Abstract: Building on the observation that the ‘educational debate [on care] is still very much in its infancy’ (Dederich 2025: 17), this lecture explores the central question of to what extent education and learning can actually be conceived of without care. To this end, the relationship between education and subjectification, the relationship between subjectification and care, and the relationship between education and care will be explored along three axes. Against the backdrop of these analyses of these relationships, the aim is, on the one hand, to generate ideas for a concept of ‘care’ informed by a critique of power and, on the other hand, to further define ‘care’ as an analytical perspective within educational science.

Prof. Dr Nadine Rose is Professor of General Education with a specialisation in educational theory at the University of Bremen. Her research focus is on education and subjectivation in the context of power relations and inequalities. Prof. Dr Rose conducts research drawing on poststructuralist, postcolonial and decolonial theories, in the fields of education and racism studies, and primarily utilises methods such as biographical research, ethnography and address analysis.

Abstract: Against the backdrop of a recent surge in interest within educational science in the topic of care, this lecture examines the current social conditions in which care activities are being increasingly commodified and exploited. What are the consequences of this exploitation of care activities for the formation of the self, social bonds and communal life, as well as for education and upbringing? The discussion will focus on how, at a time when social relationships are increasingly being colonised by AI, robots and digital tools, care—which is (still) based on interpersonal relationships—should be conceived and organised, and what challenges this poses for pedagogy and educational science.

Dr Anna Hartmann is a Senior Lecturer at the Institute of Educational Science at the University of Regensburg. Her research and teaching focus on topics including women’s and gender studies in educational science, pedagogical professionalism, and sex education in schools and the teaching profession. In her research, she combines, amongst other things, psychoanalytic theories of the subject and society with feminist theory.

Abstract: The topic of care – such as care needs, care responsibilities and care practices – seems to be on many people’s lips at present; at the same time, however, these themes give rise to perspectives that are certainly fraught with tension, contradictions and even conflict. In institutional contexts (such as higher education), care is not infrequently reduced, in particular, to specific spaces and practices within which individual care needs are identified and addressed. From a (queer-)feminist and anti-racist perspective, one might ask what role the political dimension of care plays in such an approach, and how ‘the institutional’ is ultimately constructed in a specific way through this discussion of care and care practices. Building on analyses and reflections from the research project‘Responsibility for Care (at) the University. (Self-)Perceptions and Needs Reflected in the Experiences of Relevant Actors’, the lecture focuses in particular on the question of the political dimension of care and its relevance to institutional contexts, as well as its critical reflection on discrimination.

Prof. Dr Saphira Shure is a professor of educational science specialising in racism and difference studies at Bielefeld University. Her research focuses on education in a society of migration, anti-racist professionalisation, postcolonial and feminist perspectives on education and inequality, and anti-discriminatory organisational development. Saphira Shure is currently leading,amongst other things, the project‘Responsibility for Care (at) the University: (Self-)Perceptions and Needs as Reflected in the Experiences of Relevant Stakeholders’as part of the collaborative project funded by the BMFTR‘Academia and Care: An Intersectional-Exploratory Study ( WiSo)’.

Abstract: Recent debates in educational science concerning the concepts of ‘sorge’ and ‘care’ have shown that, on the one hand, these terms are intended to capture phenomena of significance in school pedagogy, whilst, at the same time, distinguishing them from concepts such as ‘upbringing’, ‘education’, ‘support’ or ‘assistance’ proves difficult. Against this background, the lecture will aim to define ‘care’ more precisely as educational concepts, drawing on specific practices observable in inclusive settings.

Abstract: In the diverse development processes of inclusive all-day schools, the organisation and structuring of care arrangements are playing an increasingly important role. This concerns practices both within and outside the classroom and affects the self-image of the schools as well as that of the various educational professionals and their relationships with one another. This paper addresses the organisational aspects of these changes and presents the findings of an interview study in which headteachers and class teachers were questioned about qualitative and quantitative aspects of care arrangements at their schools.

Prof. Dr Cornelie Dietrich is Professor of General Primary School Education at Humboldt University in Berlin. Her research focus is on educational care studies and cultural practices in primary schools. Furthermore, Prof. Dr Dietrich’s research focuses on cultural and aesthetic education as well as the interplay between education and language.

Abstract: Much has been written about how young people have developed feelings of resignation and powerlessness in the face of multiple crises, coupled with narratives surrounding the inevitability of AI-driven technologies. Drawing on a series of participatory futuring workshops, we develop a critique of AI in education in collaboration with young people and employ speculative and arts-based approaches to imagine preferable digital futures.

Prof. Dr Juliane Jarke is Professor of Digital Societies at the University of Graz. Her research lies at the intersection of critical data studies, participatory futures research and feminist STS. Among other things, she has co-edited special issues on “Designing Postdigital Futures” (Postdigital Science and Education, 2024) and on Care-ful Data Studies (Information, Communication and Society, 2024). More on www.sociodigitalfutures.info