Against the background of the reform of teacher training in the course of the transition to BA/MA and the consequent extension of practical phases (e.g. Professional Field Internship, practical semester) the practical semester as well as alternative learning arrangements – with which theory-practice-relations are aimed - come to the fore. The research area looks at the professionalization of prospective teachers in the first university phase of teacher training and deals with their appropriation processes, performance and orientation.

Professionalization and diversity

A central theme of the research area is the appropriate preparation of prospective teachers for school heterogeneity and diversity. Here, special attention must be paid to individual school conditions. The research area is therefore concerned with the development of learning arrangements and the research of professional development processes at the interface of university and school and the respective potentials for professional development, whereby schools in socially disadvantaged locations in particular are also focussed as learning locations.

Processing of professional development

In current research on teacher training, little attention has been paid to the process quality of school and university learning opportunities. Using the example of learning in the practical semester, the research area therefore focuses on such professionalization processes, for example by using data from longitudinal studies or in-situ data (e. g. with a practical-theoretical perspective).