Research Diary: Project Insights from Hamburg – October 2025

The meta-project supports the 20 funded projects within the Integration through Education initiative while also pursuing its own research questions. At the University of Hamburg, we are currently examining how the initiative’s core topics are reflected in publications aimed at practitioners. In coordination with the subproject at FAU Erlangen–Nuremberg, the goal is to identify which topics are considered relevant in practice, where research and practice diverge, and whether practitioners point to unmet research needs.

In spring 2025, the 20 collaborative projects were invited to recommend literature they considered particularly important. Their responses resulted in a diverse collection of materials, including handbooks, guidelines, flyers, and websites. Together with FAU, we analyzed the titles of these publications and grouped recurring terms into thematic clusters.

The analysis included individual words and recurring phrases that appeared at least twice. This resulted in a thematic overview centered on Integration through Education. Around this core theme, several clusters emerged, including inequalities, educational concepts and approaches, target groups, fields of practice, and professional knowledge. The size of each term reflects its relative frequency, while the placement of clusters was generated randomly.

The preliminary findings highlight the thematic diversity of the submitted publications. Many focus on schools, while others address social work, civic education, and labor market integration. Frequently mentioned target groups include girls and refugees, with gender also appearing as a recurring theme. Common concepts include empowerment and power-sharing, which are presented as strategies for addressing gender- and migration-related challenges in educational integration. Parental involvement is another prominent topic. References to structural inequalities, such as racism and discrimination, also feature strongly, alongside an interest in professional competencies that strengthen practitioners’ ability to act effectively.

This provides a brief glimpse into our ongoing work—an interim result that will serve as the foundation for further analysis and research.