At present, there are relatively few international studies that reflect research in religious didactics from a metatheoretical perspective. Against this background, the fundamental question of this contribution is whether there are research designs that are typical for research in religious didactics. For this purpose, research was conducted for a…

This article discusses the nature of vocational education and its relation to citizenship as put forward by Georg Kerschensteiner, Aloys Fischer and Eduard Spranger. The chief aim of the article is to respond sympathetically to views which many Anglophone readers may find unfamiliar, given the German context from which they arise. In particular,…

This article is based on results from research that addressed the ways young Black Metal musicians construct their musical learning and socialization. In this article we will focus on one of the strands in that study; a trace of a classic ideal from "Bildung" theory. Using Bildung theory, we explore similarities between the ideals and…

This conceptual research analyses the historical development of the German concept of "Bildung" to the Danish "dannelse." The starting point is J.G. Fichte's 1808 "Addresses to the German Nation," in which "Bildung" is analyzed as a key concept. The paper illustrates the influence Fichte had on N.F.S.…

How can the use of metaphors promote sustainable resilience in an educational process? How can educators and pastoral workers facilitate transformative learning by promoting strategies for coping with challenges? The paper answers these questions from a religious and psychological perspective by applying a biographical approach. By evaluating the…

Three fundamental scientific works on the pedagogy of Comenius will be considered from new perspectives. These are the works of the East German comeniologist Franz Hofmann and the two West German comeniologists, Klaus Schaller and Andreas Lischewski. Germany has produced numerous scientific analyses of Comenius since 1945, but these three…

In this study, aspects of space and time in German and Swedish classrooms are observed and compared to characterize differences and similarities in classrooms and lessons in different contexts. The organization and control of individuals and their actions in relation to time and space are analysed using categories derived from "Discipline and…

As neo-Aristotelian character education approaches have become more popular, the list of objections has increased too. This paper focuses on the objection that while character education proponents claim to be 'progressive' and 'reformative' they seem to maintain the educational status quo. This paper examines what happens to neo-Aristotelian…

Since 1933 marked the end of autonomous and democratic women's associations, historiography tends to neglect the study of feminist voices under National-Socialism. This paper looks at one of "völkisch" feminist movement's leaders, writer and journalist Sophie Rogge-Börner (1878-1955), whose claims for gender equality were rooted in…

This article compares the discourses, practices and politics of film education in France and Germany, and outlines their historical development. The discourses on film education in the two countries are fundamentally different: whereas German film education is anchored in the global politics of media education and around notions of…

It is a surprising fact that social work is not conceived as a scientific discipline in many countries and especially in the United States. It is surprising because the extent of academic social work programs and the scientific output of people working at schools of social work are significant. And it is surprising anyway if social work is…

Separate studies of Chinese and Western individuals have suggested that there are cultural differences in perceptions of creativity, particularly in an emphasis on meritorious salience versus aesthetic salience as bases for creativity, but cross-cultural studies are needed to substantiate that difference. In this study, undergraduates from Giessen…

New theories and theory-based methodological approaches have found their way into Comparative Education--just as into Comparative Social Science more generally--in increasing number in the recent past. The essays of this volume express and critically discuss quite a range of these positions such as, inter alia, the theory of self-organizing social…

Are the central pedagogical concepts and practices of the Humboldtian university, with "Bildung" as the overarching goal, only part of an elitist history of the university in the past or may they still be of relevance for the 21st century? What processes are involved in fostering "Bildung" then and now? This article…

This article discusses the meanings of quality in the Humboldtian university ideal and in the Bologna process, especially related to issues of institutional autonomy, academic freedom and the integration of teaching and research. The article gives an overview of current practices associated with quality and quality assurance in Germany and Norway.…