Profile of teacher training in Kassel

Teacher education is a professionalization process that spans the entire professional life, from studies to preparatory service to professional activity. The understanding of professionalism at the University of Kassel is based on approaches from structural theory, professional biography and competence theory and aims to bring these together whenever it makes sense and is possible. We understand professionalization as an educational process that aims to acquire professional knowledge on the basis of these three approaches, to recognize, analyze and reflect on professional convictions and ambivalences of teacher action, and to continuously develop and expand one's own professionally relevant skills and attitudes.

The quality of schools and teaching and their development are central points of reference for teacher training in Kassel. This is based on intensive cooperation with schools, study seminars, (non-)school educational institutions, NGOs, (non-university) research institutions and companies regionally, nationally and internationally. This also includes the long-standing cooperation between the University of Kassel and three of the four experimental schools in Hesse (Offene Schule Waldau, Reformschule Kassel, Steinwaldschule Neukirchen), where innovative school and teaching development processes are scientifically supported.

In the following, we present the profile of teacher training in Kassel, which consists of three closely interlinked components: The competence profile describes our understanding of the job profile in terms of requirements. The study profile includes content-related and structural specifics, which are reflected, among other things, in the focus areas for (prospective) teachers. The research profile shows the breadth of research involved in teacher education.

Sowohl in den bildungs- und gesellschaftswissenschaftlichen als auch in den fachwissenschaftlichen und fachdidaktischen Professionsbereichen des Studiums knüpft das Curriculum an die Bildungsstandards der Kultusministerkonferenz an. Zudem werden Anforderungen der Fachgesellschaften aus den beteiligten Disziplinen berücksichtigt. Ziel ist es, unsere Absolvent:innen auf die spezifischen Handlungsanforderungen des beruflichen Handelns in Schule und Unterricht vorzubereiten. Dabei stehen für Lehramtsstudierende nicht allein das professionelle Wissen und Können der Fachdidaktiken, Fachwissenschaften und Bildungswissenschaften sowie die Gestaltung von Lernprozessen im Zentrum: Auch die persönliche Weiterentwicklung für die Arbeit mit Kindern, Jugendlichen und (jungen) Erwachsenen zur Verständigung über demokratische Werte ist grundlegend.

Ziel ist es, eine angemessen reflektierte, auch kritische Haltung zu sozialem und gesellschaftlichem Geschehen, auch in globaler Perspektive, einnehmen zu können. Mündigkeit von Heranwachsenden verstehen wir dabei als Bildungsauftrag von (angehenden) Lehrkräften.

Dieser kontinuierlich weiterentwickelte Ansatz spiegelt sich sowohl in den Fächern als auch in den am bildungs- und gesellschaftswissenschaftlichen Kernstudium beteiligten Disziplinen wider. Neben Erziehungswissenschaft, Geschichte, Politikwissenschaft, Psychologie und Soziologie gehört die Psychoanalyse ebenfalls dazu – ein Kasseler Alleinstellungsmerkmal. Zudem haben die Schulstufen und nicht die Schulformen einen besonderen Stellenwert: So gibt es für das Lehramt an allgemeinbildenden Schulen in der Erziehungswissenschaft und in einigen Fachdidaktiken jeweils eine Professur für die Primarstufe, die Sekundarstufe I und die Sekundarstufe II. Für das Lehramt an beruflichen Schulen stehen entsprechend der inhaltlichen Ausrichtung spezifische Professuren für die jeweiligen Fachrichtungen zur Verfügung. Zugleich werden Lehrveranstaltungen schulstufen- und professionsbereichsübergreifend angeboten, wodurch das Spezifische des jeweiligen Lehramts in der Breite des Schulsystems verortet werden kann.

Ergänzend zur Schwerpunktsetzung auf die jeweilige Schulstufe basiert das Curriculum in Kassel für alle Lehramtsstudiengänge auf Schwerpunkt- und Querschnittsthemen. Ausgehend von der etablierten Stärken- und Schwächen-Analyse werden diese weiterentwickelt. Neben dem Querschnittsthema Diversität & Inklusion, das auf die soziale Teilhabe fördernde Gestaltung individueller Lernprozesse zielt, ist auch nachhaltige Entwicklung ein Schwerpunkt und wird in all ihren sozialen, kulturellen, naturwissenschaftlich-technischen und bildungsbezogenen Dimensionen reflektiert. Auch die Gestaltung von Lehr-Lern-Prozessen mit digitalen Medien hat einen besonderen Stellenwert inne, um Bildung von (angehenden) Lehrkräften und Schüler:innen adäquat auf die Erfordernisse der digitalen Transformation auszurichten und einen angemessen aufgeklärten Umgang mit den Innovationen sicherzustellen.

At the same time, the already established interlinking of educational and social science, subject-specific and subject-didactic components in the degree course is strengthened, with the aim of acquiring networked professional knowledge and being prepared for practice in the interplay of the different professional areas. The school and teaching practice integrated into the degree program encourages students to reflectively transfer and further develop the acquired knowledge. This is intended to prepare students for the professional requirements of the profession, for example by accompanying competence development processes that also aim to reflect on the requirements of the teaching profession and through the broad use of text- and video-based teaching scenes and cases for analysis and reflection in educational science and subject didactics.

The model of teacher training in Kassel with the core studies in education and social sciences as well as subject didactics and subject-specific sciences is based on a genuine interdisciplinarity and networking, and also enables students on all teacher training courses to set their own focus areas. The aim is to combine scientifically sound findings with the challenges of school and teaching practice through a research-reflective orientation in order to develop the necessary skills in close cooperation between the three professional areas - subject-specific science, subject-specific didactics and educational science - also in cooperation with the second phase. This requires differentiating the skills to be acquired for the respective degree courses and in the different subjects in a domain-specific manner. Exemplary learning during studies should encourage the development of methodological and analytical skills that enable independent diagnosis and intervention.

This enables (prospective) teachers to design, monitor and evaluate students' learning processes in a scientifically sound manner. To this end, the competence development process is also accompanied individually with portfolio and ePortfolio work(study portfolio L1, cross-phase ePortfolio, ePortfolio in the practical semester).

A special structural feature is the 20 study workshops, around a third of which are currently being developed into teaching-learning laboratories. This enables students on all teacher training courses to design subject- and level-specific learning environments using teaching and learning materials and digital tools and to test these with groups of students in a reduced-complexity setting. In addition, some study workshops regularly offer subject-specific and didactic study days aimed at prospective and working teachers.

In addition to semesters abroad and internships abroad, the internationalization of the teacher training course includes cooperation in research and teaching with schools, colleges and universities within and outside the EU, for example in Switzerland, Israel, Sweden, Finland, Russia, Thailand and South America. The various forms of strengthening the international orientation of teacher training in Kassel are in a constant development process and must be systematically developed further in order to enable even more students to gain teaching and learning experience from a comparative perspective.

In order to deepen subject-specific skills in conjunction with social commitment, the University of Kassel also offers numerous courses in the area of service learning offered. In addition, seven study-related teacher training programs enable students to focus on specific areas of specialization. These include, for example, "Study Elements of Inclusive Education", "Internationalization and Education for Sustainable Development (InterESD)" and "Cultural Practice in Schools (KuPra)". These programs are offered specifically for student teachers. The special feature is that several departments are involved across all three professional areas. In addition, there are opportunities for students on undergraduate degree courses to specialize. These include the "Interdisciplinary Study Programme in Women's and Gender Studies", the "Continuing Education Programme in German as a Foreign and Second Language (WBSP DaFZ)" and the specialization module in "Bilingual Teaching and Learning (BIKA)". All programs certify successful participation. Furthermore, the skills acquired in courses in the three professional areas in the field of media education can be certified upon graduation.

The research focus within Kassel Teacher Education relates to the professionalization of (prospective) teachers in all three phases as well as to school and teaching & learning research, teacher education research and subject-specific research. In doing so, the respective research traditions in the subject groups are taken up and their limitations are broken down through close cooperation between the researchers, such as in the Center for Teaching/Learning Research (ZELL). A specific feature of Kassel's research is the interlinking of the three professional areas, through which educational and social science, didactic and subject-specific aspects are taken into account to varying degrees. In addition, there are research projects in which the professional theoretical approaches are brought together. In this way, different research paradigms are served and interlinked.

This can be seen, for example, in the research focuses in the areas of school and teaching research on interaction and communication in the classroom, participation of children, adolescents and (young) adults, sustainability, multilingualism and inclusion, which are located both in the educational and social sciences as well as in subject didactics.

The development of digital skills and the use of digital media as well as the field of teaching quality are the focus of both teacher education research and school development and teaching research. In the area of professionalization research of prospective teachers, which is also longitudinal, reflection and reflexivity as well as professional knowledge, subject-specific thinking, convictions, self-efficacy and diagnostic skills are examined in all three professional areas. In addition, research focuses on political education research, bilingual skills in terms of multilingualism and language awareness, ethical action in the context of inclusion, multi-professional cooperation, sexualized violence research, migration and transnationality research, monitoring the practical phases and cross-phase teacher training. In addition, the research of the disciplines involved in teacher education relates to subject-specific topics. This work helps to ensure that teaching content corresponds to the current state of knowledge and expands the understanding of teachers' actions in all their facets and dependencies.

This research profile goes hand in hand with the evaluation of (interlinked) learning environments to create coherent courses for the professionalization of prospective teachers in higher education didactic research projects (including ^PRONET2, PRONET-D, KoVeLa). Research on teacher training and on schools and teaching also includes further academic qualifications. For example, the Center for Teacher Education is establishing a graduate support scheme aimed at doctoral students, also in cooperation with the existing doctoral colleges of Departments 02 and 05. In addition, Germany's first primary school-specific DFG Research Training Group, INTERFACH, is based at the Universities of Halle and Kassel.

The profile of teacher education in Kassel is characterized by the advanced interlocking of professional theory approaches and the systematic networking of the three professional areas that has begun. This profile is intended as the basis for an ongoing exchange process on the further development of teacher education in Kassel among all those involved. Accordingly, this includes the discussion of competencies and focal points, our common understanding of the profession and the ongoing evaluation of the quality of teacher education in Kassel. In this respect, it is important to constantly question and further develop our teacher education in the course of social and global changes.

This profile not only summarizes our self-image, but is also intended to encourage us in a continuous process to prepare (prospective) teachers in the best possible way to accompany educational processes and to support them through further education and training. This also includes supporting our graduates in an alumni network on their professional path in the future.

The profile of teacher education in Kassel was drawn up by the Innovation Unit III (Organizational Development & Quality Assurance) as part of the project "Professionalization through networking - continuation and potentiation (^PRONET2)" of the teacher education quality campaign. To this end, a survey was conducted on the study, competence and research profile of all professorships involved in teacher training and the three teacher training colleges in Kassel. This text was written on the basis of 80 open responses. The draft was then sent to the institutes and subject groups, the study seminars and the teacher training student council before the profile was published in the Board of Directors and the General Assembly of the Center for Teacher Education with the involvement of the University of Kassel's Executive Board.