The DIPF | Leibniz Institute for Research and Information in Education provides a central information infrastructure for and about education in Germany, expanding scientific foundations by conducting research in its own right. As a national centre for educational research, DIPF investigates education from systemic, institutional, individual and historical perspectives. Accordingly, it critically reflects on existing concepts for quality, governance and improvement. DIPF delivers theoretical, methodological and empirical contributions, connecting fundamental research with innovative developmental work and applications for the benefit of society. Owing to its diversity of disciplines, long-term experience in co-ordinating large-scale projects, national and international networking and positioning as a competence centre for knowledge communication and research on education, the Institute is particularly well equipped to react flexibly with respect to complex demands and diverse developments in education, and to provide incentives for the further development of education systems.
Important work and services:
- DIPF holds a leading role in national educational reporting, commissioned by the federal government (Bund) and states (Länder).
- DIPF continually takes on relevant tasks in the context of large-scale OECD studies on education (PISA, PIAAC).
- In co-operation with Goethe-University Frankfurt and the Sigmund-Freud Institute (in German), DIPF runs the interdisciplinary centre for research on individual development processes in children and adaptive instructional design, IDeA.
- The German Education Server is a central guide to education on the web. Jointly funded by the federal government (Bund) and the federal states (Länder), it is co-ordinated at DIPF.
- The Research Data Centre for Education provides observation data (e.g., lesson videos) and interview data and related material. Questionnaires and individually indexed scales (item batteries) are also openly accessible. Registered users can download available anonymized transcripts, coding and descriptions
- The Institute provides the German Education Portal (in German), the central access point to scientific information for educational researchers, educational scientists and pedagogical practice.
- The interdisciplinary area of “Technology Based Assessment” is concerned with researching and developing new procedures in computer-based educational measurement.
- The DIPF department “Research Library for the History of Education” is a centre for education historical research; it is the largest specialised pedagogical library in Germany.
