Educational Research

Empirically founded educational research is necessary for the development of the education system. The Federal Government supports the Länder in their efforts to reform the education system through a stronger commitment to educational research.

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The BMBF supports empirical educational research

1. institutionally through the German Research Association (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG), the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (Bundesinstitut für Berufliche Bildung, BIBB), the Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science (MPG) and some institutes of the Leibniz Science Association (WGL),
2. through its departmental research,
3. through improvements in general conditions (such as support of young scientists, improved scientific IT infrastructure, support of international exchanges and networking), and, after the reform of Germany's federal system,
4. through grants awarded to projects and programmes on the basis of Art. 91b paras 1 and 2 (new) of the Basic Law in coordination with the Länder.

In November 2007, the BMBF launched the Framework Programme for the Promotion of Empirical Educational Research. This Framework Programme strategically links different options for action to strengthen empirical educational research structures in Germany, to support empirical research which provides input for reform processes in Germany's education sector and to promote the internationality and multidisciplinarity of empirical educational research.

Since 2009, the BMBF has been funding the scientific core programme of Germany's National Educational Panel Study - NEPS. This study has been set up in cooperation with the Länder to find out more about how education is acquired, to see how it impacts on individual biographies, and to describe and analyze the major educational processes and trajectories across the life span.

For more information about areas of empirical educational research and about research projects funded through the Framework Programme, please consult the website "Framework Programme for the Promotion of Empirical Educational Research".

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