Student perspectives on German classroom contexts in processes of transformation : a qualitative-reconstructive analysis of two student drawings

Abstract

Introduction: This study examines transformation processes in German secondary education, characterized by the increasing integration of digital technologies and a growing emphasis on individualized and self-regulated learning. While existing research has predominantly focused on organizational and instructional development, little is known about how students themselves perceive and interpret these changes with regard to shifting social practices of classroom instruction.

Methods: The study adopts a qualitative reconstructive approach grounded in objective hermeneutics and focuses on the latent level of meaning. Empirically, it is based on a comparative analysis of two student drawings collected at two neighboring schools with differing pedagogical orientations.

Results: The reconstruction reveals students' subjective appropriation of the classroom space and the social practices embedded within it, showing in both drawings a parallel presence of (potentially) transforming instructional orders. In the conventional context, this appears as a contrastive frame of reference that articulates students' desires for new learning and action spaces, whereas in the reform-oriented context it emerges as an expression of disorientation in dealing with changing normative expectations.

Discussion: The findings suggest that transformation processes do not merely establish new forms of learning but initially unsettle existing orders, thereby triggering processes of negotiation over valid practices. In particular, the coexistence of different instructional orders proves to be a key factor requiring students to engage in orientation work. This points to the need to conceptualize educational transformation as a socially embedded transitional process and to design it pedagogically in ways that provide orientation and continuity for learners.