Design Based Research and Educational Transformation in Civic Education Research

For examining the impact of civic education research, it is necessary to reconsider the relation between different fields and systems being involved. Research on education is not only influencing participant’s/student’s learning but is also connected to the education of educators, the development of education policy and governance and societal challenges in general. To fully understand these relations and to use them to create impact, there has to be a close focus on structures and power during the research process. Approaches like action, participatory and design-based research as well as transition management are helpful to get a better understanding of these interrelations, while the normative frame of the transformative paradigm (Mertens) is important to be considered for working on the content level.