Central functions in the field of empirical research in teacher education

• Pooling of scientific resources for empirical research on teachers and teaching at the University of Cologne
• Promotion of the exchange and networking of empirical research on teachers and teaching within and outside the University of Cologne
• Initiation, establishment and promotion of interdisciplinary projects
• Support in the acquisition of third-party funds for the implementation of scientific activities in the fields of teaching and research
• Promotion and support of young scholars
• Promotion of the transfer of knowledge into teacher education

The IZeF is a distinguished centre for the scientific exploration of teachers, their teaching practice as well as their education and further training - with the participation of teaching and research bodies from various departments and faculties. The IZeF is embedded in a network of scholars from inside and outside the University of Cologne. In addition to scholars from the Faculty of Human Sciences, colleagues from the Faculties of Mathematics and Natural Sciences and the Faculty of Arts are active in the IZeF (persons). In addition, there is close collaboration with various institutions and fields of activity of the University of Cologne as well as with external cooperation partners.

The IZeF was founded in 2013 and began its work with the adoption of rules of procedure in November 2013 and the ceremonial opening in January 2014. Since then, it has promoted empirical teacher and classroom research as basic and applied research. It strives for a close cooperation between the established research and teaching areas in order to strategically bring together the approaches of the empirical research of teachers and their teaching, which differ in terms of discipline and methodology, to support an exchange and to work in an interdisciplinarily, multi-methodologically and internationally acceptable way.

A continuous focus is the conducting of research projects. In the course of the establishment of the IZeF to date, six IZeF research groups have been formed which are responsible for more than 30 projects. Thereby, the field of activity is constantly expanding: for example, since 2015 the IZeF has participated in the “future strategy for teacher education” and continues its involvement as well in the second funding phase. In addition, it is involved in other areas, such as the promotion of young researchers and strategic networking through research collaborations with various partners from both inside and outside the University of Cologne.

The concrete activities and events of the IZeF are organized as workshops: Interdisciplinary workshops take place every six months with varying thematic focuses and promote an exchange between active participants with respect to their current research. The workshops also serve to stimulate ideas and aid in the coordination of future collaborations. Methodology workshops are held once a semester and in addition to further offers aimed at young scholars, these workshops offer young academics, in particular, the opportunity to gain further insight into research methods. In addition, the IZeF is visible through targeted public relations work. The participating scholars take part in numerous national and international conferences and the IZeF itself participated in the organization of various conferences, e.g., the GEBF 2019. Research results are published regularly nationally and internationally (publications).

In our two-year report we provide detailed information on the activities and all other content relevant to the IZeF. Download as PDF