How Do Students Experience a Deprived Urban Area in Berlin? Empirical Reconstruction of Students’ Orientations

Abstract

On the one hand, this paper describes the findings from the implementation of subject matter teaching and learning via
fieldwork in a deprived area (Kottbusser Tor) of Berlin. On the other hand, the authors focus on the explicit and implicit
knowledge (whi ch we call orientations) of the students concerning this fieldwork. In a problem oriented approach,
according to the model of a social city, students develop a concept about how to renew the deprived area of Berlin. They
gain a variety of new experiences, some of which raise ethical questions. Autonomous group discussions with various
school classes in the age group of 14 to 16 (n=30) were carried out after the fieldwork. The documentary method was
used for data analysis which resulted in a typology of stud ents. Concerning the orientations of the students, two
excluding types of students (marginalizing type & distancing type) and two including types (integrating type &
normalizing type) could be reconstructed. In addition to the benefit of the typology prese nted in this paper becoming
an impulse for students to engage in self reflection, the typology can also serve as a diagnostic tool for teachers to grasp
learning conditions. Furthermore, an understanding also arises about students´ orientations to support the
conceptualization of fieldwork in terms of practical handling and necessary measures for its use.