Prof. Dr. Michael Becker

Office

Benita Simon-Rump

Main research topics

Academic and psychosocial development and educational trajectories from childhood and adolescence into adulthood.
Development of school achievement-related and social disparities with special emphasis on the school context
Quantitative methods of social research, especially causal analytic approaches and item response theory models
Developmental determinants and promotion of reading skills
Development and change of school systems

Office hours

By appointment via E-Mail to Michael Becker

Academic background

2009: Dr. phil. in Psychologie, Freie Universität Berlin
2004: Diplom in Psychologie, Freie Universität Berlin
2004: M.A. in Psychology, Modern History, and Catholic Theology, Freie Universität Berlin

Professional background

Since 03/2020: Professor of Empirical Educational Research, focusing on educational processes in schools, at TU Dortmund University
2013-2020: Research Associate at DIPF | Leibniz Institute for Research and Information in Education
2010-2013: Research Associate at the University of Potsdam
2005-2010: Research Associate and Doctoral Fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin, and at the International Max Planck Research School on the Life Course (LIFE), Berlin

VITA

Further Information

Projects

Current Projects:

Educational choices and educational pathways within the context of structural changes in Berlin’s secondary school system (BERLIN-study), project duration: since 01.01.2010
Learning processes, educational careers, and psychosocial development in adolescence and young adulthood study (BIJU), project duration: since 01.01.1991
Study on the impact of Erasmus+ in schools and other educational institutions in the school sector (Erasmus+), project duration: 06.01.2022 – 01.10.2025
National Educational Panel Study – Stage 5 (NEPS), project duration: 01.10.2023 – 31.12.2027

Past Projects:

Competence development in elementary schools - enhancement study (KEGS-E), project duration: 01.01.2014 – 31.12.2020
Berlin longitudinal reading study (LESEN 3-6), project duration: 01.01.2014 – 31.12.2020
Methodological issues in longitudinal educational studies (MILES-HuGS), project duration: 01.03.2016 – 31.07.2020
Tradition and Innovation: Developmental processes at non-academic track secondary schools in Baden-Wuerttemberg and Saxony (TRAIN), project duration: 01.01.2014 – 31.12.2020

Publications

Baumert, J., Becker, M., Jansen, M., Nagy, G., & Köller, O. (2025). Development of life satisfaction in immigrant youth: the role of transition decisions and cultural identification. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Manuscript accepted for publication.
Becker, M. (2024). Sozioemotionale Charakteristika und Bildung [Socioemotional characteristics and education]. Zeitschrift für Erziehungswissenschaft. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11618-024-01217-8
Becker, M., Baumert, J., Tetzner, J., Maaz, K. & Köller, O. (2019). Childhood intelligence, family background, and gender as drivers of socioeconomic success: The mediating role of education. Developmental Psychology, 55, 2231-2248. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0000766
Becker, M., Cortina, K. S., Tsai, Y.-M. & Eccles, J. S. (2014). Sexual orientation, psychological well-being, and mental health: A longitudinal analysis from adolescence to young adulthood. Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity, 1, 132-145. https://doi.org/10.1037/sgd0000038
Becker, M., Kocaj, A., Jansen, M., Dumont, H. & Lüdtke, O. (2022). Class-average achievement and individual achievement: Testing achievement composition and peer spillover effects using five German longitudinal studies. Journal of Educational Psychology, 114(1), 177–197. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000519
Becker, M. & McElvany, N. (2018). The interplay of gender and social background: A longitudinal study of interaction effects in reading attitudes and behaviour. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 88(4), 529-549. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjep.12199
Becker, M., Neumann, M. & Dumont, H. (2016). Recent developments in school tracking practices in Germany: An overview and outlook on future trends. Orbis Scholae,10(3), 9-26. https://doi.org/10.14712/23363177.2017.8
Becker, M., Schotte, K., Maaz, K. & Edele, A. (2025). Quantitative Ansätze der erziehungswissenschaftlichen Migrationsforschung. In M. Hummrich, W. Meseth & G. Putjata. Handbuch Erziehungswissenschaftliche Migrationsforschung. Manuscript accepted for publication.
Becker, M. & Tetzner, J. (2021). On the relations of sociocognitive childhood characteristics, education, and socioeconomic success in adulthood. Contemporary Educational Psychology. 67, October 2021, 102024. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2021.102024
Burger, K., Becker, M. & Schoon, I. (2024). Mental health and educational attainment: How developmental stage matters. Developmental Psychology, 60(1), 108–123. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0001634
Hornberg, S., Becker, M., & Sonnenburg, N. (Hrsg.) (2025). Lernmobilität in Europa: Eine Mixed-Methods-Studie zu Erasmus+ in der Schule. [Learning mobility in Europe: A mixed-methods study on Erasmus+ in schools] Münster: Waxmann. https://doi.org/10.31244/9783818850258
Neugebauer, M., Becker, M., Bihler, L., & Wagner, J. (2025). Well-being scarring effects of college non-completion. Social Science Research, 127. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssresearch.2024.103138
Neumann, M., Becker, M., Baumert, J., Maaz, K., & Köller, O. (Hrsg.) (2017). Zweigliedrigkeit im deutschen Schulsystem: Potenziale und Herausforderungen in Berlin [The two-track secondary school system in Germany: chances and challenges in Berlin]. Münster: Waxmann.
Tetzner, J. & Becker, M. (2025). Long-term advantages of adolescent optimism: nonlinear associations with adult outcomes and its protective role in buffering socioeconomic Risk. European Journal of Personality,39(3), 336-335. https://doi.org/10.1177/08902070241256399