Issue/question: In increasingly diverse and complex societies, a strong case can be made that the school as an isolated institution is insufficient as the sole locus of education and that increased complexity needs to be met by increased collaboration (Brown/Poortman 2018: 1). The German educational system shows a particular narrow understanding of education and a high degree of institutional fragmentation (Gottschall 2001). In the last decade, a broad discussion on the need for wider education and area-based reform came up in Germany (Deutscher Verein 2007, Deutscher Städtetag 2007). Subsequently, a broad range of projects was set up (Bleckmann/Durdel 2009; Rolff 2013; AG Lernen vor Ort 2016). Hence, a new field of literature and research emerged. The presentation gives insights in an extensive literature review on Area Based Reform (ABR) in Germany. In the first instance, the paper outlines the structured review strategy (containing a stepwise search, mapping phase and appraisal phase; Greenhalgh et al. 2005) and the initial ideas driving the search process. Then, it reflects the actual research process and changes driven by the particular constitution of the research object. After giving an overview on the body of literature, finally, it wraps the results on the empirical knowledge in German Area Based Education up: What do we know on goals and purpose of Area Based Reform Approaches? What does literature reveal on the reasoning and stakeholders behind using an ABR, what on the development? And which role does research evidence play in this field? The results indicate assumptions underlying area based reform in Germany, its specificities referring to other countries and the need for further research. The review is part of the project “What makes effective area-based reform?” by the Bosch-Foundation, which aims at providing a rich theory of action for different approaches to ABRs, their enactment and the extent to which different stakeholders are involved in the decision making process.

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