27.02.2025

Educational Research for the Future

Third Funding Phase of the Scientific Monitoring of the Hector Children's Academies Launched

At the beginning of 2025, the scientific monitoring of the Hector Children's Academies entered its third funding phase. Over a period of more than five years, the Hector Research Institute of Education Sciences and Psychology at the University of Tübingen will continue its research accompanying the support program for highly gifted elementary school children. The central research question is how the support measures of the Hector Children's Academies impact children's cognitive and social development in the long term. The scientific monitoring team examines which factors influence individual learning success and how the program can be further developed to provide the best possible educational opportunities for highly gifted children.

This research is conducted independently and with an open-ended approach as part of use-inspired basic research. Unlike strongly localized evaluation studies, this approach aims to generate fundamental insights into gifted education and contribute to the advancement of educational research.

The Hector Foundation II is providing €7.5 million for this research project. These funds not only ensure the long-term stability of the existing structures but also support their scientific development. A key aspect is the interaction between research and practice in line with the framework program for empirical educational research: the work includes both the application of scientific findings in practice and their systematic, empirical evaluation. This allows for an in-depth examination of how support measures impact the cognitive and social development of gifted children and which factors determine the success of individual programs.

Research Findings for Education, Administration, and Policy

This approach ensures that research results are not only generated but also made useful for educational practice, administration, and policy. Insights from the scientific monitoring are directly incorporated into the further development of course offerings, while new research questions emerge from practice. This creates a mutual knowledge transfer, enabling evidence-based improvements in educational measures and ensuring that scientific findings have a lasting impact on society—fully in line with the Third Mission.

Long-Term Research on Gifted Education

The Hector Children's Academies are a state-wide support program offering highly gifted elementary school children specially designed courses beyond the regular school curriculum. Each year, approximately 23,000 elementary school children participate in the courses at 69 different locations in Baden-Württemberg.

Since their foundation in 2010, the Hector Children's Academies have set standards for supporting highly gifted children. Scientific monitoring plays a crucial role in ensuring the quality and continuous development of the program. The goal of the new funding phase is to gain sound insights into the impact of the Hector Children's Academies on the development of participating children and to further develop the course offerings based on scientific evidence.

Interdisciplinary Research Team

The third funding phase is led by Prof. Dr. Ulrich Trautwein and Junior Professor Dr. Jessika Golle, along with their team of 14 researchers at the Hector Research Institute. In close cooperation with national and international research partners, such as the Leibniz Institute for Research and Information in Education (DIPF), existing studies will be expanded, and new insights into the targeted support of highly gifted elementary school children will be developed.

Research Focus Areas

The scientific monitoring of the Hector Children's Academies focuses on the following topics:

• Further development of the Hector Core Courses and creation of structured course curricula for targeted support, particularly in STEM subjects
• Investigating the long-term effects of the Hector Children's Academies on participants' academic performance, motivation, and interest development
• Evaluating new teaching and learning formats, especially in the area of digital and asynchronous offerings
• Analyzing participation opportunities and diagnostics to promote equitable gifted education

Long-Term Educational Innovation

The continuation of the scientific monitoring of the Hector Children's Academies enables the empirical examination of the program's effectiveness and quality, leading to new insights into gifted education. The research results contribute not only to the further development of the Hector Children's Academies but also provide valuable impulses for educational research and policy.

With the next funding phase, the evidence-based approach to gifted education in Germany will be strengthened, making a significant contribution to the long-term development of a differentiated and equitable education system.

Further Information:

www.hector-kinderakademie.de
www.hib.uni-tuebingen.de

Press Contact:

Amelie Rebmann
Deputy Program Director & PR Officer, Hector Children's Academies
Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen
Hector Research Institute of Education Sciences and Psychology
Walter-Simon-Str. 12 · 72072 Tübingen · Germany
Phone: +49 (0) 7071/ 29-73574
Email: amelie.rebmann@uni-tuebingen.de