Tradition and Innovation: Developmental processes at non-academic track secondary schools in Baden-Wuerttemberg and Saxony
"Tradition and Innovation: Developmental processes at non-academic track secondary schools in Baden-Wuerttemberg and Saxony" (TRAIN) is a study that focuses on the academic development of students in secondary schools in Baden-Wuerttemberg and Saxony.
Funding
Financed by own funds.
Project description

TRAIN is conducted by the Hector Research Institute of Education Sciences and Psychology at the University of Tübingen. The Department for Educational Governance at DIPF is a co-operating partner of this study, which focuses on the academic development of students. in different non-academic secondary school tracks (Hauptschule and Realschule in Baden-Wuerttemberg respectively Mittelschule in Saxony). The study thus allows for a comparison of two differently structured education systems (one non-academic track resp. two tracks) that are equally successful in national comparisons.
TRAIN is designed as a multi-cohort longitudinal study analyzing the development of academic achievement as well as achievement-related outcomes such as motivation and well-being throughout lower secondary education. In particular, the study focuses on the influence of different learning environments on these outcomes. TRAIN has assessed student achievement in German, Mathematics and English. Furthermore, students as well as parents, teachers and school leaders were asked about conditions of learning and learning outcomes.
In doing so, the study addresses the following questions:
- What school, family and individual conditions are best suited to improve students’ learning?
- How do different types of secondary school deal with strengths and weaknesses of their student population?
- How well are school graduates prepared for the labour market?
- Given difficult circumstances, how does successful teaching work?
Lead researcher at IFS
External project partners
- Prof. Dr. Ulrich Trautwein (Universität Tübingen)
- Prof. Dr. Benjamin Nagengast (Universität Tübingen)
- PD Dr. Hanna Dumont (Leibniz-Institut für Bildungsforschung und Bildungsinformation)
- Dr. Marko Neumann (Leibniz-Institut für Bildungsforschung und Bildungsinformation)
- Prof. Dr. Kathrin Jonkmann (Fernuniversität Hagen)
- Prof. Dr. Oliver Lüdtke (Leibniz-Institut für die Pädagogik der Naturwissenschaften und Mathematik)
- Prof. Dr. Gabriel Nagy (Leibniz-Institut für die Pädagogik der Naturwissenschaften und Mathematik)
Search & People Search
Cafeteria menus
Location & approach
The most convenient highway exits are on the B 1/A 40 (Dortmund-Barop) (closer to the North Campus) and on the A45 (Dortmund-Eichlinghofen). The university is signposted at both exits. In the local road network you will find signs to Campus Nord, where the Campus Treff is also located. From Emil-Figge-Strasse, entrance no. 18 and from Vogelspothsweg entrance no. 23 lead to parking spaces near the venue.
From Dortmund main station, take the S-Bahn "S1" in the direction of Solingen on track 7 to the stop "Dortmund-Universität" (price level A). The S-Bahn runs every 15 minutes during peak hours on weekdays and takes about 6 minutes. From Düsseldorf, the S-Bahn runs every 30 minutes. Directly at the S-Bahn station you will find the CDI building, which houses the Center for Research on Education and School Development.
One of the university's landmarks is the H-Bahn, which has two terminuses on the North Campus. One is located directly above the S-Bahn station and is easily accessible from it by elevators. The other is located in the center of Campus North at the bridge between the University Library and the Mensa, right next to the Audimax. The H-Bahn runs from here to the South Campus and the Eichlinghofen district.
Dortmund has an airport connected with some destinations in Central Europe. There are regular flights, for example, to Amsterdam, Berlin, Dresden, Katowice, Krakow, Leipzig-Halle, London, Munich, Nuremberg, Paris, Poznan, Stuttgart, Vienna and Zurich. For the approximately 20 kilometers from the Dortmund airport to the campus, you can take the bus to the main train station and from there the S-Bahn. Faster is usually the use of a cab. Far more international flight connections are offered by the Rhine-Ruhr Airport in Düsseldorf, about 60 kilometers away, which can be reached directly by S-Bahn from the university station.