VDS in Education
Our Doctoral School in Education (DSE) offers a highly stimulating, creative and constructive academic environment for the advancement and support of doctoral students, enabling them to produce highest-quality research as basis for their future careers either in academia or at education-related institutions. It offers a unique opportunity for doctoral students to become acquainted with the different sub-disciplinary research traditions, research paradigms and research methods characterizing the field of education, in order to confidently conduct their own research. In addition, the doctoral students will gain insight into the particular challenges of a field that covers both basic and applied research traditions; and into the cultural, political and social contexts of education systems and the opportunities they provide for individual life courses.
The doctoral school is divided into 3 thematic clusters:
- Educational epistemologies, policies, and practices (more)
- Teaching, learning & curriculum studies (more)
- Education, Professionalism and Human Development (more)
Application language: Applications to this doctoral school must be submitted in English.
Update: The application deadline was 2 March, 14:00 CET.
You can still access your submitted application via the Application Portal.
Please do not inquire about the status of your application. All candidates will be informed of the outcome of the selection process as soon as possible.
Supervisor / Research Interests and Supervision Areas
Research Interests and Supervision Areas
Mathematics education research: Procedural flexibility in secondary mathematics and teacher education
Possible research themes or topics for doctoral projects
Development of measurement instruments for procedural flexibility in mathematics
Relations between procedural flexibility and relevant variables (such as creativity, executive functions, beliefs, structure sense, etc.)
Relations between procedural flexibility in different mathematical content areas
Visibility and mechanisms of procedural flexibility when working on procedural tasks
Development of procedural flexibility with digital tools (e.g., also with AI support)
Influence of curricula and education systems on procedural flexibility (cultural contexts)
Strategy acquisition and development; change in procedural flexibility over long-term periods
Weblink for further information: https://www.mat.univie.ac.at/~ableitinger/
Email: christoph.ableitinger(at)univie.ac.at
Research Interests and Supervision Areas
The research group on subject-didactics in home economics and nutrition deals with questions of teaching and learning in the areas of nutrition, health, home economics and sustainable consumption. The focus of interest is on theory formation in subject-didactics, in the practice of teaching and learning, and in teacher professionalization in this field.
Research areas:
Theory development in the subject-didactics of home economics and nutrition; qualitative classroom research in nutrition, health and consumer education; subject-didactic research with a focus on the promotion of judgement competence
Research designs:
hermeneutic, qualitative-empirical, qualitative classroom research on subject-related teaching-learning processes (audiography, videography), various techniques of qualitative content analysis, ethnographic research methods (e.g. thick description)
Possible research themes or topics for doctoral projects
- Promotion of judgment competence in nutrition, health and consumer education on secondary 2 level
- Design and evaluation of action-based teaching and learning settings for pupils in our newly established teaching and learning lab Future Lab Life Skills 'Nutrition and Sustainability'
Weblink for further information:
https://nutrition.univie.ac.at/forschung/fachdidaktik-haushaltsoekonomie-und-ernaehrung-assoz-prof-dr-paed-habil-claudia-maria-angele/
Research Interests and Supervision Areas
My research interests and supervision areas span three interrelated areas within inclusive education. First, I am interested in inclusive digital education, focusing on how technologies, assistive systems, and digital education can enhance or constrain participation of learners with disabilities. Second, my work engages with intersectionality in inclusive education, examining how gender, dis/ability, and social class intersect to shape educational experiences, access, and marginalisation. Third, I a, interested in policy and curriculum studies, analysing how governance structures, policy discourses, and curricular frameworks enable or limit the realisation of inclusive schooling. Across these strands, my research interrogates structural inequalities and explores pathways toward more equitable educational systems.
Possible research themes or topics for doctoral projects
• Examining how AI can support differentiated and individualised learning of students with intellectual disabilities
• Empowering teachers for implementing accessible learning designs grounded in Universal Design for Learning (UDL).
• Maker education for all: empowering all students to acquire maker skills
• Mapping assistive technology ecosystems across school forms to identify structural gaps in provision, training, and resources
• Exploring how intersectional identities shape learners’ experiences of safety, visibility, and exclusion in hybrid learning spaces.
• Evaluating the policy coherence between digitalisation strategies and inclusion mandates across governance levels.
• Intersectionality in inclusive classrooms: students’ subjectivities and teachers’ practices
• Analysing curricula across European states regarding discourses of inclusive education
• Inclusive Education under pressure: a critical discourse analysis of debates around inclusive education in European countries
Weblink for further information: https://pro.ph-ooe.at/tobias-buchner
Email:
tobias.buchner(at)univie.ac.at
(tobias.buchner(at)ph-ooe.at)
Research Interests and Supervision Areas
Research interests
Inclusive education with a special focus on transition processes in the life course, educational processes, professional participation, intersectionality (especially disability, gender), relationships in educational contexts, systemic counselling and psychotherapy, families and larger systems, systemic support
Methodologies and methods
Qualitative empirical methodologies/methods (grounded theory methodology, situation analysis, discourse analysis), participatory research methods
Possible research themes or topics for doctoral projects
The importance of the therapeutic relationship in systemic therapy in connection with social inequalities between clients and systemic therapists.
As part of two doctoral dissertations, the question will be examined as to what role the therapeutic relationship plays in systemic psychotherapy. In addition, potential influencing factors of this specific relational construct will be investigated by focusing on the connection between the therapeutic relationship and social differences (e.g., regarding background, education, gender, age, socioeconomic status). How do social differences or similarities between clients and therapists affect the therapeutic relationship? To what extent are therapeutic processes influenced by these factors? How aware are therapists of the impact of social differences, and how does this awareness shape the further course of therapy? How can differences and similarities be used meaningfully in therapy?
The two dissertation projects will address these fundamental questions of therapeutic practice in systemic psychotherapy.
Weblink for further information: https://bildungswissenschaft.univie.ac.at/inklusive-paedagogik/wissenschaftliche-mitarbeiterinnen/fasching-helga/
Research Interests and Supervision Areas
Physics Education Research, esp. Design Based Research and Educational Reconstruction; Conceptual Change; Professional Knowledge of Physics Teachers
Possible research themes or topics for doctoral projects
- Learning of electromagnetic radiation
- Context-Based Physics Education in high schools
- VR as tool for Teacher Education
Weblink for further information: https://aeccp.univie.ac.at/
Email: martin.hopf(at)univie.ac.at
Research Interests and Supervision Areas
As Chair of English Language Education, my main research interest lies on bilingual education. I address both tertiary and secondary implementations of English as a medium of instruction, and have recently worked intensely on conceptualising and researching disciplinary literacies / subject-specific language in these areas, with a current interest on the role played by digital, esp. LLM-based, tools in the learning and use of disciplinary literacies. (Keywords: Content and Language Integrated Learning, English Medium Instruction, disciplinary literacies)
My second research focus lies on language teacher development, specifically with regard to teacher beliefs, and means of fostering research literacy through teacher development programmes. (Keywords: teacher cognition, teacher and learner beliefs, subjective learning theories, research literacy). In addition to my university website, information on my work can also be found on https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Julia-Huettner-2
Possible research themes or topics for doctoral projects
I am happy to supervise PhD students whose research proposals align with either of my research foci.
Weblink for further information: https://anglistik.univie.ac.at/staff/staff/huettner/
Research Interests and Supervision Areas
My research focuses on the empirical investigation of teaching and learning processes at the intersection of teacher education and school practice in secondary education. Specifically, I am interested in the heterogeneity of teachers. I especially focus on student teachers working in schools, their professional development, and the conditions that foster effective transitions between university and classroom contexts. Further areas of interest include grading practices and assessment of students’ abilities, as well as teachers’ evidence-based approaches to instructional improvement. I investigate how diagnostic information and performance data (e.g., from standardized assessments, iKMPLUS) can be used by teachers to inform pedagogical decisions and promote equitable learning opportunities for all students.
I supervise theses that apply quantitative or mixed-method approaches to topics related to teacher education, classroom assessment, and data-informed teaching.
Possible research themes or topics for doctoral projects
Potential themes:
- (a) Professional development & heterogeneity of (student) teachers (e.g., Professional competences among student teachers working in schools, Teacher characteristics, diversity & their relation to teaching practices and student outcomes),
- (b) Grading practices (e.g., Fairness & validity of grading practices across subjects & school types, Differences between teachers’ grading & standardized assessment),
- (c) Evidence-based instructional improvement (e.g., Teachers use of diagnostic information (e.g., standardized assessments, iKMPLUS), Data-informed decision processes in teachers’ classroom practice, Interventions supporting teachers’ evidence-based instructional development),
- (d) Educational equity & teaching practices (e.g., Classroom-level mechanisms contributing to equitable learning opportunities, Interaction between teacher characteristics, assessment practices & student heterogeneity, Effects of data-informed teaching on reducing educational inequalities).
Weblink for further information: https://lehrerinnenbildung.univie.ac.at/en/fields-of-work/educational-sciences/team/kampa-nele/
Email: nele.kampa(at)univie.ac.at
Research Interests and Supervision Areas
Fares Kayali is a full professor of digital education and learning at the Centre for Teacher Education at the University of Vienna. He is the founder of the Computational Empowerment Lab, co-founder of the Positive Impact Games Lab, and principal investigator of several interdisciplinary projects at the intersection of design, people, and technology. His research spans informatics, teacher education, arts, and human-computer interaction (HCI). He is particularly interested in the societal impacts of digitalization and artificial intelligence, computational empowerment, technology-supported teaching and learning, participatory design, and HCI in educational contexts. Additionally, his expertise extends to game-based learning and gamification, where he explores innovative approaches to education and health care through playful methods.
Possible research themes or topics for doctoral projects
Possible research themes include, but are not limited to:
- Computational Empowerment in Teacher Education
- Equitable AI Practices in Education
- Game-based Learning and Learning Motivation in the Classroom
- Augmented Reality and Playful Learning in Out-of-School Contexts
- Digital Health Education
Weblink for further information: https://lehrerinnenbildung.univie.ac.at/arbeitsbereiche/digitalisierung-im-bildungsbereich/
Email: fares.kayali(at)univie.ac.at
Research Interests and Supervision Areas
Chemistry education:
- Inquiry-based teaching and learning
- Green and sustainable chemistry
- Language and chemistry learning
- Argumentation and chemistry learning
- Systems thinking and chemistry learning
- Learner concepts
- Competence orientation
- Gender aspects
Possible research themes or topics for doctoral projects
Promoting scientific argumentation skills among secondary students in the context of socio-scientific issues
Weblink for further information: https://aeccc.univie.ac.at/
Email: anja.lembens(at)univie.ac.at
Research Interests and Supervision Areas
My main research focus is
(a) to identify malleable characteristics in educational settings, i.e., concrete teacher behaviors, teacher attributes, and classroom climate, as these contribute to beneficial development of motivational, cognitive, and socio-emotional student outcomes with a special focus on diversity (gender, ability, achievement, migration background).
(b) I exploit and advance cutting-edge statistical methodologies to address important substantive questions, and
(c) typically use multiple methods (questionnaires, interviews, focus groups, portfolios), multiple informants (students, teachers, parents), and different research designs.
(d) Additionally, I aim to focus on the development and evaluation of training and intervention programs in different educational contexts (gender equality, traffic safety, students in the transition to University, “Induktionsphase” in teacher education).
(e) Another line of research focuses on identity development in adolescence.
Weblink for further information: https://lehrerinnenbildung.univie.ac.at/arbeitsbereiche/entwicklungspsychologie-und-bildungspsychologie-des-schulalters/
Email: marko.lueftenegger(at)univie.ac.at
Research Interests and Supervision Areas
My research explores the potential and challenges of artificial intelligence (AI) in education, with the goal of understanding how AI can support and individualize learning. A central focus of my work is on understanding when and why AI-supported feedback enhances learning, and how technology should be designed to support motivation and skill development. To do this, I combine experimental quantitative approaches with learning analytics. I am open to supervising projects on AI-supported feedback, individual differences (e.g., personality) in the school context, emotion/motivation and self-regulation in digital learning environments, technology-enhanced learning, and the psychological mechanisms of learning with AI, as well as related topics.
Weblink for further information: https://ucrisportal.univie.ac.at/de/persons/jennifer-meyer/
Research Interests and Supervision Areas
Research in comparative and international education with primarily qualitative methodologies from the social sciences, including topics and approaches such as: international comparisons across formal and informal institutions of learning and across systems of educational governance; diffusion and adoption of educational concepts, ideologies, reforms, models, technologies, curricula, and practices across societies; education, aid, and international development. Both contemporary and historical approaches are welcome. No supervision of topics related to didactics or language teaching.
Weblink for further information: https://bildungswissenschaft.univie.ac.at/en/comparative-and-international-education/staff/head-of-the-unit/
Research Interests and Supervision Areas
Educational theory and research
Possible research themes or topics for doctoral projects
Education in the Enlightenment, Education in the Anthropocene; Video recordings of lessons
Weblink for further information: https://homepage.univie.ac.at/henning.schluss/
Research Interests and Supervision Areas
Methodology in educational and social sciences, especially the combination and integration of methods (mixed methods research)
Possible research themes or topics for doctoral projects
Doctoral projects in educational and social sciences with a methodological focus on mixed methods research design or the foundations of mixed methods research.
Weblink for further information: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=ikn7n0MAAAAJ
Research Interests and Supervision Areas
My research focuses on empirical educational science with an emphasis on school and instructional development, inclusion, and educational equity across the educational lifespan. I use multi-perspective and interdisciplinary approaches to analyse school processes, teaching practices, and the impact of educational policies. Key areas include academic language development, school well-being, social participation, and support for diverse learners. I also explore emerging questions on the potential of AI for teaching, learning, and school development. I supervise projects that aim to strengthen participation, equity, and overall school quality.
Possible research themes or topics for doctoral projects
Possible doctoral topics include the effectiveness and further development of language support models and preparatory language classes from early childhood to the end of schooling, inclusive school development and multiprofessional collaboration, school suspensions and their social implications, innovative approaches to academic language support across subjects, and inclusion in the field of special education. Further themes include teacher professionalisation, inequality dynamics in schools, and evidence-based strategies to improve educational opportunities.
Weblink for further information: https://lehrerinnenbildung.univie.ac.at/arbeitsbereiche/bildungswissenschaften/team/schwab-susanne/
Email: susanne.schwab(at)univie.ac.at
Research Interests and Supervision Areas
Media Education, considerably Critical Media Literacy
Weblink for further information: https://bildungswissenschaft.univie.ac.at/medienpaedagogik/
Email: christian.swertz(at)univie.ac.at
Research Interests and Supervision Areas
Intersectional analysis of education and inequality; educational pathways; VET; school drop out; Bourdieu; gender and education; participatory research in education
Weblink for further information: https://bildungswissenschaft.univie.ac.at/bildung-und-ungleichheit/personal/veronika-woehrer/