Faculty of Educational Sciences

Institute of Sports Science and Kinesiology

The focus of research at the Institute of Sports Science and Kinesiology is on empirical evaluation and intervention studies in school and non-school settings for the purpose of strengthening motor and social resources. The highlight of the 2015 research year came on 14 August, when the Third German Report on Child and Youth Sport (funded by the Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach Foundation) was formally handed over to Federal Minister of the Interior Thomas de Maiziere at Villa Hügel. Prof. Dr. Werner Schmidt acted as the report’s managing editor for the third time and was able to present both the specialist academic research community and the general public with 630 pages detailing the main findings to emerge from sports science research relating to children and young people.

Third party-funded projects such as “Kicking Girls – Social Integration for Girls Through Football”, “SPUR” (Language Development through Movement and Language-sensitive School Sport), “Open Sunday” (Open Sports Provision for Children and Young People at Weekends), participation in ProViel (the University of Duisburg-Essen programme within the scope of the “Quality Campaign for Teacher Training”) and games, sport, and exercise provision for migrants all have the aim of using sport as a vehicle for strengthening pathways to integration for disadvantaged children and young people, and also of evaluating social and intercultural learning processes.

“KommSport” (a project by the Ministry of Family, Children, Young People, Cultural Affairs and Sport of the State of North-Rhine Westphalia) sets out to offer tailored sports provision to all children according to their needs, over and above any individual diagnosis. An evaluation of “BESS Provision in All-day Schools in North-Rhine Westphalia” is being carried out to review motor and social learning processes. Findings were presented to a specialist academic research audience at the 1st Essen Children’s and Youth Sport Congress in February 2016.

Over the past two years, the Institute of Sports Science and Kinesiology has further consolidated and expanded its cooperation agreements with the German Football Association, the Federal Chancellery Office (Federal Government Representative for migration, refugees and integration), the Laureus Foundation and the Krupp Foundation. In both national and international terms, the Institute has developed into a research institute that successfully conducts research into social inequality in child and youth sport and develops and implements innovative projects for this target group.