“Reports about Practical Projects” are written by doctoral researchers who have designed and carried out a practical project in cooperation with a non-university organization. The BGHS has been supporting these projects with scholarships since 2020. In the fifth part of the series, Henning Middelschulte reports on his practical project with the foundation “barrierefrei kommunizieren!”.

Impairments of socio-emotional development are one of the most frequently diagnosed categories of special needs-education in Germany today. At the same time, the development of digital media for social-emotional learning is gaining traction in research as well as applied contexts. For example, US researchers have succeeded in increasing the empathy of young people with the help of a 3D application.

In order to find out more about how educational professionals assess potentials and limits of digital media to foster social-emotional competences, I held six expert interviews with representatives of education’s most important trade unions, professional associations and selected support groups. The interviews were conducted between April and June 2021 in cooperation with the foundation “barrierefrei kommunizieren!”, Berlin. Our interviews yield several results: Brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic there has been a change of perspective – the focus has moved from the limits and to the potential of digital media for developing social-emotional skills. Most outspoken in their endorsement of this untapped potential were the self-organized support associations of people with disabilities. However, none of the participating organizations had developed formal policy positions or demands for the use of digital media in this area at the time of the interviews. Read more about these and other results this Praxisprojekt in the officialproject report.

You can visit the „barrierefrei kommunizieren!“ by clicking on the following (Link)

Further information about the Non-University Careers Project can be found on the BGHS website: (Link).