Historians of education examine: 1) processes of upbringing, education, and socialisation of individuals and groups running the gamut from infancy and youth into adulthood; 2) the formation of educational institutions, organisations, and professions; 3) the development of academic theories of education and educational ideas; and 4) educational practices in families, schools, and extracurricular areas. In doing so, they reflect on the sociocultural and political outline conditions of each respective historical epoch.

The main research focus in Kassel is on the history of the discipline, the analysis of processes of educational reform in the 19th and 20th centuries, and gender studies.

In teaching, courses are offered within the framework of core studies in education and the social sciences and in the master’s degree program in empirical educational research. These courses cover the subject areas of the history of schools, the professional history of the teaching occupation, educational resources, progressive education, biographical research, processes of educational reform in the modern age and child and youth history.