Historical educational researchHow Did Comics Get into Schools?Title, Theses, Doctorates

26 February 2026, by Hofmann/Newsroom editorial team

Photo: private

Anna Strunk was awarded the Julius Klinkhardt Prize for her doctorate.

Comics as an educational media in the classroom are nothing special these days. This was not always the case: in the 1950s, they had a bad reputation and their use in the classroom was unimaginable. As part of her doctorate at the Faculty of Education, Anna Strunk is researching how comics nevertheless found their way into schools.

What is the focus of your work?

Although the use of comics in the classroom is generally accepted today, this was not always the case. I am therefore interested in the question of how comics came to be used in the classroom in the first place? If we look back to the 1950s, for example, we see a phase of Germany taking on the very strong rejection of comics already evident in the USA.

One reason for the strong rejection was that people were not yet really familiar with the medium, while at the same time the sales figures for comics were exploding. Almost every child read comics back then. Some teachers, educators, and parents were therefore afraid that the many pictures would result in children no longer learning to read and write properly, that comics would incite them to violence, or that they would no longer read “good” books. We are familiar with similar debates about television and social media today. So in the 1950s, it was inconceivable that comics would ever be used in schools—yet that is exactly what was done from the late 1960s onwards.

That led me to investigate where this change in opinion among educators came from. My work focused on a historical discourse analysis. I also looked at how these discourses have found their way into the framework guidelines and educational plans of the West German federal states.

What were your findings?

Particularly noteworthy is the phase directly following the “anti-comic debate”, with a critical ideological analysis driving a re-evaluation of comics. Specifically, this means educators largely rejected the fears of the 1950s and instead saw comics as a political threat. They were of the opinion that comics should be covered in the classroom so that children and young people would be educated about their role in life and society. This included learning more about the production of comics and their producers. It was important to convey that there was an industry behind comic production that was primarily interested in profits from comic sales.

At the same time, many positive comments on comics as a teaching tool emerged during this period. For example, emphasis was given to the fact that teachers could use comics to increase student motivation, democratize lessons, or help with reading and language learning. There were many suggestions for using comics in the classroom. 

So there was no longer a fundamental rejection?

Comics were not suddenly viewed in a generally positive light; instead, recognition was given to the need for students to engage with the literature in class that they also dealt with in their free time. That was new, as before that, many educators were convinced that pupils should only deal with “high culture” or “classical” literature in class. The fact that the students’ lived experience was chosen as the starting point was a new approach. 

You examine comics as educational media from the 1960s to the 1980s. What findings from your research are reflected in the present?

Comics are now fairly accepted in schools. However, this is not always true for society as a whole. Even today, there are always very critical statements about comics and some of them are still not regarded as “real” literature. The main point of change is where we are starting from. Back then, it was a hot topic because comics were very popular with children and young people. Today, children and young people tend to read fewer comics.

This means you deal with completely different comics in lessons. These are usually explicitly educational and informational comics or what are known as graphic novels. Mickey Mouse and Superman no longer play the biggest role. In general, it can be said that in schools and in discourse, the medium that is most current among students always takes up the most space, and today this is no longer comics.

The interview below is part of our Junge Forschung series in the Faculty of Education. A long version can be found on the faculty website.