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Current Third-Party Funded Projects

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Completed Third-Party Funded Projects

DFG-Project: Parental Academic Conditional Positive Regard and Autonomy Support as Predictors of Adolescents' Motivation, Affect, and Relations with Family 

This research project compares two parenting practices: (1) Parental Academic Conditional Positive Regard (PACPR), in which parents attempt to promote achievement motivation and academic success by expressing more affection and appreciation toward their child when the child studies or performs well in school, and (2) Parental Academic Autonomy Support (PAAS), in which parents promote academic motivation and success by taking the child's perspective, offering choices, and providing rationale for their expectations.

While PACPR may appear to be well-intentioned and is often recommended due to its inclusion of affective rewards, recent studies suggest that this strategy is associated with higher levels of stress and less favorable motivational-affective functioning in adolescents. In contrast, PAAS is associated with more beneficial outcomes. However, the cross-sectional nature of existing studies does not allow for causal conclusions. Moreover, little is known about the impact of these parenting strategies on adolescents' affective functioning and intra-family relationships.

The current research projects aims to examine causal mechanisms and broaden the scope of child outcomes. To this end, three methodological approaches are employed:

1. A cross-cultural longitudinal study: The development of 480 German and Israeli adolescents is followed from Grade 8 to Grade 9. Parenting practices, quality of academic motivation, affective functioning, and intra-family relationships are assessed through multiple informants (child, mother, father, teacher, and possibly siblings). Ratings of affective functioning are supplemented by a competence-based test. Analyses will include both variable-centered approaches (SEM) and person-centered approached (latent profile analysis).
2. An observational study: A subsample of 70 mother-child dyads will be selected from the longitudinal sample based on latent profile analyses (high PACPR/low PAAS vs. lo PACPR/high PAAS). The interaction between mother and child will be assessed as a behavioral outcome variable of PACPR and PAAS.
3. Experimental studies: Three experiments will test the hypothesis that subliminal and supraliminal priming of PACPR representations in university students leads to increased stress, impaired motivational-affective functioning, and reduced cognitive performance under stress. In contrast, priming PAAS representations is expected to foster more favorable functioning. Results from a pilot study provide initial empirical support for our hypotheses regarding the effects of parental conditional regard.

Duration: 12/2018-08/2021

Collaborative project with Dr. Nantje Otterpohl (University of Gießen), Prof. Avi Assor (Ben-Gurion University, Israel), and Prof. Yang Kanat-Maymon (IDC Herzliya, Israel)

Total funding amount: 310,438€

Results of the project:

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HMWK-Project: Innovation Forum on Effectiveness Analysis (Evaluation instruments for digitally supported teaching and learning scenarios and specific evaluations of digitalized courses) as a part of the state-wide collaborative project in Hessen: "digLL - Digitally Supported Teaching and Learning in Hessen"

The goal of the Innovation Forum "Effectiveness Analysis" is twofold: first, to develop instruments for assessing the implementation success of digitally supported teaching and learning projects; and second, to investigate the interplay of supportive framework conditions (e.g., instructor training, didactic concept development, and support from the didactic, organizational, and legal perspectives). 

At the core lies the question of how and under what conditions digital components contribute to improving the quality of teaching. Key areas of focus include student learning outcomes, self-regulated learning, and learning motivation. Additional criteria include research-oriented and practice-related teaching, efficiency gains (e.g., in supervising large student groups), as well as the individualization and temporal-spatial flexibility of learning opportunities.

Instructors are supported in evaluating the digital elements and conceptual components of their courses using both standardized and customizable instruments. This serves to ensue quality assurance in teaching. All instructors at the participating universities, as well as other interested parties, were given access to the evaluation tools developed. In cooperation with the instructors, the IF Effectiveness Analysis initially evaluated exemplary digitally supported teaching and learning concepts.

Project duration: 02/2019-12/2020)

Collaborative project with ZekoLL (Center for Competence in Teaching and Learning Technologies) at the University of Applied Sciences Mittelhessen and studiumdigitale at Goethe University Frankfurt 

Total funding amount: 253,225€

BMBF-Project: BiLieF - Bielefeld Longitudinal Study on Learning in Inclusive and Exclusive Special Education Settings 

The research project addresses the ongoing debate surrounding the advantages and disadvantages of inclusive versus exclusive forms of special needs education, and builds on current education policy efforts in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) to significantly increase the proportion of students with special education needs (SEN) taught in integrative classes within mainstream schools. 

To examine whether the hopes an expectations associated with these efforts are being fulfilled, the longitudinal development of self-esteem, school well-being, and learning motivation in children with learning difficulties at the end of primary school is investigated. The study compares three different types of special education support: (a) special schools with a focus on learning support, (b) inclusive classes (joint education), and (c) mainstream primary schools supported by a center of Competence for Special Educational Support (KsF).

Based on the "offer-and-use" model, these schooling formats are understood as formally distinct educational offers whose effectiveness critically depends on their actual implementation and the way students utilize them. From this perspective, individual and contextual risk and resilience factors play a decisive role.

These factors, as well as educational processes and outcomes, are modeled through an interdisciplinary approach combining special education and educational psychology. Data collection includes questionnaires and standardized tests (administered to students in the middle of 3rd grade and at the beginning and end of 4th grade), as well as group interviews with teachers (conducted at the beginning of 4th grade).

The anticipated results are expected to be valuable on three different levels of relevance. For instance, at the school development level, appropriate inclusion models can be developed that both reflect the individual framework conditions of each school and include necessary professionalization measures - such as continuing education opportunities - as essential components of special needs education. 

Project Duration: 04/2012-04/2015

Collaborative project with Wild, Schwinger & Lütje-Klose

Funding Amount: 1,077,501€