Planning, implementing and evaluating learning processes specifically for pupils with complex disabilities still poses major challenges for educational experts in theory and practice. The targeted management and control of learning processes by external actors cannot be sufficiently verified in view of the target group (Thiele, 2019). The classic formative concept of education must therefore be rethought and expanded (Fröhlich 1995, Wieczorek, 2018 Thiele 2019). But what does this mean in concrete terms for the planning, implementation and evaluation of learning content at school?

Currently, pupils with complex disabilities are taught according to the GE core curriculum, even though the learning objectives listed there often cannot be achieved by this group of people and in practice act as a placeholder instead of a helpful framework for teaching.

The doctoral project presents the current learning situation of pupils with complex disabilities in Lower Saxony and Bremen and analyses quality characteristics and framework conditions for a learning-promoting lesson design. Lesson planning, implementation and evaluation are to be researched taking into account the target group and reflected on with experts. Consequently, a contribution is to be made to the current discourse on the design of learning processes in educational work. The specific aim is to create a framework for the design and support of targeted learning processes for pupils with complex disabilities.

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“For right up to the present day, many people with disabilities have experienced first-hand infantilisation, paternalistic and integrity-violating external control, as well as the full spectrum of symbolic, structural, psychological and physical violence” (Dederich, 2013, p. 199). Residential homes are regarded in this context as places where individual vulnerability and the risk of institutional conditions that foster violence converge, contributing to people with disabilities being subjected to violence. The latest figures are provided by Research Report 639, ‘Violence and Protection against Violence in Institutions for People with Disabilities’: half of the women and half of the men in residential care who were surveyed stated that they had experienced forms of physical violence in adulthood. More than 60 per cent of both genders reported having experienced psychological violence. A gender difference can be observed in the incidence of sexual violence: 22 per cent of women reported experiencing this form of violence, compared with 11 per cent of men (Schröttle et al., 2024). Studies also show that, in the quantitative and qualitative examination of violence, other categories of difference become relevant alongside the characteristics of disability and gender, e.g. communication (Fries, 2020) and race (Gummrich, 2015). Intersectional, overlapping barriers – or the risk of intersectional invisibility – are also evident in the implementation of protective measures and in access to support services (Höppner, 2023). Legally, there is an obligation – internationally under the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and nationally under Section 37a of Book IX of the Social Code (SGB IX) – for institutions such as residential homes to have violence prevention policies in place. These legal texts also highlight intersectional relationships.

This doctoral research project focuses on subject specialists and managers in specialised residential settings as actors who frequently find themselves in asymmetrical power dynamics with residents, and examines subjective interpretationsand patterns of action in the context of protection against violence, as well as the tension between these and institutional requirements, e.g. in the form of protection against violence policies. Using the documentary method (Bohnsack, 2013), patterns of action and interpretation in this context are reconstructed with the aim of contributing to an intersectional-sensitive professionalisation of special education.

About the author

Chronic illnesses affect the everyday life and school life of young people, their ability to cope with developmental tasks and their social participation in a variety of ways (Keller et al., 2025; Wicks et al., 2019; Willke & Walser, 2025). Specific (educational) challenges arise particularly in adolescence, a phase of life in which being chronically ill must be subjectively interpreted, managed and integrated into one's own identity (Pfeiffer & Pinquart, 2013). This applies in particular to chronic illnesses with an episodic course, such as epilepsy or migraine, which are characterised by longer symptom-free phases and at the same time acute, unpredictable episodes of illness with sometimes considerable impairments and loss of control (Hoß & Maier, 2013). For those affected, this ambivalence between being ill and being perceived from the outside as (conditionally) healthy (Sobczak & Radinger, 2022) as well as the unpredictability of the course (Mishel, 1990) results in a lasting ambiguity with regard to self-perception and perception by others, divergent role perceptions and expectations.

The cumulative doctoral project addresses this ambivalence and ambiguity from a pedagogical perspective and examines its significance for educational processes, school participation and adolescent development. On the basis of literature-based reviews and qualitative, empirical studies, subjective perspectives of adolescents with chronic-episodic illnesses and pedagogically relevant patterns of interpretation and action by teachers are analysed. The aim is to develop theoretically sound and practice-relevant implications for a reflective, inclusive pedagogy in the case of illness.

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Submitted to the Faculty Human and Health Sciences, University of Bremen
For the Degree of Dr Public Health
Examiners: Prof. Dr Hajo Zeeb & Prof. Dr Benjamin Schüz

Defence: 07th of March 2025 (magna cum laude)

This dissertation developed and evaluated a structured, transparent, and resource-efficient approach to research priority setting (RPS) in public health. The overarching aim was to establish a priority-setting framework that enables the meaningful involvement of a wide variety of stakeholders despite often existing resource constraints.

Recognising that public health is a multifaceted field spanning multiple sectors and stakeholder groups, the work addresses key limitations of existing RPS approaches, particularly their limited inclusivity, transparency, and replicability. Across four interconnected articles, the dissertation introduces, implements, and refines a multi-stage RPS approach based on a modified Delphi process and stakeholder-defined multi-criteria assessment. The approach was empirically piloted in Switzerland to prioritize topics for systematic reviews and in Germany to prioritise broader substantive and methodological public health research topics.

These studies demonstrated that large and diverse stakeholder groups-including researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and patient representatives-can be successfully engaged with high participation rates. The findings also highlight meaningful differences in priorities across stakeholder groups and illustrate how the use of multiple assessment criteria provides a more nuanced and holistic understanding of public health research needs.

Building on these empirical insights, the dissertation culminates in the development of a transparent, reproducible, and adaptable toolkit for research priority setting, particularly tailored to systematic reviews. This toolkit facilitates high stakeholder involvement through easy-to-implement online surveys and minimises resource demands, while maintaining methodological rigor. Overall, the dissertation contributes a robust and inclusive framework for guiding prioritisation processes, which can also be applied in other fields and disciplines other than public health.

https://kxp.k10plus.de/DB=2.1/SET=1/TTL=1/SHW?FRST=1/PRS=HOL

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