Education and Human Development

Prof. Dr. Kaspar Burger

Our research area seeks to study education and human development over the life course. The major objective is to examine how psychological, social and institutional factors influence educational opportunities and outcomes, and how these, in turn, shape later life chances and life courses. Adopting an interdisciplinary approach, we integrate theories and methods from education, sociology, psychology, policy studies and social statistics. We collect empirical data and perform secondary analyses of longitudinal cohort study data and large-scale international comparative data. Our goal is to generate scientific knowledge that advances theory and informs the design of policies to improve the educational opportunities and life chances of vulnerable children and to enable all children to develop their abilities to their fullest potential.