Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin - Department of Rehabilitation Sciences

Prof. Dr. Thomas Hoffmann, born in Hamburg in 1971, is an educational scientist and sociologist. He teaches special needs education and education for learning disabilities at Humboldt University in Berlin and is director of the Centre for Inclusion Research Berlin (ZfIB). In his work, he combines theoretical research in education with historical and empirical perspectives on inclusion and exclusion in the education system. His research focuses on general theory of education for people with disabilities, critical exclusion research, disability history, educational diagnostics and development-oriented didactics.

After studying at the University of Hamburg and the Free University of Berlin, Thomas Hoffmann worked from 1998 to 2002 as an educator in institutions for people with disabilities, as a case worker for adults with mental illness, and as a teacher in adult education. From 2001 to 2007, he was a research assistant at the Ludwigsburg University of Education and the University of Cologne. From 2007 to 2018, he was an assistant professor and received his doctorate in educational science in 2011. In 2015/2016, he was visiting professor for education for severe and multiple disabilities at the Heidelberg University of Education, and in 2016/2017 visiting professor for rehabilitation sociology at Humboldt University in Berlin. From 2018 to 2024, he was professor of inclusive education at the University of Innsbruck. Since 2024, he has been Professor and Head of the Department of Special Needs Education and Learning Disabilities at Humboldt University, and since 2025, Head of the Centre for Inclusion Research Berlin (ZfIB).