Research at the BBF

In order to intensify the scholarly engagement with the institution’s outstanding library and archival holdings and thereby strengthen on-site research, a professorship in the History of Education was established in 2012 in cooperation with Humboldt-University in Berlin. The holder of this professorship is simultaneously Director of the BBF. Researchers at BBF are actively involved in the national and international conferences and publication activities of the community of researcher on the history of education.

Building on its existing and continuously expanding collections, the BBF aims to develop analytical and reflective categories that can inform policy advice and educational practice. Research conducted at the BBF examines processes of change and continuities in education since the early modern period, with a particular focus on social and cultural historical perspectives. Topics include the history of forms of institutionalization –whether in the fields of schooling and classroom instruction, especially subject teaching, or in the development of the teaching profession – as well as the diverse forms of pedagogical knowledge. Particular attention is devoted to the history of education in the GDR.

In 2024, an additional W2 professorship in “Historical Educational Research with a Focus on Digital Humanities” was established, likewise in cooperation with the Humboldt-University in Berlin, in order to explore and critically reflect upon new possibilities for research in the history of education.

Research at the BBF is concentrated in the following four research fields:

• History of School and Subject Teaching
• History of Pedagogical Knowledge
• History of Education in the GDR
• Digital History of Education