Kaleidoskop Schule: Diversity as a Driver for School Development
| Principal investigator | Dr. Camilla Rjosk |
| Project coordination | Dr. Cindy Ballaschk |
| Researchers | Martin Bücher, Dr. Lena Külker, Dr. Franziska Rogge |
| Student assistants | Anna Picht, Anna-Lena Hahne, Maria Christina Agerkop, Anine Özmen, Helene Przygoda |
| Former project members | Dr. Theresa Mros, Lara Collier |
| Funding period | since March 2024 |
| Funding agency | Funding through the professorship |
| Contact | vielfalt-schuleuuni-potsdampde |
About the Project
Kaleidoscope School is a research project that focuses on addressing diversity in schools. The project‘s primary aim is to support schools in the Brandenburg region to better recognize, appreciate, and promote their students in all their diversity. To achieve this, our initial step involves researching how schools currently address student diversity, allowing us to analyze existing resources and needs. Subsequently, we will collaborate with schools to develop strategies providing practical support and concrete tools for shaping their school development processes.
Project Goals
Building a school network: Development of a network of secondary schools in Brandenburg to jointly develop and implement strategies for beneficial approaches to diversity.
Beneficial approach to diversity: Supporting schools in considering the individual strengths and needs of their students.
Sustainable school development: Providing long-term support to schools in shaping their school development processes to meet their students‘ diverse needs.
Project Phases
Pilot Study (March–June 2024)
The pilot study examined how secondary schools in Berlin approach diversity. It was based on interviews with teachers and a school principal to analyze existing challenges and approaches. The results show that schools perceive and value various dimensions of their students' diversity. At the same time, they identify a gap between their own aspiration to do justice to this diversity and its implementation in everyday school life.
Main Study I – Online Survey (November 2025–February 2026)
As part of our online survey, we asked teachers and school principals at 31 secondary schools in Brandenburg (comprehensive schools, Gymnasien, Oberschulen) about the following topics:
- How do teachers and school principals perceive diversity in everyday school life?
- What strategies do they use when working with diverse student groups?
- Where are the challenges and areas for development?
The findings show that more than half of the respondents consider addressing student diversity to be an important or very important issue. As many as 95% of the surveyed teachers and school leaders view the diversity of their students as an opportunity and an enrichment. At the same time, the responses indicate that schools are already implementing a range of strategies for addressing diversity while also identifying areas where further development is needed. Recurring priorities can be identified at both the school and classroom levels.
At the school level, the most frequently mentioned strategies include student participation in decision-making processes, the integration of diversity into the school programme, and the work of school development and working groups. These responses point to approaches that do not view diversity merely as an issue for individual teachers but rather as an integral component of whole-school development. At the classroom level, respondents most frequently refer to cooperative learning approaches, the inclusion of students’ everyday experiences and life worlds in teaching, and the critical review of teaching materials for potentially stigmatizing representations. These strategies focus on concrete teaching and learning processes and aim to address diversity within everyday classroom practice.
Main Study II – Interview Study (June–October 2026)
In the second part of the main study, we are interviewing staff at eight of the 31 schools whose teachers and school principals already took part in the survey. The aim is to deepen the insights gained there and to add the perspectives of the people who shape school life every day.
At each school, we conduct a guided individual interview with the school principal and a group interview with three to four teachers. The conversations follow the same thematic focus as the survey and allow us to follow up on answers, understand contradictions, and make connections visible that a questionnaire alone cannot capture.
Four questions are central: Along which dimensions do teachers and school principals perceive the diversity of their students? How do schools currently handle this diversity? What development needs do respondents identify? And how willing are they to participate in school development processes?
Network Formation (from Autumn 2026)
The eight schools that took part in the interview study will have the opportunity to apply for a Campus Schools Network. The network brings together around three schools that jointly develop and pursue goals in the area of diversity. At its core are collegial exchange, collaborative learning, and close integration with teaching at the University of Potsdam.
The longer-term plan is for students to develop concepts for the network schools as part of their studies and to pilot these on site. Schools benefit from fresh ideas and concrete materials, while students apply and develop their theoretical knowledge in practice.