The Institute of History is committed to researching historical educational processes and the transfer of knowledge to society. It examines the cultural forms through which history has been instrumentalized in both the past and the present, with an eye toward future challenges. This focus is reflected, among other areas, in research on moral history, social inequality (including Disability History), as well as global and ancient history, and how these subjects are conveyed in educational contexts.

The most significant and effective transfer of knowledge occurs through school education. Given that over two-thirds of students at the Institute are enrolled in teacher education programs, there is a particular societal responsibility to channel scholarly insights and methods into society via formal education. In addition, non-school educational institutions and providers of non-formal education are important recipients of research transfer through various projects at the interface with Public History.

Research-based learning has proven promising for fostering historical thinking and methodological skills, though little is known about the effectiveness of such approaches in historical studies. The Institute aims to develop research-based learning formats to enhance knowledge transfer. These efforts draw on extensive experience from practical teaching semesters, during which teacher education students conduct their own empirical research projects and test them in schools.

Educational formats are also developed in collaboration with subject didactics and historical scholarship, covering topics such as social inequality, democracy, governance and power, as well as global-historical and cultural questions in the context of digitality. These programs target university students, schools, and non-formal educational settings, and the effectiveness of these measures is empirically evaluated.

Finally, the Institute is exploring future-oriented areas, such as historical education in the Anthropocene, in cooperation with other institutions at the University of Cologne, including the MESH Research Centre. In doing so, the Institute aligns with the University’s Excellence Strategy, which explicitly emphasizes teacher education-related research.