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Research

An Overview of our Research

The (research) activities of our institute are collected under WU Research. For the most up-to-date overview, please visit the pages with

of the Institute for Business Education.

Our Understanding of Research

The Institute for Business Education's understanding of research is characterized by a wide paradigmatic breadth. In our research projects, a number of research questions relevant to business education are addressed using various methodological approaches. The spectrum of empirical work ranges from quantitative to qualitative to triangulative/mixed methods research designs.

  • Quantitative research concepts generally aim to test hypotheses and theories in the context of experiments and correlation studies. The aim is to empirically test whether existing theoretical concepts can be confirmed or need to be rejected and subjected to further investigation, respectively.

  • Qualitative research concepts usually aim to capture and reconstruct correlations, whereby theory development and examining go hand in hand.

  • In triangulative research designs, different methods, perspectives and/or data collection points are combined to analyze a phenomenon. The aim is to ensure that the weaknesses of one method are balanced out by the strengths of another, thus enabling the complexity of the object of investigation to be better captured.

Our Main Research Areas

The broad understanding of research at the Institute for Business Education is also reflected in a wide range of key research areas. Above all, great importance is attributed to the scientific examination of current educational policy issues in the field of business education. Our research projects cover the following research areas and topics:

  • Financial and economic literacy

  • Competence modeling, development and measurement

  • Entrepreneurship education

  • Explanatory competence in economic didactics

  • Teaching/learning and transfer research

  • International educational cooperation projects

  • Personal development and social skills

  • Complex teaching/learning methods and use of new media

  • Teaching and lesson evaluation

  • Model experiment research at vocational middle and secondary schools

Research-based Teaching

The Institute for Business Education attaches great importance to a research-based approach to teaching. This is initially expressed by the fact that current research findings are continuously incorporated into courses in the form of content-related impulses and discussions.

As part of the practical school phase, great importance is attached to action and practical research. This can help to sensitize students to a reflective approach to their teaching practice. In addition, students are integrated into the Institute's research activities via the qualification theses (bachelor's theses, master's theses and dissertations). Students are repeatedly given the opportunity to participate in the Institute's research projects themselves.