Head of Department: Univ.-Prof. Dr. phil. Mag. art. Ruth Mateus-Berr
The Art, Design, Textile Didactics programme scientifically examines all teaching and learning aspects of a respective discipline
with a focus on the questions: Which specific disciplinary theories can be employed to didactically reconstruct learning processes
in a meaningful way and how can effective learning situations be conceived? Pedagogical professionalism in art and design
addresses what should be taught in a given discipline, to what end, and with which objectives in mind. Which image of the
discipline, which perception of school, learning, youth, and society do we want to convey?
In this context Art,
Design, Textile Didactics positions itself within the artistic disciplines as special sciences, a field that researches and
structures the requirements, possibilities, consequences, and limits of teaching and learning in curricular or extracurricular
fields of education in a theoretically comprehensive and practically relevant manner. Today teachers increasingly need theoretically
founded reflective and constructive knowledge in order to fulfil the tasks and challenges of their practice and to make sound
decisions and actions. Art, Design, Textile Didactics is conceived as an interdisciplinary communication platform between
artistic and design disciplines, arts-based research, art and design pedagogy, art theory, cultural theory, design theory,
architectural theory, philosophy, museum pedagogy, lifelong learning, pedagogy-related sciences, and other disciplines (for
example, natural sciences).
In the realm of extracurricular fields of learning (museum pedagogy, social sphere,
etc.) references are also made to neighbouring disciplines in theory, methodology, and research. The department develops and
elaborates projects together with museums, cultural institutions, specialist disciplines in other universities, small-scale
enterprises, and other organisations (such as the Science Center Network). Each respective field of study has its own didactic
curriculum to cater to explicit transfer and translation processes. The department’s research and teaching is furthered through
internal continuing education and presentations of the results at national and international conferences. It also conducts
research projects in the fields of art, design, and education.
