Frauke Steinhäuser successfully defends her dissertation

Frauke Steinhäuser is a research associate and doctoral researcher at the Center for Research on Education and School Development (IFS), where she works in Professor Michael Becker’s research group. On September 16, 2026, she successfully defended her doctoral dissertation entitled “School Context Effects and Their (Long-Term) Consequences Across the Life Course” in the field of Educational Science at the Faculty Educational Sciences and Psychology. 

In her dissertation, Frauke Steinhäuser investigates how the school context influences students’ development. The study deliberately examines a broad range of outcomes, ranging from attitudes (e.g., political self-concept and reading self-concept) and behavior (e.g., political information-seeking and reading behavior) to educational attainment, occupational status, income, and life satisfaction. These outcomes are examined across the life course, from primary school through secondary education and into adulthood, at ages 30 and 40.

We warmly congratulate Frauke Steinhäuser on this outstanding achievement and wish her all the very best!