolescents be supported intensively and according to their needs? How could the school organise a learning process without excluding students and without grades? Finally, what measures can be implemented to successfully “open” the school and promote learning from experience?  

The main pillars of Laborschule research – supported by the Research Unit – are its teachers. Under the guidance of Harmut von Hentig, the teacher-researcher concept was conceived that – in a modified version and as practice research – guides the research work at Laborschule until today.

This overview is based on: Döpp, W. et al.: Die Forschungs- und Entwicklungsarbeit der Laborschule - ein Selbstbericht. In: Terhart, E. & Tillmann, K.-J. (Ed.): Schulentwicklung und Lehrerforschung. Das Lehrer-Forscher-Modell der Laborschule auf dem Prüfstand. Bad Heilbrunn: Julius Klinkhardt (IMPULS Laborschule, volume 1), 2007, pp. 115-116