The Meta-Project at the DGfE Congress

At the DGfE Congress 2026 in Munich, the meta-project contributed several presentations and brought key perspectives from the field of Integration through Education into academic discussion.

As part of its systematic literature reviews, the meta-project examines current research trends in the field, explores which topics are emphasized in practice-oriented literature, and identifies areas of convergence and divergence between academic and professional discourses. Initial findings were presented and discussed in a poster session.

The congress also provided an opportunity to reflect on the role of meta-projects themselves. In an ad hoc working group, researchers from various projects discussed how meta-projects can balance networking, knowledge transfer, and overarching research. Topics included how to conceptualize and operationalize the “meta” dimension, foster shared knowledge production, strengthen transfer in education, and contribute to the advancement of educational science.

Further insights were offered through additional poster presentations. Anna Samira Lappe and Esther Dominique Klein explored the perspectives of school supervisory authorities on schools in socioeconomically disadvantaged areas. Building on the project Culturally Responsive Leadership through School Supervision (KulReF), their research investigates how supervisory officials understand and enact their roles in these contexts.

The theme was also addressed in a symposium led by the Chair of General Education under the direction of Prof. Dr. Ulrike Deppe, which focused on the educational trajectories of migrant and refugee youth and examined the extent to which these are shaped by disruptions and transitions. Contributions from the project Integration through Education for Immigrant and Refugee Youth in Residential and Foster Care (ImmEr) at Chemnitz University of Technology highlighted how young people experience and navigate educational processes across schools, youth welfare services, and public authorities, and how different stakeholders contribute their perspectives.

Additional collaborative projects broadened the discussion. The MIRASTO project presented initial findings on the role of migrant self-organizations as educational spaces, highlighting their potential for empowerment, community building, and participation, while also addressing the challenges they face within existing social structures. The DisKit project contributed two presentations to the research forum Risky and Productive Disruptions?. Yvonne Gormanns examined the ethical challenges of practice-oriented professional development for diversity, while Isabell Krähnert explored how disruptions emerging in the transfer between research and practice can be addressed constructively.

Overall, the contributions enriched scholarly discussions on educational inequality, participation, and integration in contexts of migration and displacement, while also providing valuable impulses for strengthening the relationship between research and practice.