The Research Section for Youth Welfare and Schools continuously addresses key issues in the field through research and practice-development projects. While in the 2000s, under the leadership of Dr. Eberhard Bolay and the JUS research group, the focus was primarily on questions surrounding the establishment of school social work as a new area of practice within child and youth welfare, today we examine the entire spectrum of relationships between youth welfare and schools. The Center is located in the Department of Social Pedagogy at the Institute of Education.
Our focus is on collaborative practices across the diverse fields of child and youth welfare - including educational support, child and youth work, youth social work, educational networks, and specific school types and models. Our primary concern is the professional advancement of collaboration, particularly with regard to the living conditions and environments of children, adolescents, and families. Through our projects, we address key societal modernization strategies at the intersection of educational and social systems and subject them to critical analysis in collaboration with numerous project partners. This enables us to contribute as experts to the national discourse, supporting key innovation processes and providing scientifically grounded and professional insights. The center thus brings together expertise, provides an overview, and serves as a platform for reflecting on practical developments, research findings, and theoretical debates at the intersection of youth welfare services and schools.
