About Us
Our Mission
We want to enable everyone to take an active part in the world of work, to engage with culture, and to make a difference in society. We seek to achieve this by observing, analyzing, and supporting people’s educational trajectories, from childhood to adulthood and both within and outside of school settings, in mathematics, the sciences, and computer science.
A highly educated population and successful teaching and learning throughout individuals’ lives can boost societies’ resilience to the types of crisis which our world has faced so frequently in recent years, such as the Covid-19 pandemic, climate change, and challenges around our energy supply. The STEM subjects are of vital importance in this regard. In focusing on teaching and learning in these disciplines, the IPN aims to help build society’s resilience by supporting and reinforcing the resilience of the education system. The IPN's approach to the issues it tackles in its work follows the idea of theoria cum praxi, encapsulating a close intertwinement of academic research and its practical application.
Founded in 1966 and pursuing a nationwide remit, the IPN is a member of the Leibniz Association and maintains close ties to Kiel University.
The IPN is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, the states of Schleswig-Holstein and Berlin, and the Joint Science Conference (Gemeinsame Wissenschaftskonferenz).
Research
The IPN’s research explores the individual and societal conditions underlying education in mathematics and the sciences, its processes, and its outcomes. The Institute’s approach to STEM education across people’s lifespans encompasses analysis of learning groups, institutions, and education systems alongside consideration of individuals’ personal circumstances. The IPN's projects that relate to school-based education seek to engage with learners’ experience and teachers’ professional practice alike as they study the quality of mathematics and science education and the conditions under which Germany’s education system delivers it.
For Society
As a member institute of the Leibniz Association, we seek, in all we do, to live up to our philosophy of theoria cum praxi, to make the findings of our research available to society, and to support the public understanding of science by communicating our work accessibly to broad audiences.
