Franca Cammann: Modeling, Measuring, and Developing Cognitive Research Competence Facets in Prospective Teachers – Development and Testing of an Assessment Tool for Measuring Application-Oriented Methodological Knowledge
Research competencies are among the most important qualification goals of a university degree program (WR, 2015). Given their role as multipliers and their influence on students’ learning success (e.g., Baumert et al., 2010; Hattie, 2012; Lipowsky, 2006), the acquisition of such competencies by (prospective) teachers is of particular importance.
To date, however, little is known about the extent to which teachers acquire research competencies during their training. While there are promising approaches for measuring affective-motivational aspects of research competency (e.g., Reichow, 2021), the standardized assessment of cognitive aspects among (prospective) teachers remains a significant gap in the research literature.
This is where the dissertation project comes in, addressing the following two overarching research questions in the form of six individual chapters:
- How can cognitive facets of teacher candidates’ research competencies be modeled and measured? (Focus 1)
- What factors influence the acquisition of competencies, and how do the competencies of teacher candidates change depending on specific learning opportunities? (Focus 2)
Saniye Demirtas Yigit: Exploring the Impact of School Diversity on Teachers’ Self-Efficacy Trajectories: A Longitudinal Panel Study Accounting for Individual and Contextual Factors
The aim of the current study is to investigate how school diversity interacts with teachers’ self-efficacy over time. In this way, the researcher aims to uncover the dynamic relationship between teachers’ self-confidence and school diversity, shedding light on consequences that can enhance our understanding of this interaction. The following research question is formulated to guide this study: How does school diversity influence trajectories of teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs over time, accounting for individual and contextual factors in a nested design?
Franzisca Fischer: Why Do Parents (Not) Want to Participate in Continuing Education?
As the primary agents of socialization, parents bear significant responsibility for their children’s development. However, the formal education system does not provide for training parents in parenting skills. Parent and family education programs address this need and can support parents in their daily parenting routines. However, participation in these programs is characterized by a prevention dilemma, in that socially disadvantaged parents—who are often perceived as having a greater need for support—rarely participate in such programs. As part of this doctoral project, parental motivation to participate will be examined from an expected utility theory perspective based on secondary analyses, in order to derive implications for promoting motivation among socially disadvantaged parents and for the effective design of parent education programs. To this end, the motivation to participate in parent education programs among parents from different social backgrounds will be examined, and predictors that may contribute to the genesis of participation motivation as well as to actual participation in non-formal continuing education in general will be investigated.
Luca Hollricher: Subjectively Perceived Continuing Education Costs as a Motivational Factor
This dissertation project investigates how subjectively perceived continuing education costs influence individual continuing education decisions. Building on (situated) expectation-value theory, the continuing education barriers identified in previous research are conceptualized as expressions of such costs and examined both theoretically and empirically using a mixed-methods design. The goal is to develop and validate a scale for measuring this cost dimension as a contribution to expanding Expectation-Value Theory and to understanding the motivational mechanisms underlying socially unequal participation in continuing education.
Eric Nising: Promoting Students’ Academic Self-Concept in an Inclusive School Setting
Academic self-concept influences students’ personal attitudes toward individual academic disciplines and thus mediates between self-assessment and individual performance in the respective school subject. Particularly in inclusive school settings, which are strongly characterized by individualization, internal differentiation, and differentiated goals, the promotion of academic self-concept can be viewed as a key to academic success. This dissertation project therefore addresses the question of how learners can be supported in developing a positive self-concept—from social comparison to individualized instruction.
Tobias Wächter: Teachers’ Attitudes Toward Inclusion
Positive teacher attitudes toward school inclusion are considered central prerequisites for the development of an inclusive school system in Germany. In this dissertation project, attitudes toward inclusion are examined as both antecedents and consequences of motivation for inclusion-related professional development, as well as of student-level developments in well-being and in reading and math proficiency.
Tobias Wächter is a university-level teacher and doctoral candidate at Bielefeld University.
Svea Bunte: Influencing Factors and Effects of Differentiated Instruction on Students in the School Context
With the implementation of inclusive school systems and the resulting increase in heterogeneity in classrooms, the demands on teachers have risen significantly. Effective inclusive instruction is characterized above all by differentiated instruction that is tailored to varying levels of competence and knowledge and addresses the diverse socio-emotional and academic needs of all students. The planned cumulative dissertation aims to investigate the predictors, mechanisms, and outcomes of differentiated instruction in an inclusive context. The first article examines teachers’ attitudes toward inclusion as a factor influencing students’ academic performance and well-being. It explores which factors—such as differentiated instruction—mediate this relationship.
The article is being written in collaboration with Prof. Dr. Gorges based on data from the BiFoKi project (Bielefeld Training Concept for Cooperation in Inclusive Schools). The subsequent articles address the implementation of a specific method of differentiated instruction: compensating for disadvantages among students with dyslexia.
Svea Bunte is a research assistant in Educational Psychology under Prof. Dr. Elke Wild at Bielefeld University and is writing her dissertation under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Elke Wild.