Didactics of geography and socioeconomic education

Due to its integrative approach and reflection of human-environment relationships in a glocal perspective, i.e. on different spatial levels, the subject geography and socio-economics is of great importance in the horizon of a socio-ecological transformation in the subject canon. Successful GW teaching deals with key problems and future topics in a globalised world in a multi-perspective manner and offers students the opportunity to understand these in a critical and reflective manner. In this way, geographical and socioeconomic education enables students to participate responsibly in shaping the future.

The research of the working group currently focuses on the following topics

• Bildung, understood as a critical-reflexive process of transformation of self-world relations;

• Sustainability, situated in the field of educational theory between purpose orientation and emancipation;

• Digitality, in its significance for spatial experience and social practice in critical education.

The research group cooperates in the Regional Didactics Centre for Geography and Socioeconomics (RFDZ-GW) with schools and universities in Styria and nationally and internationally with partners from science, formal and informal education, e.g. the Environmental Education Centre Styria (www.ubz-stmk.at), as well as school practice.

In teaching, the working group's aim is to train future teachers to become reflective practitioners. Against this background, the didactic part of the GW teacher training programme is realised in several courses in the mode of Research-based learning, i.e. research-oriented, practical, project-related and reflexive.

In this way, the Graz-based Didactics Unit contributes to strengthening the profile-building area of Climate Change Graz and participates in the research networks The Human Factor in Digitalization and Didactics.