Supervisor: Christiane Hintermann (Department of Geography and Regional Research) 

Funding Situation:  potentially via a VISESS PhD fellowship

Project outline: The shutdown of educational institutions due to the COVID-19 pandemic has had unprecedented consequences for children and students of all age groups, their parents and their teachers. Immediate challenges like the reduction of face-to-face contact of young people with their peers and the adjustment to online teaching and learning are obvious. Long term effects can only be estimated. Moreover, it may be assumed that the lockdown of public life together with the ban to enter public space did not only have severe effects on the daily routines of young people, their family lives and their educational advancements but also caused feelings of insecurity and uncertainty. The PhD project aims to explore the potential of geography and economic education in school to support young people navigate a world in times of global crises (caused and accelerated) by a pandemic, regulated and restricted access to public space and (mediated) uncertainties. The basic idea of the project is to develop an educational concept which will then be operationalized for geography teaching at school.