Jutta Nikel

Jutta Nikel serves as an Academic Senior Councillor at the Institute of Educational Science, University of Education Freiburg, and is a member of the Research Center for Climate Change Education and Education for Sustainable Development (ReCCE). She has held this position since October 2023, following her role as Managing Director of the Center for School Practical Studies (ZfS) from March 2012 to September 2022. Her academic career at the University of Education Freiburg spans over 14 years since she joined as a Scientific Staff Member in October 2009.

Dr. Nikel completed her Doctor of Research in Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Education at the University of Bath in 2005 with her dissertation titled 'Ascribing Responsibility - A study of student teachers' understanding(s) of education, sustainable development and Education for Sustainable Development' (in England, Denmark and Germany). She also earned a Master of Arts in Education (Environmental Education) from the University of Bath in 2001, specializing in Educational Management, Comparative and International Education, and Current Issues in Environmental Education.

Her research focuses on four interconnected domains: school development processes including certification systems as drivers of school improvement; educational governance examining coordination between various actors in educational systems; Education for Sustainable Development (BNE/ESD) analyzing policy documents in light of UN initiatives; and teacher training and multiplier education. She has developed specialized methodological approaches including the 'content-analytical processual mechanism analysis' and reconstructive procedures for educational research.

Analysis of her 15 most recent publications reveals a consistent focus on governance mechanisms in implementing Education for Sustainable Development across multiple levels of the German education system. Her work demonstrates how state and civil society actors coordinate actions in implementing sustainability education, with particular attention to intermediary negotiation spaces and processual mechanisms. Recent publications increasingly address practical applications in biosphere schools and pandemic impacts on teacher education.

Dr. Nikel has led significant research projects including the evaluation of biosphere school certification in the Swabian Alb Biosphere Reserve (2020-2021), scientific support for BNE multiplier qualification (2013-2014), and the consortium project on reconstructing governance regimes for BNE transfer funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (2011-2015). She currently leads the 'Freiräume' im FREI DAY' project (2024-2026) focused on democratic school development related to sustainability education.

She has conducted research stays at Örebro University (Sweden, March 2018), Danish School of Education (University of Aarhus, Denmark, February 2002), and Rhodes University (South Africa, June/July 2008), demonstrating her international research perspective. Since March 2021, she has served on the Sustainability Senate Committee at the University of Education Freiburg.