Educational Sciences

One of the main research interests at the Institute of Social Work and Social Policy (ISP) is supporting and advancing young researchers. A new Graduate School funded by the German trade unions’ Hans-Böckler Foundation offers eight young scholarship holders the opportunity to work towards their doctorates (www.uni-due.de/wgi). As members of the new “Contradictions of Social Integration. On the Transformation of Social Work” group, they will research questions relating to the current transformation of the welfare state and social work as a major factor in that context.
The ISP is also part of the “Advanced Research in Urban Systems” (ARUS) doctoral programme, which is funded by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and relates to one of the UDE’s main research areas, Urban Systems (www.uni-due.de/urbane-systeme/us_advanced-research-in-urban-systems_en.shtml). The programme offers doctoral students the opportunity to explore their research interests within an interdisciplinary and international framework over a three-year period.
The question of “Change of Contemporary Societies”, another main research area at the UDE, is also at the centre of other ongoing projects such as “Flexible Familienernährerinnen” (Flexible Female Bread-Winners) and “Re-Flexibilisierung des Rentenübergangs” (Improved Flexibility at the Transition to Retirement), both of which are funded by the Hans Böckler Foundation. A new addition is the collaborative European project “Meeting the Challenges of Economic Uncertainty and Sustainability through Employment, Industrial Relations, Social and Environmental Policies in European Countries” (GUSTO) (http://ec.europa.eu/research/social-sciences/projects/398_en.html).
The Institute also plays an active role in the area of public policy consulting. Professor Ute Klammer was appointed as the speaker of the “Sach­verständigenkommission Gleichstellung” (Commission for Equality) in May 2010 by the German Family Minister. Since April 2010, Professor Bruno Nikles has been a member of the Round Table on child sexual abuse, “Sexueller Kindesmissbrauch in Abhängigkeits- und Macht­verhältnissen in privaten und öffentlichen Einrichtungen und im familiären Bereich”.