In Germany, educational outcomes still depend largely on the social background of the students. Children from families of lower socioeconomic status achieve poorer overall outcomes at school. This also applies to reading and writing. Schools in more socially challenging locations therefore face more difficult working conditions. The new federal-state initiative Schule macht stark, funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, aims to counteract these educational inequalities nationwide.

As part of a new research network, scientists from 13 institutions, together with teachers from the 200 participating schools, are developing various support interventions in a total of four fields of activity. The Mercator Institute, together with other partners such as the Institute for Development and Research in Mathematics Teaching at the Technical University of Dortmund (IEEM), is focusing on the field of Teaching development. It supports the teachers of the participating schools, helping them plan and conduct their lessons such that all students are able to achieve basic standards of literacy and numeracy. The focus of literacy education is on reading and writing interventions and on the management of linguistically and culturally diverse classes. At the same time, the measures to improve literacy education will be closely linked to the acquisition of numeracy skills and overall lesson development.

Specifically, as part of this project, the Mercator Institute is creating various modules aimed at different levels of education and school settings, in order to enable teachers to support their students in acquiring basic levels of literacy and numeracy. The modules contain sample teaching materials that detail educational diagnostic and support approaches, for teachers to adapt and explore. In addition, training is made available for information disseminators.