General Studies
General Studies
Research into the pedagogy of General Studies
Before moving to the University of Oldenburg, I held a professorship in the didactics of General Studies at the University of Bielefeld for several years. My research focused on the following areas:
- Historical learning in General Studies – I am continuing this research in Oldenburg as well (see Current Research: Early Historical Learning)
- Rethinking social science perspectives for General Studies, with a focus on historical learning, political learning, consumer education and mobility education
- Methodology in General Studies
- The sachunterricht-online.de website for General Studies
- I also founded and edited a book series whose primary aim was to present the key findings from the disciplines relevant to General Studies in such a way that students, trainee teachers and practising teachers can receive support to familiarise themselves quickly and competently with key subject areas. This is particularly necessary in General Studies because, given its diversity, the degree programme in General Studies only allows for an in-depth understanding of a few specific aspects of the subject. On the other hand, knowledge of key issues, content, methods and findings of the numerous other related disciplines (specialised sciences and subject-specific didactics) is essential for delivering responsible, science-oriented General Studies – unless, that is, everyday knowledge and everyday theories are to be regarded as sufficient prerequisites for lesson preparation and delivery. The book series entitled ‘Dimensions of General Studies’ was published by Schneider Verlag Hohengehren. I wrote or edited the first three volumes myself, which deal with political education, historical education and methods in General Studies. As I have not been working full-time in General Studies for some time now, I have since handed the series over to my colleague Markus Peschel; it is now published under the slightly amended title: “Children. Things. Worlds. Dimensions of General Studies”. In 2017, however, I updated, rewrote and edited two of the three books I had authored myself.
to 2 (social science perspectives):
- Dietmar von Reeken: ‘Political Education in Primary School General Studies’, in: Wolfgang Sander (ed.), *Handbook of Political Education*, 3rd fully revised edition, Schwalbach/Ts., 2005, pp. 184–195
- Dietmar von Reeken: Road Safety Education and Mobility Education, in: Wolfgang Einsiedler et al. (eds.), Handbook of Primary School Pedagogy and Didactics. 2nd revised edition, Bad Heilbrunn/Obb., 2005, pp. 684–689
- Dietmar von Reeken: Learning about Politics in Primary School – Political Education as a Subject in General Studies, in: *kursiv* – Journal for Political Education 3/2003, pp. 24–29
- Dietmar von Reeken: Political Learning in General Studies: Didactic Foundations and Practical Teaching Guidance, Baltmannsweiler: Schneider Verlag Hohengehren 2001 (= Dimensions of General Studies, Vol. 1)
- Dietmar von Reeken: Road Safety Education and Mobility Education, in: Wolfgang Einsiedler et al. (eds.), Handbook of Primary School Pedagogy and Didactics, Bad Heilbrunn 2001, pp. 611–615
- Dietmar von Reeken: Is Schimanski German? Cultural Plurality in Germany’s Past and its Treatment in General Studies, in: Sache Wort Zahl 27/2000, pp. 42–47
- Dietmar von Reeken, Volker Schwier: ‘Critical Consumerism: Perspectives on Consumer Education in General Studies’, in: *Grundschulunterricht* 2/2000, pp. 23–28
- Dietmar von Reeken, Volker Schwier and Claudia Hoppe: Children and Consumption. Dimensions of Integration in General Studies and Some Implications for Teacher Training, in: Gerhard Löffler, Volker Möhle, Dietmar von Reeken, Volker Schwier (eds.): General Studies – Between Subject-Specific Focus and Integration, Bad Heilbrunn: Klinkhardt 2000, pp. 185–200
- Dietmar von Reeken: From Hazard Prevention to Risk Awareness: Mobility Education Instead of Road Safety Education, in: *Sache Wort Zahl* 26(1998), Issue 16, pp. 36–40
- Dietmar von Reeken: ‘Religion in General Studies? Plurality, Intercultural Education and the Question of Meaning’, in: *Lernen in Deutschland. Zeitschrift für interkulturelle Erziehung* 17(1997), pp. 134–144
to 3 (method orientation):
- Dietmar von Reeken: A Methodological Approach to General Studies – Reflections Based on the Example of Historical Learning, in: Marlies Hempel (ed.), Learning through General Studies, Bad Heilbrunn 2004, pp. 153–162
- Dietmar von Reeken (ed.): Handbook of Methods in General Studies. Baltmannsweiler: Schneider Verlag Hohengehren 2003. Updated new edition 2017
- Dietmar von Reeken: Methods in General Studies, in: Ibid. (ed.), Handbook of Methods in General Studies, Baltmannsweiler: Schneider Verlag Hohengehren 2003, pp. 3–11
- Dietmar von Reeken: Observation, in: Ibid. (ed.), Handbook of Methods in General Studies, Baltmannsweiler: Schneider Verlag Hohengehren 2003, pp. 39–46
- Dietmar von Reeken: Working with Films, in: Ibid. (ed.), Handbook of Methods in General Studies, Baltmannsweiler: Schneider Verlag Hohengehren 2003, pp. 97–106
- Dietmar von Reeken: Learning for the ‘knowledge society’? A plea for a stronger focus on methodology in General Studies, in: Joachim Kahlert, Elke Inckemann (eds.), Knowledge, Skills and Understanding – on Establishing Connections between Them in General Studies, Bad Heilbrunn: Klinkhardt 2001, pp. 71–82
Re: 5 (Dimensions of General Studies):
- Volume 1: Dietmar von Reeken: Political Learning in General Studies. Didactic Principles and Practical Teaching Guidance, Baltmannsweiler 2001
- Volume 2: Dietmar von Reeken: Historical Learning in General Studies. An Introduction with Tips for Teaching, Baltmannsweiler 2004. Updated new edition 2017
- Volume 3: Dietmar von Reeken (ed.), Handbook of Methods in General Studies, Baltmannsweiler 2003. Updated new edition 2017