Interdisciplinary conference on language development disorders (ISES 13)

On 15 and 16 November 2024, the GISKID Interdisciplinary Conference on Language Development Disorders (ISES 13) took place in Halle an der Saale. In her presentation, Katharina Kuhlmann focussed on the motor skills and developmental disorders of children with speech development disorders. The conference and the preceding junior researcher school offered exciting insights into various projects and facilitated a stimulating exchange with other researchers.

(Katharina Kuhlmann during her presentation.)

4th symposium on the topic of "Dealing with school absenteeism" at the VHS WissensWerkstatt Kirchhatten

On 14.11.24, the VHS Hatten and Wardenburg and the BOJE project (counselling and orientation for children, young people and adults) held their fourth symposium on "Dealing with school absenteeism" in Kirchhatten.

In addition to a presentation by Mr Heidjer Schwegmann, head of the Leinerstift Academy, Prof. Dr Michael Feldhaus and Meike Rau gave a presentation entitled "School absenteeism in Germany: effectiveness of approaches".

Conference of the International Network for School Attendance (INSA) in New Orleans 30.10.-01.11.2024

A successful highlight of the third doctoral year was certainly the opportunity for four doctoral students from our doctoral programme to travel to New Orleans in the USA and present their research projects at the International Network for School Attendance (INSA) conference.

In addition to exciting keynotes and numerous parallel sessions on various research projects, the conference's varied programme also offered workshops with practice-oriented input and roundtables that created space for exchange on specific topics. The atmosphere of the conference was characterised by stimulating discussions, uncomplicated opportunities for international networking and a relaxed environment. In addition to the exchange of content with international (senior) researchers, practitioners and political decision-makers, the focus was also on networking with other early career researchers, which also created prospects for further cooperation.

In terms of content, the conference provided numerous new impulses and valuable suggestions for the end of projects presented. Vivian Meyer presented her work as part of a poster session, while Meike Rau, Lara Stauvermann and Isabella Sasso presented and discussed their projects in individual presentations. In addition, Lara Stauvermann and Chiara Enderle (Leipzig University) organised a round table with participants from practice and research. The focus was on the question of how a positive, strength-based approach can be further developed in the context of school attendance and absenteeism.

Left photo: Early Career Researcher Conference Dinner.
Right photo: PhD students (from our Centre and Leipzig University) from Germany.

Doctoral exchange programme in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

After a doctoral student from Lehigh University (Bethlehem, Pennsylvania) visited Oldenburg this spring as part of a doctoral exchange programme, our fellow Vivian Meyer had the opportunity to gain a wide range of insights into the American education system this October. The exchange encompassed both university and school aspects and offered numerous opportunities for professional dialogue. In addition to the university exchange, the programme focused on visiting various schools and an intermediate unit. This provided an insight into the practice of inclusive schooling, the diverse approaches and practical implementation.

Left photo: Our fellow student Vivian Meyer in front of the Intermediate Unit she visited
Right photo: Vivian Meyer and Eliza Gilden present the exchange programme.

24th symposium of the working group "School Absenteeism and Dropout" in Leipzig

The 24th symposium of the "School Absenteeism and Dropout" working group took place in Leipzig from 25 to 26 October 2024. As part of the annual working conference, national and international researchers exchanged views on current research findings and projects in this area, among other things. The conference also focussed on networking between participants and the development of potential future research projects. As part of her doctoral project, fellow researcher Meike Rau presented her findings on the topic of "School absenteeism and family from the perspective of social workers". Fellow Lara Stauvermann also reported on the initial results of her dissertation project "Co-operation in the context of school absenteeism among children and young people with special educational needs".

As part of an international exchange programme, our fellow Vivian Meyer hosted a doctoral student from Lehigh University. During her two-week stay in Oldenburg, she visited various mainstream and special schools and gained an insight into the German school system and the diversity of educational institutions with a focus on the inclusive education of pupils with a need for special educational support. In addition, an intensive and comprehensive exchange about the respective research interests and doctoral projects took place, in which detailed insights into the individual scientific questions, methodological approaches and previous research results were given and discussed.

This year's ESE conference took place at the Freie Universität Berlin from 30 May to 1 June. In the symposium "School attendance between psychosocial problems and positive school experiences", Isabella Sasso presented barriers and opportunities for inclusive schooling from the perspective of pupils on the autism spectrum who are absent from school. As part of the poster presentation, Vivian Meyer presented initial findings on the perception of inclusive schooling for pupils with special educational needs in the area of emotional and social development at different types of schools. Anne-Marie Brüggemann presented the first results of her synthesis on the construct definition of social-emotional competences in adolescence on her poster.

3rd symposium on the topic of school absenteeism at the VHS-WissensWerkstatt Kirchhatten

On 30 November, the VHS Hatten and Wardenburg and the BOJE project (counselling and orientation for children, young people and adults) held their third symposium on the topic of "Absenteeism in everyday school life - causes. Assessments. Perspectives" in Kirchhatten (click here for the programme). In addition to a lecture by Dr Benjamin Kreische on the topic of "School absenteeism in connection with mental illness" and a general exchange on the situation in the district of Oldenburg, our colleagues Lara Stauvermann and Meike Rau presented the first results of their doctoral projects as part of the symposium.

Left picture: Child and adolescent psychiatrist Dr Benjamin Kreische and Jost Friedebold (Pedagogical Director of BOJE) discuss the topic of school absenteeism with the expert audience. Picture: VHS Hatten + Wardenburg.
Right picture: Our fellow students Meike Rau and Lara Stauvermann present their doctoral projects. Picture: VHS Hatten + Wardenburg.

Head teachers' conference kmE in Bremen

On 17 November, the working group of head teachers from special needs schools in Lower Saxony met in Bremen. Carolyn Lübbehusen presented the results of the cross-sectional survey on kmE pupils in Lower Saxony.

Autumn conference of the Working Group on Empirical Research in Special Needs Education (AESF) in Münster

This year's autumn conference of the Working Group for Empirical Special Needs Education (AESF) took place for the first time in Münster from 3 to 4 November, marking the beginning of the newly launched "Special Needs Education" degree programme. This première also applied to fellow students Carolyn Lübbehusen and Anika Conring, who both gave their first presentations on their dissertation studies. Vivian Meyer took part in the poster session and discussed initial, selected results from the pilot phase of her dissertation study.

Carolyn Lübbehusen presented initial, current findings on the emotional-social stress of pupils with a SUB kmE at secondary level. As part of the presentation, initial descriptive results on possible multiple psychosocial stress were presented, compared with the existing findings and discussed in terms of their relevance for teaching.

Anika Conring presented the initial results of her research focus on bullying and resources at the symposium "Bullying in schools - research from a special educational perspective" organised by the Bullying Working Group. Important findings on the complexity between bullying roles and personal and social resources, with special consideration of the need for special educational support, were presented and discussed. To download the presentation: click here.

The 23rd symposium of the "School Absenteeism and Dropout" working group took place in Hamburg from 27 to 28 October 2013. As part of the annual working conference, national and international researchers exchange views on current research findings and projects in this area, among other things. The conference also focuses on networking and the development of further potential research projects. At the conference, our fellow Lara Stauvermann presented the initial results of her doctoral project entitled "School absenteeism in the interaction of different actors. The representation of cooperation structures through case analyses of young people who are absent from school".

SPARK: "Oldenburg School for the Social Sciences and the Humanities" from 4 to 6 October 2023

From 4 to 6 October 2023, the Carl von Ossietzky University hosted the "Oldenburg School for the Social Sciences and the Humanities" took place. The "Oldenburg School" is a series of events that serves to promote young academics in the humanities and social sciences and at the same time brings knowledge to the city and region of Oldenburg. It was primarily aimed at doctoral candidates, students, postdocs and professors. The interested public was also expressly invited to attend lectures and take part in the dialogue.

The main organisers were the 3GO Graduate School and three structured doctoral programmes at the University of Oldenburg. The organisers offered topic-, theory- and method-centred events, e.g. lectures and workshops. Individual formats were organised by the doctoral candidates themselves. The Smart House Oldenburg was used as a venue to give interested members of the public access to the lectures and to bring the young researchers into dialogue with them.

With the "Oldenburg School", the organisers offered both the young researchers and the participating university lecturers an interdisciplinary forum for the further development and networking of their projects as well as a forum for academic life. In addition to interdisciplinary exchange and national and international networking with the specialist communities, the centre of these three days was the collaboration between academics at different qualification levels. You can download the complete programme of the Oldenburg School 2023 here.

The following three events were planned and organised by the doctoral programme SPARK:

• Prof Dr Heinke Röbken, University of Oldenburg: "How does the transition to non-academic career paths succeed?"
• PhD David Heyne, International Network for School Attendance (INSA): "From Tradition to Transformation: Maximising Youths' Full Potential through Paradigm Shifts in the Field of School Attendance" (for more information on PhD David Heyne's presentation click here)
• Prof Dr Florian Kiuppis, Catholic University of Applied Sciences Freiburg: "Adapted sports games as a means of school participation for all children and young people: 'Baskin' as a best practice model"

This event was organised by the following university programmes and institutions

• 3GO: Graduate School of Social Sciences and Humanities
• SPARK: Doctoral programme "Ensuring the participation of children and adolescents with combined impairments in school with special consideration of social-emotional development risks"
• Grako 2040: Research Training Group Teacher Education 2040
• Shaping the future: doctoral programme "Shaping the future. Transformation of the present through scenarios of digitalisation"
• WiZeGG: Research centre "Genealogy of the Present"
  

On 28-30 June, the 15th Conference of Lecturers in Emotional and Social Development took place at the Institute for Special Education at Paderborn University. Vivian Meyer, Anne-Marie Brüggemann and Carolyn Lübbehusen initiated an exchange on the status of their research projects as part of the poster presentation and focussed on the special features of their research in their pitch. Isabella Sasso gave her first scientific presentation on the topic of "Reasons and causes of school absenteeism among students on the autism spectrum", in which she presented the results of her systematic review and gave an outlook on the planned qualitative study. In the concluding discussion, the results of the paper and its significance for the ESE support centre were discussed.

6th workshop discussion "Children and young people in need: pedagogy for behavioural disorders between child welfare, inclusion, environmental destruction, war and the Child and Youth Strengthening Act" at Leibniz Universität Hannover

On 23 June, the 6th workshop discussion on "Children and adolescents in need: Pedagogy for behavioural disorders between child welfare, inclusion, environmental destruction, war and the Child and Youth Strengthening Act" took place at the Chair of Pedagogy for Behavioural Disorders at the Institute of Educational Sciences and Humanities at Leibniz Universität Hannover, in which our fellow Vivian Meyer was also able to participate. The workshop discussion led to an intensive exchange on the topics mentioned between various school and non-school stakeholders.

This year's conference of the Devision for Special Education of the German Educational Research Association (GERA) was hosted by the Institute for Rehabilitation of the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg. The conference took place from 28 to 30 September at the Francke Foundations in Halle (Saale) and was held under the theme "Participation - Knowledge - Communication". Two of our fellows made contributions to the conference with their posters.

Katharina Kuhlmann presented her research project on "Sprachentwicklungsstörungen und zusätzliche Beeinträchtigungen im Bereich der emotional-sozialen und motorischen Entwicklung“. (To download the poster, click here.)

Isabella Sasso received the 3rd place poster award for her poster „Absentismus und Drop-Out bei Schüler:innen mit Autismus Spektrum Störung im inklusiven Schulsystem“. (To download the poster, click here.)