The teaching profession has specific requirements. It takes five years to graduate from university: first you have to obtain a Bachelor’s degree and then go on for a Master’s. Before becoming a fully qualified teacher, though, graduates have to spend another 18 months training in school, Referendariat in German, ending with the second state examination. This means that after their studies graduates wishing to pursue a career in research quite often lose contact with the university and after 18 months away find it difficult to resume academic studies.

The University of Bremen wants to break with this specific requirement and offer early-career researchers an alternative option that will enable them to qualify as teachers and obtain a doctorate at the same time. In October 2016 it will introduce a nation-wide unique concept called Duale Promotion. Preparations are well under way and the first six fellows will take up their doctoral training in winter semester 2016/2017. The background to this innovative concept is that there is a growing shortage of early-career researchers in the educational field of subject didactics, although schools have more and more need for scientifically grounded school and curriculum development to cope with the challenges presented by increasingly heterogeneous classes. The new concept aims to rectify this shortcoming.

Doctoral training closely linked to schools’ needs

The teaching practice (Referendariat) will be intertwined with doctoral training in subject didactics. The central idea is to intertwine theoretical aspects with teaching practice in such a way as to create synergetic effects. The research topics underlying the doctoral research will be closely linked to schools’ needs. Inspiration for the innovative concept comes from the disciplines of engineering management and business administration, where there have long been dual programs combining theory and practice.

Partner schools and graduate school

As a rule, the Duale Promotion program will take four years to complete. It still comprises the 18-month period of teaching practice but the fellows will also belong to a graduate school run jointly by the University of Bremen and the Teacher Training College at the State Institute for Schools. Several Bremen schools have expressed interest in becoming partners in the project. They see the new concept as a welcome opportunity to work together with the University on the pressing new issues they are facing in respect of school and curriculum development. And the Federal State of Bremen supports the initiative with funding for the first six fellows and has taken steps to adapt the legal provisions accordingly. Overall control of the project lies with the University of Bremen’s Creative Unit “Subject-related Educational Processes in Transformation” (FaBiT) financed with funds from the Excellence Initiative.

For further information on this topic, please contact:

University of Bremen
Creative Unit FaBiT
Prof.Dr. Andreas Grünewald
Phone: +49 421 218-68400
email: gruenewaldprotect me ?!uni-bremenprotect me ?!.de

or

Dr. Regine Komoss
Phone: +49 421 218-61900
email: rkomossprotect me ?!uni-bremenprotect me ?!.de