With school closures and the gradual restart of school operations in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, great challenges arise regarding the organization of schools and teaching. Schools need to find sustainable solutions to overcome an extraordinary situation. Moreover, responding to the situation also offers a chance for innovation if schools succeed in using this experience of crisis to drive long-term development of schools and teaching.
With the KWiK study, schools shall be accompanied and supported in this process of the longer term. For this purpose, problem-solving approaches in school practice shall be surveyed and scientifically analyzed over several measuring points. Scientific findings shall be reported back to schools within the process in order that these may support them in their development work.
The KWiK study shall provide insights related to the following issues, for which there is hardly any information from previous research, and are at the same time particularly relevant for the accomplishment of upcoming challenges:
- What measures have been and are being taken in schools to ensure the health protection of all persons involved?
- What consequences result from the measures towards health protection for the organization of teaching and schools on the one hand and the well-being of all persons involved on the other hand?
- How do schools organize teaching and learning in order to meet the requirements of a student body with highly diverse social and educational backgrounds?
School principals in 295 primary schools and 484 schools of secondary level I in seven German federal states participated in the first part of the survey (autumn 2020) with regard to problem-solving approaches in their schools. The first results have been reported and shared back with the participating schools at the beginning of March 2021 (see brochure on the right). A second survey took place in June 2021, where 260 school principals and 1026 teachers participated. Shortly after that, the schools received additional results from the first survey with a focus on open-ended answers. The third survey took place at the end of 2022. In parallel, a further brochure with important results from the second round was prepared for the participating schools and was sent to schools at the end of October 2022.
The KWiK study is a cooperative project of the Leibniz Institute for Science and Mathematics Education (IPN: Prof. Dr. Olaf Köller), the University of Hamburg (Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Ingrid Gogolin) and the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA: Dr. Dirk Hastedt).
IEA is co-initiator of the KWiK study and thus, part of the study management.
In addition, IEA Hamburg is responsible for the preparation and implementation of the KWiK study – from taking care of the approval process with the ministries of education, to contacting schools, up to programming the online questionnaires and data management.