The research area ‘Methodology and Didactics in Special Educational Needs: Learning’ focuses on the evidence-based design of teaching and support for pupils with learning and developmental difficulties in inclusive and special educational settings. The focus is on issues relating to the diagnosis and identification of special educational support needs, as well as their individual and structural determinants within the education system.

A specific emphasis is placed on inclusive school development at the various levels of the education system. Currently, particular attention is being paid to the implementation and academic monitoring of new models of school assistance, which are moving away from individual 1:1 support towards infrastructural, systemically embedded forms of support.

This research area has developed a profile in the economics of education and focuses on issues of needs-based management, efficiency and resource utilisation within the education system. This includes, in particular, evaluation studies on educational innovations and education policy reforms, such as the impact of systemic support structures like school assistance or multi-professional cooperation. Methodologically, the research area combines quantitative and qualitative approaches as well as econometric methods, with a focus on causal inference and the analysis of official education data.