School Reform - and what educational science could contribute

The author looks at the development of educational science since the 1960s, using a both contemporary-historical and biographical approach, and examines the relation between edcuational science and school reform at three different points in history: the 1960s, the 1970s, and today. The present situation is discussed against the background of the author's experiences as PISA-researcher and as participant in the practical research carried out at the "Laborschule" (laboratory school) in Bielefeld. From this follows a plea for a research-based participation of educational science in the educational-political discourse on school reform - and for an educational science which takes, in both research and teaching, a closer look at the action-related problems of teachers.