Curriculum

Professor Harald Hantke is responsible for the academic subject Social Science Education, in particular Political Didactics, at Leuphana University Lüneburg, and is UNESCO Co-Chair in Higher Education for Sustainable Development. His research focuses on interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary approaches to examining the didactic structures, conditions, and developments of politics, economics, and society in the context of societal transformation processes. His work focuses on the following areas:

• Interdisciplinary social science learning and educational processes, with a focus on sustainability and democracy
• Didactics of political and socio-economic education
• Political and socio-economic education in vocational contexts
• Curriculum development as part of school development
• Professionalization of educational staff across learning sites and educational phases
• Dealing (of teachers and learners) with complexity, uncertainty, ambiguity, and contradiction

Vita (Excerpt)

06/2026 – present: Professor of Social Science Education, in particular Political Didactics (subject responsibility), Institute of Political Science, School of Public Affairs, Leuphana University of Lüneburg

07/2025 – present: Co-Chair, UNESCO Chair in Higher Education for Sustainable Development, Leuphana University of Lüneburg

05/2026: Positive mid-term evaluation of the junior professorship and appointment as a supernumerary Professor, Leuphana University of Lüneburg

06/2023 – 05/2026: Junior Professor of Social Science Education, in particular Economic Didactics, Institute of Social Science Education, School of Education, Leuphana University of Lüneburg

07/2025 – 09/2025: Visiting scholar, Center for Critical Democracy Studies, American University of Paris

10/2021 – 03/2024: Lecturer, Department of Geography and Regional Science, School of Environmental and Regional Sciences and Education, Karl-Franzens-University of Graz, Austria

11/2021 – 04/2023: Trainee for the teaching profession at vocational schools in the vocational subject of business and economics and in the teaching subject of politics (state examination), Studienseminar Stade and Berufsbildende Schulen II Stade

10/2018 – 01/2022: Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), School of Education, Leuphana University of Lüneburg, Reviewers: Tade Tramm (University of Hamburg), Philipp Sandermann (Leuphana University of Lüneburg), Georg Tafner (Humboldt University of Berlin)

Memberships

• German Educational Research Association (GERA)
• German Association for Economic Education (DeGÖB)
• German Association for Political Education (DVPB)
• Association for Civic Education Didactics and Civic Youth and Adult Education (GPJE)
• Association for Socioeconomic Education and Research (ASEER)

Functions (external)

• Board activity in the office of treasurer, Association for Socioeconomic Education and Research (ASEER)
• Collaboration in the partner network of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) within the UNESCO program "Education for Sustainable Development: Towards achieving the SDGs"
• Collaboration in the working group "Social Cohesion and ESD" of the Federal Ministry for Education, Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (BMBFSFJ)
• Confidential lecturer of the Hans Böckler Foundation (HBS)
• Mentor in the framework of the Welcome Scholarship Program of the German University Foundation (DUS)

Functions (internal)

• Director of the study programmes "Business Education (B.A.)" and "Teacher Education for Vocational Schools - Business and Economics (M.Ed.)"
• Spokesperson for the doctoral research group "Empirical Educational Research"
• Member of the Research Commission, School of Education
• Member of the Senate Commission for Academic Qualification and Career Development