Melanie Barth

Melanie Barth is a lecturer in social science education at Leuphana University Lüneburg and subject leader for political education at the Studienseminar Stade for vocational teacher training. She also teaches at a vocational school (BBS Soltau) and thus works across all three phases of teacher education.

Her research looks at democracy education in teacher education, in particular in the preparatory service. She studies how teachers develop professional practices to deal with the structural tensions of pedagogical action, drawing on a structural approach to teacher professionalism and the concept of pedagogical antinomies. In a design-based research approach, she develops, implements and refines a supplementary qualification programme on democracy education for pre-service teachers, with the aim of deriving theory-informed design principles that stay close to school practice and school development.

Before joining Leuphana, she worked in the school sector, teaching political education at vocational schools and taking on early responsibilities in teacher training at the Studienseminar. She has also completed the leadership qualification programme for school leaders in Lower Saxony.