In our pilot project, “Narrative as a Gateway to Political Learning in Primary School German Lessons” (Narration als Zugang für politisches Lernen im Deutschunterricht der Grundschule), primary school children write narrative texts based on the picture book "Don't cross the line" by Isabel Minhós Martins, which has already been the subject of various studies exploring the intersection of literary and political learning. Following the writing activity, a discussion on politically relevant themes in the book is held based on the children’s texts. The children’s texts and video recordings of the classroom situation are analysed using content analysis methods and drawing on interpretative classroom research. Before and after this intervention (reading, writing, discussing), we conduct standardised tests to demonstrate effectiveness in terms of literary and political learning. 

Our overarching research question is: To what extent can literary and political education in primary schools be linked and promoted through narrative writing?

To this end, the Research Group on Political Education, Education for Sustainable Development and Transformative Education is collaborating with, amongst others, Prof. Dr. Lis Schüler (Primary School Education – German Didactics), Prof. Dr Flavia Adani (Special Education), Dr Franziska Herrmann (German Didactics), Prof. Dr Annette Kinder (Educational Psychology), Prof. Dr Diana Maak (German as a Second Language/Language Education) from the Free University of Berlin (FU Berlin) and various schools in Berlin.