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Although it is a highly developed industrial country and generally known as technologically savvy, Germany lags internationally in digital transformation. Moreover, Germany's progress in Higher Education (HE) is uneven since 16 federal states have responsibility for education, including Higher Education. The pandemic has reinforced the importance as much as accelerated the transition to digitalization in HE. Although HE leaders see digitalization as important for research, service, and management, they emphasize that digital transformation has meaning for teaching and learning. The new digitally-based formats of teaching and learning--for example "blended learning" and so-called "inverted classroom" formats--benefit students most as they motivate and engage them more than does traditional classroom-based education. As Germany is a member of the European Union (EU) and a signatory of the Bologna Process, European policies, programs, guidelines, and agreements also affect Germany's digital transformation.

Learning Analytics is concerned with the use of data collected in educational settings to support learning processes. We take a Learning Analytics approach to study the use of immediate feedback in digital classification tasks in mathematics. Feedback serves as an opportunity for learning, however its mere existence does not guarantee its use and effectiveness, as what matters is how learners interact with it. Therefore, our research questions are focused on that interaction. The data consisted of 266 object movements for classifying polygons, and 524 shape movements for classifying traffic signs, under the topic of symmetry. Participants included 29 elementary school students (9-12 years old) from Israel and Germany. Analyzing students' success, feedback use, and the associations between them, we demonstrate how not acting upon feedback is negatively associated with success, and how this undesired behavior slightly reduces along the learning process.

To provide inclusive education to autistic students, it is important that teachers possess knowledge about autism, feel competent in teaching autistic students, and have a positive attitude toward the inclusion of autistic students. In this study, we explored knowledge, self-efficacy, and attitude concerning autism among N = 887 teachers in Germany. The results showed that knowledge about autism was only moderate and teachers held some typical misconceptions about autism. Moreover, teachers did not possess overwhelmingly high self-efficacy beliefs whereas their attitude toward inclusion of autistic students was rather positive. Experience with teaching autistic students was associated with more knowledge and higher self-efficacy. Also, female teachers were more knowledgeable about autism and felt more competent in teaching autistic students than male teachers. However, the type of school where teachers were working made hardly any difference in their knowledge, self-efficacy, and attitude. Overall, the results suggest that teachers in Germany need more autism training to increase their knowledge about autism and their self-efficacy beliefs in teaching autistic students.

This article examines the implementation, participation rates, and potential determinants of participation in the digital addiction prevention program "ready4life." A two-arm cluster-randomized trial recruited German vocational students via class-based strategies. Intervention group received 16 weeks of in-app coaching; the control group received health behavior information, with coaching offered after 12 months. Potential determinants of participation were analyzed based on class and individual characteristics. Out of 525 contacted schools, 35 participated, enrolling 376 classes. Implementation during the pandemic required flexible adjustments, with 49.7% of introductions conducted in person, 43.1% digitally via online streaming, and 7.2% received a video link via email. Despite challenges, 72.3% of the vocational students downloaded the app, and 46.7% gave informed consent. Participation rates were highest among (associate) professionals, vocational grammar school classes, classes introduced by females, younger individuals, members of the project team, and classes introduced face-to-face. Female gender, lower social competencies, lifetime cannabis use, higher problematic internet use, and higher perceived stress were associated with higher individual participation. The study highlights the importance of proactive outreach and personalized interventions for addiction prevention programs in vocational schools. While reached students aligned with the aims of the app, tailored recruitment strategies could enhance engagement among under-represented groups.

Our contribution argues for some differentiations in the recurring debates about pedagogical tact. To this end, we will proceed in three steps. First we will refer to classical aspects of pedagogical tact such as its intermediate function between general conceptions and the specifics of concrete pedagogical situations. In a second step we will refer to Plessner and highlight that underlying the pedagogical dimensions of tact there are social dimensions of tactful behavior. Thirdly, we further develop this aspect by asking about the current social framings of tact in pedagogical fields. Our argument is that the contextualizing of tact is relevant in two ways: First, it can prevent us from placing overly high expectations on individual action. Second, it directs our attention to the fact that tact also manifests itself in how we deal with the social framing of pedagogical arrangements and not just in the actions within these arrangements.

Background: Self-regulation has frequently been shown to be context-sensitive, suggesting the influence of different cultural contexts on its development. However, up until now, self-regulation has been mainly studied in Western countries with similar cultural contexts. Objective: Thus, with the present study we compared self-regulation of preschool children in Iran and Germany, hypothesizing that self-regulation differs between these two countries. Methods: In total, 148 preschool children (n = 100 Iranian, n = 48 German) participated in this study. Self-regulation was operationalized as waiting in the delay of gratification task. Moreover, behavioral strategies (i.e., focusing, withholding, and distracting) used by children while waiting in the task were video recorded and later rated using a behavioral rating scale. Results: On average, Iranian children waited less time than their German peers and used fewer withholding strategies to stop themselves from touching the reward. Interestingly, focusing strategies directing attention towards the reward undermined the waiting time in the delay of gratification task for German but not Iranian children. Conclusion: Our findings are consistent with previous cross-cultural/national studies in suggesting that childhood self-regulation may be developed and applied differently depending on cultural context. However, based on our results, the assumption that children from Eastern countries generally show a greater level of self-regulation than children from Western countries as discussed in previous cross-cultural/national studies is to be viewed critically.

In order to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic, many schools have been closed for several months as of March 2020 in Germany. The unplanned and rapid shift to distance learning formats has led to fears that extensive learning deficits will be created and educational inequality will be further exacerbated. This paper, therefore, investigates the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on spelling skills (capitalisation, sounds and letters, separate and compound spelling and punctuation) of students in German-speaking countries. For this purpose, we use granular learning process data from an online learning platform for spelling competences with over 1 million solved exercise sets. We compare successful completion of exercise sets before the pandemic and after the first wave of the pandemic and estimate personal competence by a Rasch model. The result shows a loss of competence in 2020 and an increase in inequality in some grade levels and spelling domains. A linear model cannot confirm an overarching loss of competence.

Beliefs are known to influence learning processes and thus become relevant in the instruction of pre-service mathematics teachers with regard to the pedagogical content knowledge taught in courses of mathematics didactics at university. In exploring beliefs about mathematics didactics of pre-service teachers training for secondary school, 50 bachelor students (ca. 5th semester) responded to two open-ended tasks in which they were asked to express their understanding of mathematics didactics. With the help of qualitative content analysis, topics related to mathematics didactics as identified by the participants are categorized. The category system shows that beliefs of participants differ in some respects from what selected research associates with mathematics didactics. Also, technical aspects of lessons like designing lessons are frequently mentioned within the answers, whereas topics with regard to learners or curriculum are rarely addressed.

According to teaching-learning theories, interventions in educational practice require a valid diagnosis of students' learning preconditions. Cognitive dispositions at the beginning of studies are the strongest predictor of knowledge acquisition. In the context of increasing numbers of beginning students with heterogeneous preconditions, valid entry diagnostics are indispensable to inform education practitioners about students' study-related preconditions and to design effective measures for the admission phase. In practice, entry diagnosis is based on indicators such as the grade of university entrance qualification, and general achievement tests. Numerous studies show that such indicators have limited validity in predicting academic performance. Therefore, recent research suggests subject-specific entrance tests to improve entry diagnostics. The use of a test in educational practice for diagnostic purposes can only be justified if the test is able to explain academic performance better than other (established) indicators. In a Germany-wide, large-scale representative study in higher education economics (6,610 beginning students at 46 universities), we investigate whether a validated domain-specific test can provide more valid entry diagnostics than other indicators. We examine the relation between this test and other indicators and demonstrate its diagnostic value, and discuss how the test can be used in the study entry phase.

This study set out to examine the basic reading skills (accuracy and fluency in decoding, word and text reading) and some of the reading-related language skills (phonological awareness and rapid-naming) of 54 adults with low reading comprehension, who read the transparent German orthography. Participants were born in Germany and showed a typical non-verbal processing speed. With the exception of reading accuracy, participants were expected to present deficits in all basic reading and reading-related skills. The average performance in measures of decoding and word reading fluency was extremely low. A notable proportion of the sample, however, did not present a deficit in these measures. As expected, the average rate of reading errors was generally low. Nevertheless, text reading accuracy was deficient for one quarter of the sample. Tests addressing the reading-related language skills also indicated an average low performance in phonological awareness, but not in rapid-naming. Here too, a notable variance was observed. These results suggest that deficits in the basic reading skills and in phonological awareness characterise, on average, adults with low reading comprehension. At the same time, significant deficits in reading comprehension in this population do not necessarily imply deficits in the more basic skills of reading as well. In addition, the results indicate that reading accuracy constitutes a source of difficulty for some of these adults, despite the reading of a transparent orthography. The sources for the variance in performance throughout the different reading and reading-related measures remain to be explored.

Research was and still is involved in the controversial issue about innate talent or extensive practice as the determinants of excellent performance in a range of domains. This study aims to contribute by presenting an analysis of practice activities in a domain that appears to be particularly suitable--orchestral conducting. Most conductors usually attain expertise in instrument playing prior to commencing conducting studies. Twenty-seven students of German study programs of orchestral conducting (approximately 18.7% of the population) responded to a questionnaire about their practice activities in conducting programs and their instrumental experiences. Descriptive results show the wealth of pre-study experiences conducting students have. A clear influence on practice activities cannot be stated. During study, students rated conducting-specific practice activities as more demanding and devoted more time to them than to general music practice activities. Therefore, conducting-specific practice activities might have been practiced more deliberately than general music practice activities.

The aim of the 15 collaborative projects conducted during the new funding phase of the German research program Modeling and Measuring Competencies in Higher Education--Validation and Methodological Innovations (KoKoHs) is to make a significant contribution to advancing the field of modeling and valid measurement of competencies acquired in higher education. The KoKoHs research teams assess generic competencies and domain-specific competencies in teacher education, social and economic sciences, and medicine based on findings from and using competency models and assessment instruments developed during the first KoKoHs funding phase. Further, they enhance, validate, and test measurement approaches for use in higher education in Germany. Results and findings are transferred at various levels to national and international research, higher education practice, and education policy.

The present study examines how attending the German model project "Kindergarten of the Future in Bavaria" (KiDZ), which provided 138 children (aged 3 to 6) with traditional preschool stimulation combined with cognitive and domain-specific stimulation, is associated with children's competencies in mathematics over time to age 12 compared to a control group of 53 children. Controlling for child and family background measures, attending KiDZ was positively associated with mathematical competencies at the age of 12 compared to the control group not attending. Those effects are mediated through grade and preschool quality. Furthermore, results showed that preschool quality was associated with higher competencies in mathematics at age 12, even when controlling for numerical skills at preschool and primary school age. The results suggest that preschool quality influences mathematical development over and above those effects detected previously in preschool. Thus, the academically oriented high-quality preschool intervention, KiDz, lays not only the foundation for a good start in school, but also for later development in secondary school.

The ever-increasing internationalization of study programs and global mobility of students call for greater transparency of and valid information on the knowledge and skills students acquire over the course of their studies. Several theoretical and methodological challenges arise from the immense diversity of degree courses, study programs, and institutions. A recent review of the literature has revealed a substantial lack of research on assessment practices in higher education, especially on domain-specific and generic competency models, as well as on measurement methods and valid instruments for competency assessment. The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research initiated the national research program Modeling and Measuring Competencies in Higher Education (KoKoHs) to address these challenges. This article describes the assessment practices, aims, and conceptual and methodological framework of KoKoHs and presents the main results of the first funding phase of the program.

Previous research documented positive associations between cognitively stimulating work and levels of cognitive performance, while longitudinal associations are less clear. We used 20-year longitudinal data from the Interdisciplinary Longitudinal Study of Adult Development and Aging (ILSE) to examine the role of perceived work environment (autonomy, innovation, social integration, and stress) and work activities derived from an occupational database (related to information, to people, and manual activities) for trajectories of cognitive abilities (processing speed, fluid and crystallized intelligence). We used data from 374 participants in the ILSE midlife cohort (born 1950-52) who were working at baseline and had valid observations on work characteristics and control variables including education, gender, region (former East vs. West Germany), and personal income (mean age at baseline = 44 years, SD = 1, 44% women). Cognitively stimulating perceived work environments (higher levels of autonomy and innovation), higher levels of work activities related to information and people, and lower levels of manual activity at baseline were related to higher initial levels of cognitive ability. Higher work stress was related to higher baseline fluid ability. These associations were largely not independent of control variables. Higher social integration at work was related to less steep increase in crystallized intelligence and higher work stress was related to less decline in processing speed. In sum, our findings were more in line with selection rather than with enrichment effects, with the caveat that our findings rely on work variables taken at baseline. We discuss potential mechanisms underlying these findings.

Contribution: Prior studies comparing the effectiveness of different laboratory learning modes do not allow one to draw a universally valid conclusion, as other influences are mixed with the learning modes. In order to contribute to the existing body of work and to add another piece to the puzzle, this article demonstrates an improved methodology to evaluate the effectiveness of computer-simulated laboratories in comparison to hands-on exercises using a battery basics practical course as a case study. Background: Computer-simulated experiments are becoming increasingly popular for conducting laboratory exercises in higher education and vocational training institutions. To ensure the consistent quality of laboratory learning, an accurate comparison between the results of simulated experiments and practical hands-on experiments is required. Intended Outcomes: In this article, the achievement of the following learning objectives were compared between the two laboratory modes: 1) comprehension of the most important parameters of battery cells and 2) knowledge on how these parameters can be determined using adequate experimental procedures. Application Design: To avoid interference of factors other than laboratory mode on the learning, laboratory instructions and experimental interfaces ensured identical execution of the experiments in the compared modes. Using a counterbalanced methodology, the two laboratory modes alternated by the session, while the experimental procedures remained constant regardless of the respective modes. Findings: Tests taken by the participants after conducting the laboratory experiments revealed that hands-on laboratories resulted in statistically significantly better student performance than simulated laboratories. This difference was even more pronounced for the participants that finished a vocational education and training program before the university studies.

The home learning environment (HLE) index is composed of seven questions regarding educational parent-child interactions. To compare the psychometric characteristics of the six items of HLE index between the two different contexts of Germany and Iran, a sample including 468 preschool children from the National Educational Panel Study (NEPS), Germany, and 465 preschool children from the Longitudinal Study of Iranian Children (LSIC; Growing Up in Iran) were examined. Rasch analysis supports the fitness of the five items of HLE into the model in both countries. However, differential item functioning (DIF) results revealed significant differences between items functioning across the two samples. According to the item difficulty maps, reading to children was the most reported item in the German families, while Iranian parents tended to paint and draw with their children more. While findings support the construct validity and reliability of five of the six items in both samples, different Rasch results may reveal the effects of the cultural dimensions of each country on HLE items.

The present study examines the perspectives of 234 university instructors (UI) about (1) problems they see for students with dyslexia (StD), (2) the support they would need in order to be able to teach StD, and (3) the help they currently provide StD. In addition, information on instructors' dyslexia-related knowledge was collected. The results showed that while instructors are informed about dyslexia itself to some extent, they lack basic information about certain aspects, particularly diagnostics and dealing with StD in an appropriate way. Legal uncertainty aggravates this problem. A third of the instructors had provided assistance to StD in the past, but support is limited to compensational measures in exams. We argue that UI should receive more practical information concerning the above points and that support for StD should facilitate the learning process rather than (just) take the form of compensatory measures in exams.

The present study examines the longitudinal and differential impact of different dimensions of the early years home learning environment (HLE) on children's reading and mathematical competencies in secondary school, while taking early developmental outcomes and HLE during secondary school into account. During the preschool years, 554 three-year-old children were tested and have been followed up to the age of 13. The results show that book exposure and the quality of verbal interactions regarding mathematics both predicted mathematical outcomes in secondary school and that those effects were mediated through early language and arithmetic skills. Reading outcomes in secondary school were not directly predicted by early HLE but indirectly via early language and literacy skills. Path models reveal that the different dimensions of the early HLE were differentially associated with preschoolers' early competencies. All effects remained significant when including the concurrent HLE during secondary school which predicted reading outcomes directly.

This study analysed the effects of a classroom intervention focusing on phonological awareness and/or automatized word recognition in children with a deficit in the domains of phonological awareness and rapid automatized naming ("double deficit"). According to the double-deficit hypothesis (Wolf & Bowers, 1999), these children belong to the group who show the most pronounced difficulties when learning how to read and write. Our results suggest that children with a double deficit are at great risk of developing dyslexia unless they receive specific support. Moreover, the results of the intervention study are the first to show how German speaking children with a double deficit can be adequately supported within the framework of standard beginners' reading and writing lessons in inclusive classrooms so that impending difficulties in the acquisition of written language can be successfully prevented. The support measures focus on a training of phonological awareness and automatized processing of sublexical orthographic units. However, potential modifications of the training are currently being discussed since not all children in the training groups were able to benefit satisfactorily.

The so-called Greek Financial Crisis, which has been the object of close attention in the German media since the end of 2009, has caused a public debate on who should be held responsible for the decline of crisis-hit Greece, the common currency and the Eurozone. The media's enduring and controversial public discussion has lately been referred to as the "Greek bashing." When the crisis had spread much further in 2012 and also other countries suffered from high debt, economic stagnation and unemployment, the news coverage became more moderate. This project report highlights the role of medial discourses of difference and solidarity during the crisis. Therefore, we rely on an exemplary data-set that does not only take the development of the German media's tenor on the "Greek Crisis" into consideration, but also adds an international perspective in order to compare the medial treatment of different countries involved. The study methodologically focuses on the analysis of (metaphorical) language and grammatical structures in the news coverage of the German daily newspaper "BILD," the German magazine "SPIEGEL" as well as the international news magazines "Economist" (Great Britain) and "TIME" (USA). Therefore, the interdisciplinary approach of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) was used in order to produce insights into public discourses in sociopolitical contexts.

Based on a theoretical model of instructional quality this study investigates the influence of different dimensions of instructional quality in the school entrance phase on students' language development taking into account child and family background factors as well as structural characteristics of the classroom and teacher's educational beliefs. The vocabulary skills of a German sample of 554 children in grade 2 was analysed using multivariate regression models to test the extent to which instructional quality is related to the development of vocabulary in grade 2. Additionally, we examined whether structural characteristics and teachers' educational beliefs were related to vocabulary development. Results show positive relationships between global dimensions of instructional quality and students' vocabulary development. Furthermore, teachers' educational beliefs are also relevant for vocabulary development, whereas structural characteristics are subordinated. Thus, attention should be paid to the role of high-quality teaching practices and teacher beliefs.

Under the premise that the young generation of teenagers cannot be considered to be uniform, this study identified groups of teenagers based on their level of climate change awareness. Questionnaires answered by 760 teenagers (13-16 years old) from Germany and Austria were analyzed using a hierarchical cluster analysis. The teenagers were assigned to four groups that differed as to their cognitive, affective and conative aspects of climate change awareness. Based on the empirical results, the authors argue that there are different subgroups of young people in terms of climate change awareness, which climate change education should take into consideration.

The global academic system is hierarchically structured between a center, a semi-periphery and a periphery. We analyze to what extent the position of a country and a university within this hierarchy of scientific reputation shapes doctoral students' chances of international mobility. We conducted an exploratory experimental study using fake applications of international doctoral students sent to German sociology professors, who were asked to serve as supervisors during a planned research visit. Our fake applicants come from the core and periphery of the global academic system: Yale, Pennsylvania State University, National University Singapore, and Vietnam National University Hanoi. The results show that applicants from both US institutions get more positive and more personal feedback than the other applicants. This points to the importance of national scientific reputation. Moreover, we can show that universities' symbolic capital seems to be more important than the quality of a department.

The present study is based on longitudinal data from a German early childhood education and care (ECEC) governmental initiative assessing children's grammatical and vocabulary development between 2;6 and 4;0 years (N = 1,331), quality of the home learning environment and quality of the preschool setting. Results showed that the quality of the home learning environment predicted development in grammatical skills, but not in receptive vocabulary at age 4, while the effects of preschool process quality showed similar relative impacts on both language outcomes. Further analyses revealed effects of accumulated advantages of preschool quality for children from medium- and high-quality home learning environments in their vocabulary development. The results are compared with previous findings from the German ECEC context and discussed with respect to implications for policy efforts to improve ECEC quality and ways in which both learning environments act together on children's development.

The aim of this study is to evaluate the benefit of chess in mathematics lessons for children with learning disabilities based on lower intelligence (IQ 70-85). School classes of four German schools for children with learning disabilities were randomly assigned to receive one hour of chess lesson instead of one hour of regular mathematics lessons per week for the duration of one school-year. Concentration and calculation abilities of children were measured before and after the year of study using standardised tests. The chess group was compared with the control group without chess lessons. Concentration abilities and calculation abilities for written tasks and gap tasks developed equally well in both groups. Calculation abilities for simple addition tasks and counting improved significantly more in the chess classes. We conclude that chess could be a valuable learning aid for children with learning disabilities. Transfer of chess lessons to improvement of basic mathematics skills has been observed. (Contains 2 figures and 4 tables.)

This study evaluated an emotion-focused and a problem-focused intervention designed for patients with age-related macular degeneration. It found a limited decrease in depression in the emotion-focused group and an increase in active problem orientation and in adaptation to vision loss in the problem-focused group.

Political, economic, and social explanations of higher education reform, and the very definition of "reform," are the main departure points of this volume. The introduction uses the examples of Canada, Austria, Germany, and Japan to show that in all these countries, reform has meant reduced state funding and control and increased reliance on market mechanisms, private sources of funding, and new forms of university governance and management.

To consider how processes of education governance linking the work of international organisations and national and regional policy-making in two contrasting policy environments affect policy enactment in schools, differences in mathematics teaching between English and German secondary schools were analysed using Bernstein's account of pedagogic practice. This allowed the opportunities for achievement provided to different groups of students to be identified. The findings suggest that, as a result of strong governance pressures, English higher achievers have more opportunities to make progress than lower achievers, a concern which is consistent with standardised assessment data. Despite policy changes, similarities in the teaching of higher and lower achieving students in Germany remain and these account, in part, for the narrower gap in achievement there.

Germany's economic order is labelled "Social Market Economy" in order to indicate that the economic system has both an economic and a social dimension. Its purpose is to reconcile efficiency goals and social responsibility. The concept of the Social Market Economy is based on central values such as freedom or justice. Under the label "Social Market Economy," Germany has become an extensive social welfare system. However, the acceptance of this economic system has decreased over the last two decades. Especially in the eyes of young citizens, the value of justice is no longer upheld in Germany. Competition as an organising principle of economy is no longer esteemed but considered a threat and freedom has lost appreciation as a value. The goal of the study is to find out what the conception of Social Market Economy among first year undergraduate students looks like. In the context of the educational reconstruction model, we compared the students' conceptions to professional assumptions in order to create a new pedagogical structure. The method is a qualitative approach, analysing students' essays on Social Market Economy and its values. During the study, we found out that young people's attitudes towards the economy and values highly correlate with their cognitive knowledge and education.

Empirical studies have repeatedly shown that in Germany educational success still strongly depends on the social origin of individuals. Using the National Educational Panel Study, we analyse the effects of fathers' and mothers' education levels on their sons' and daughters' educational attainments across three successive birth cohorts in West Germany. We calculate the predicted probabilities of reaching low, medium or high education levels on the basis of the level of education of the mothers and the fathers. Our results show: a persistence of the status maintenance model, with very few exceptions; a growth in the educational level of women via medium-level education connected to segregation in the labour market; and finally that the first transition of girls to medium-level education has been completed, leaving space for daughters to attempt to outnumber sons in tertiary education, mainly due to the pressure of mothers.