Welcome, Sarah Gaubitz!

That she would one day become a professor was not exactly "preordained": Born in Hameln, she studied to become a teacher at the University of Hildesheim for primary, secondary and secondary modern schools. And so, after completing her studies, Sarah Gaubitz also taught science at primary schools for many years. However, she never quite let go of science, and in 2018 she completed her doctorate on "Value orientations of primary school children in the context of sustainable development. An empirical investigation of moral judgements about resource dilemmas." In 2019 to 2021, this was followed by a substitute professorship in "Educational Science with a focus on the Didactics of Teaching Science" at the University of Siegen. She then became junior professor for social science subject teaching at the University of Education Ludwigsburg.

"I have been in Erfurt since the start of the summer semester and I am very much looking forward to working with the students and colleagues.

But not only is the university new to Sarah Gaubitz, she also didn't know the city before her appointment. "Only the Thuringian Forest, but now I'm also very enthusiastic about Erfurt," she explains. "I really like the friendly people, the historic buildings and the many winding alleys."

But back again - how did it come about to give up teaching at the primary school and make her way "back" to the university, we ask the new colleague. "Already during my work as a primary school teacher, the field of education for sustainable development was particularly close to my heart," she explains, "and so it was not far-fetched for me to write a doctoral thesis on this topic when I was offered a junior researcher position at the University of Osnabrück. Following my doctorate, I had the opportunity to continue researching and teaching in this area within the framework of a substitute professorship and later a junior professorship at the PH Ludwigsburg. And then I knew: this is what you want to do."
    
Currently, Sarah Gaubitz is particularly interested in researching the intentions associated with the various forms of Education for Sustainable Development  and how teachers implement these intentions in physical education. Another focus of her research is the quality of explanatory videos and their potential for use in science education. Her students, meanwhile, can look forward to courses on Education for Sustainable Development and empirical research methods in the didactics of physical education.

And the private Sarah Gaubitz? "I like sitting at the piano, sailing with her family and spending time in nature in general," she says and laughs. Well, and then she has to go on exploring Erfurt. We wish her a lot of fun, a good start at the university and say: "Welcome!"