The Interdisciplinary Center for Empirical Teacher and Classroom Research (IZeF) is a research institution within the Faculty of Human Sciences at the University of Cologne; it celebrated its 10th anniversary in 2024 and can now look back on more than a decade of successful operation. It brings together relevant research activities conducted in close collaboration with the educational sciences (educational and social sciences, psychology), special education, and subject-specific didactics.

At the University of Cologne, the IZeF stands for distinguished empirical educational research that focuses on current and relevant topics. It is currently organized into the IZeF research groups on Competency Assessment, Language Education, Media and Digitalization, Mental Health in Educational Institutions, Persistence and Change, and an Emerging Group, which reflect the current research priorities at the IZeF. Embedded in various collaborations and networks both within and outside the University of Cologne, the focus is on a range of activities related to research—mostly in the form of actionable projects—as well as professional development opportunities.

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