Barbara Schober

Barbara Schober

Dean of the Faculty of Psychology at the University of Vienna
Department of Applied Psychology: Work, Education and Economy
Professorship of Psychological Research on Education and Transfer

Barbara Schober has been Professor of "Psychological Research on Education and Transfer" at the Faculty of Psychology at the University of Vienna since 2012. She is co-chair of the faculty research topic "Promoting Lifelong Learning in Educational Institutions" in the Department of Applied Psychology: Work, Education and Economy. In 1996 she graduated in Psychology (Dipl. Psych, Psychology, University of Bamberg), achieved her Ph.D. in 2001 (Psychology, Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich,), and her habilitation in 2007 (Psychology, University of Vienna). Her main research activities during recent years have been at the intersection of the fields "Transfer and Implementation" and "Bildung-Psychology", focusing on: lifelong learning, learning motivation and its development, gender differences in educational contexts and in careers (special focus on gender stereotypes and how they develop and come into effect), self-regulation, teacher training, development, evaluation and implementation of intervention programs in educational contexts.
In numerous publications and empirical studies within third party funded projects, she has addressed theory development and evidence-based support for educational components as well as conditions, activities and measures that influence these according to psychological theory. Previous projects relevant for this proposal include e.g. studies on gender stereotypes and their reflection in toys, teacher behavior or school books.
Another relevant project led by Prof. Schober was "REFLECT - Gender competence due to reflexive coeducation" (funded by the Austrian Federal Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture; the Federal Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Consumer Protection, the Federal Ministry for Transport, Innovation and Technology and the Federal Minister for Women and the Civil Service). This project sought to foster a deeper understanding of gender differences in school as well as to conceptualize a theory-based intervention program.

Selection of relevant publications

  • Kollmayer, M., Schultes, M.-T., Schober, B., Hodosi, T., & Spiel, C. (2018). Parents’ judgements about the desirability of toys for their children: Associations with gender role attitudes, gender-typing of toys, and demographics. Sex Roles. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1007/s11199-017-0882-4.
  • Schober, B., Brandt, L., Kollmayer, M., & Spiel, C. (2016). Overcoming the ivory tower: Transfer and societal responsibility as crucial aspects of the Bildung-Psychology approach. European Journal of Developmental Psychology, 13(6), 636-651. doi: 10.1080/17405629.2016.1231061
  • Klug, J., Lüftenegger, M., Bergsmann, E., Spiel, C., & Schober B. (2016). Secondary school students' LLL competencies, and their relation with classroom structure and achievement. Frontiers in Psychology, 7:680. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00680
  • Kollmayer, M., Schober, B., & Spiel, C. (2016). Gender stereotypes in education: Development, consequences, and interventions. European Journal of Developmental Psychology, 15(4), 361-377. doi:10.1080/17405629.2016.1193483
  • Lüftenegger, M., Klug, J., Harrer, K., Langer, M., Spiel, C., & Schober, B. (2016). Students' Achievement Goals, Learning-Related Emotions and Academic Achievement. Frontiers in Psychology, 7:603. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00603
  • Spiel, C., Schober, B., & Strohmeier, D. (2016). Implementing Intervention Research into Public Policy - the "I3-Approach". Prevention Science, 19(3), 337-346. doi:10.1007/s11121-016-0638-3
  • Spiel, C., Lüftenegger, M., & Schober, B. (2018). Das Jugendalter - Herausforderungen für die Schule [Adolescence - challenges for the school]. In B. Gniewosz, & P. T. Titzmann (Hrsg.), Handbuch Jugend: Psychologische Sichtweisen auf Veränderungen in der Adoleszenz. Stuttgart: Kohlhammer
  • Kollmayer, M., Schultes, M.-T., & Schober B. (2018). Geschlechtstypisierung [Gender Typing]. In J. Strohmer (Hrsg.), Psychologisches Fachwissen für Fachkräfte in Kindergarten und Hort (S. 201-217). Göttingen: Hogrefe


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