Prof. Dr. Horst Weishaupt

Curriculum Vitae

• born 2-11-1947 in Frankfurt am Main
• 1957-1963 attended Falk-Realschule in Frankfurt am Main
• 1963 until 1967 studied at teacher training college, Pädagogisches Fachinstitut in Jugenheim/Bergstr. Acquired a teaching diploma for public sector schools for the subjects of music, arts. (higher education qualification for respective subjects was acquired by completing exam with distinction)
• 1-9-1967 until 15-9-1968 teacher at a general primary and lower secondary school in Darmstadt
• 1968 until 1973 studied educational science/pedagogy at Johann-Wolfgang-Goethe University in Frankfurt am Main , minor subjects psychology, sociology, music and Protestant theology
• 1974 diploma in educational science
• 1-4-1974 – 30-9-1992 academic staff member in the department for economy, German Institute for International Educational Research in Frankfurt am Main
• 1990 doctoral degree in educational science
• 1-10-1992 until 30-9-2004 professorship for empirical educational research at the Pädagogische Hochschule Erfurt/Mühlhausen (which became Erfurt University in 2001)
• 1-10-2004 until 31-3-2008 Professor for empirical educational research at Bergische Universität Wuppertal
• 2005 - 2008 Head of the center for educational research and teacher education at Wuppertal University
• Since April 1,2008 on leave, Director of the Department of Educational Governance at the German Institute for International Educational Research in Frankfurt am Main
• Married since 1970, three children: Wibke (1976), Wendelin (1978), Benedikt (1985)

Current and key activities

School organisation and development, educational planning, geographical aspects of the education system, teacher research, the situation of educational science and educational research

Types of Teacher Co-operation and Perception of Demands at All-day schools

Jun.-Prof. Dr. Oliver Böhm-Kasper/ Prof. Dr. Cornelia Gräsel/ Prof. Dr. Horst Weishaupt

The central aim of the research project is to compare the workload and demands of teachers at all-day and half-day schools. We use a theoretical model for this purpose, which has already been empirically tested in previous studies. We will particularly examine the role teacher co-operation plays, both with regard to co-operation with other teachers and with other groups of professionals or persons in general, as regards their experience of workload and stress. A quantitative assessment is conducted as a longitudinal study with two points in time of measurement, including a standardised panel interview of teachers and further pedagogical staff on selected questions regarding school-related workload and stress, different forms and conditions of co-operation. The survey is conducted at fully binding all-day schools that have existed since before 2002 as well as half-day schools, in the federal state of North-Rhine Westphalia. Guided interviews will be applied in selected schools in a qualitative study. The statements on teacher workload/demands and co-operation that have first been generated from contextual analysis and aggregation will be thus rendered more concrete and validated (commu¬nicative validation). Furthermore, the interviews serve as preliminary studies for developing instruments for the assessment of content and quality of co-operation across professions.

Funding: Federal Ministry of Education and Research
Duration: 1/2008 -12/2009

Regional Socio-economic Conditions and Choice of School: the Example of Primary Schools in Wuppertal / School Choice Decisions at the Primary Level

Prof. Dr. Kerstin Schneider/ Prof. Dr. Horst Weishaupt/Dr. Claudia Schuchart

The new school legislation in the federal state of North-Rhine Westphalia (NRW) brings an end to primary school districts – in the city of Wuppertal, this takes place in 2008. From now on, parents are free to choose among the primary schools in the area. The project assesses in how far parents make active decisions regarding the choice between the general public primary schools and recognised confessional schools (public Protestant and Catholic primary schools) and opt for another than the school that is actually in charge.  We assume that the abolition of school districts will bear no strong effects because parents have already been able to enforce a decision for another primary school than the one officially in charge. Parents with an awareness of educational issues and whose own educational background is above average are more likely to enforce the educational ideas they have in mind for their children than those parents who are less educated and whose economic status will more likely make them accept the nearest available primary school. We can thus assume that the parental acceptance of the respective primary school in charge varies across the urban area of Wuppertal following regional differences in the social structure of the population.

The official school statistics do not deliver any information regarding the social structure of pupils – they only make statements regarding the nationality and religious belief, which are used to deduct the social status. Therefore, population statistical data are used as well as the school statistical data and aggregated to the primary school districts where possible, in order to assess social conditions for the primary school districts. It is then necessary to assess the students’ data by they area of residence. We will then conduct interviews with parents in order to assess conditions of school choice, both regarding primary schools as well as the secondary school options. We assume that parental choice is subject to an analysis of benefits and costs.

Funding: German Research Foundation
Duration: 3/2008 – 2/2010 (a second phase is projected)

Testing the Capacities of Official Data and Improving their Structures Within the Framework of Constructing school-related Social Indices/ School-related Indices

Prof. Dr. Horst Weishaupt

This project aims to assess possibilities of constructing social indices for small scopes in order to prepare regularly assessed official data in a way that allows researchers to develop school specific indices that are practicable and valid for research. The planned projects will link data for small scopes with data from official school statistics and secondary data which will be prepared as a consistent record. Several data sources and procedures will then be applied to calculating social indices for schools in Dortmund and the district of Coesfeld, and evaluated against findings from interviews conducted at the respective schools. The project is conducted in co-operation with the office for data processing and statistics of the federal state of North-Rhine Westphalia and three higher education institutions.

Funding: Federal Ministry of Education
Co-operation partner:

• LDS NRW / Research data centre of statistical offices of the federal states (Kurt Imhäuser/PD Dr. Jörg-Peter Schräpler)
• Dortmund University – Institute School Development Research (IFS) (Prof. Dr. Wilfried Bos)
• ZEFIR – Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in the Ruhr Area - Ruhr-University Bochum (Prof. Dr. Klaus Peter Strohmeier)

Duration: November 2007-July 2008