Brain City Ambassador Prof. Dr. Antje Rothe

Brain City Berlin

Prof. Dr. Antje Rothe researches both individual and collective identity as well as the professionalization of early childhood education professionals, such as those employed in daycare centers. Another central focus of her research is inclusion within the context of early childhood education. The Brain City Ambassador works as a Professor of Early Childhood Education at the Katholische Hochschule für Sozialwesen Berlin (KHSB), where she also heads the Bachelor's program in Early Childhood Education.

“For pedagogical work with children, individual motivations and the shared understanding within the team are essential. For students who wish to work in this field, continuous self-reflection is therefore indispensable. Questions such as: Where do I come from? What drives me? What interests me? are crucial,” says Prof. Dr. Antje Rothe. She herself engages in this inner dialogue regularly, a practice she began during her studies in Educational Science with a focus on teaching, learning, and training psychology at the University of Erfurt. “I found the biographical approach particularly compelling even then. How are educational experiences passed from one generation to the next? And how do personal biographical experiences shape the professional identity of early childhood educators?”

Since 2022, Antje Rothe has held the position of Professor of Early Childhood Education at the Katholische Hochschule für Sozialwesen Berlin. She also leads the Bachelor's program in Early Childhood Education at KHSB. “Following the so-called ‘PISA shock,’ triggered by the below-average performance of German students in the first PISA study in 2000, comprehensive educational reforms were initiated in Germany. These reforms particularly affected the preschool sector,” explains Rothe. “As a result, professionals were confronted with a wide range of orientation frameworks. How daycare teams respond to these frameworks is the central question of my habilitation project.”

Inclusion, understood in a broad and intersectional sense, is another key area of her research. Her involvement began with a qualitative study focusing on children from socioeconomically disadvantaged families who were about to transition into primary school. The study examined exclusion and selection mechanisms that led, for example, to children being referred to special education schools or deferred to pre-primary programs. “The findings of the study show that selection decisions begin well before school enrollment. Children from socioeconomically disadvantaged families are particularly at risk and often face multiple selection mechanisms in succession.”

Berlin is characterised by the intersectionality and superdiversity of children's worlds. Professional expertise in early childhood education can help emphasise the opportunities inherent in this diversity, without reducing it to mere euphemism.

Additional projects involving Antje Rothe have explored the implementation of inclusive education. These comprise work in an inclusive primary school in Malawi and a scientific monitoring study on special education provision in Lower Saxony. The core insights from these projects reveal that many professionals welcome inclusive developments but require appropriate support. “It is important to reflect critically on one’s own pedagogical ideas and concepts in order to give children the freedom to engage in their own processes of discovery,” says Rothe. Findings from these studies are also incorporated into her teaching at KHSB, such as in the current seminar “Workshop: Inclusive Didactics and Organization.”

Antje Rothe moved back to Berlin when she was appointed to the KHSB. “I was born in Berlin, specifically in Berlin-Pankow. After living in Bonn, Erfurt, and Hanover, returning here 30 years later was a new beginning,” she recalls. Professionally, she greatly values her hometown. “Berlin offers numerous opportunities for collaboration in the field of early childhood education. New connections are constantly emerging, which also enrich teaching. The diversity of Berlin is fascinating and sparks curiosity. There is always something new around the corner.”

She works closely with the program directors of the two other socially oriented universities in Berlin: the Evangelische Hochschule Berlin (EHB) and the Alice Salomon Hochschule Berlin (ASH Berlin). Since 2017, she has also been a member of the research workshop led by Prof. em. Ralf Bohnsack, founder of the “Qualitative Educational Research” division at the Department of Educational Science and Psychology at Freie Universität Berlin. Together with Dr. Mary Maloney from Mary Immaculate College in Ireland, she organises the Special Interest Group “Professionalism in Early Childhood Education and Care” of the European Early Childhood Education Research Association (EECERA).

“We meet once a year, exchange ideas in academic discussions, and subsequently publish the results,” says Rothe. She also maintains close professional ties through an international network on early education with Dr. Chandrika Devarakonda at the University of Chester (UK) and Dr. Run Tan, Assistant Professor at the University of Groningen. “Berlin offers a wealth of opportunities to contribute one’s own ideas and to grow professionally,” addsAntje Rothe.

Her advice for young researchers aiming to launch their careers in Brain City Berlin is to identify their specific interests as early as possible. “A good way to do this is to seek out mentors and engage in dialogue with them. Berlin offers a vast array of opportunities, but it is also easy to lose one’s way in it.” (vdo)