Prof. Dr. Yvonne Anders appointed new director at DIPF

“Our research will continue to focus on individual child development, but will place greater emphasis on the role of educational contexts such as family, daycare, and school,” says Yvonne Anders, explaining the focus of her department at DIPF, which is being renamed “Child Development in Educational Contexts”. The focus is on children in the first ten years of life, with her personal emphasis on the age group up to six years. Key areas of interest include questions of educational quality, diversity and equal opportunities, the professional skills of early childhood professionals, the transition from daycare to primary school, and digitalization. Based on quantitative approaches, the department will continue to combine various research methods. In addition to high theoretical standards, the transfer of knowledge and exchange between research on the one hand and practice, politics, and the public on the other will play a central role – for example, through practical materials, continuing education, services for parents, digital programs, and policy consulting.

The DIPF and Goethe University Frankfurt are delighted with the new appointment:

"With Yvonne Anders, the DIPF gains an outstanding scientist whose research provides significant insights for understanding child development. Her perspective on early childhood education processes and their social significance is a key component in advancing the strategic development of the DIPF and opening up new avenues for equal educational opportunities from the very beginning," emphasizes Prof. Dr. Kai Maaz, Executive Director of the DIPF.

“I warmly congratulate Yvonne Anders on her appointment! As director at DIPF and jointly appointed professor at Goethe University, she will make a decisive contribution to further deepening the long-standing and successful cooperation between the two institutions in the field of educational research,” said Prof. Dr. Enrico Schleiff, President of Goethe University.

Yvonne Anders' career

Yvonne Anders comes from the University of Bamberg, where she was a professor of Early Childhood Education and Care and co-director of the Learning Environments pillar of the National Educational Panel Study (NEPS). There, she was also responsible for numerous scientific projects in the field of early childhood development and the professional work of daycare centers. The scientist is looking forward to her new role: “Both nationally and internationally, the DIPF is known for its interdisciplinary and equally fundamental and application-oriented view of education. With innovative research, I would like to contribute to further advancing this comprehensive approach.” Before working in Bamberg, Anders was a professor of Educational Science with a focus on Early Childhood Education and Care at the Freie Universität of Berlin. The doctor of psychology habilitated in the subjects of educational psychology and empirical educational research. Among other things, she is a member of the Standing Scientific Commission on Education Policy (SWK) of the Standing Conference of Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of the federal states in Germany (KMK) and of the expert commission “Protecting Children and Young People in the Digital World” by the German Federal Government. 

Research activities at DIPF

Professor Anders is a member of the steering committee of the scientific consortium of the Bremen Initiative to Foster Early Childhood Development (BRISE) and is also responsible for a BRISE subproject on the quality of interaction in families and daycare centers. She will continue these activities in her new role, thereby strengthening DIPF's ongoing contribution to the initiative. Yvonne Anders' leading involvement in the evaluation of the state program “SprachFit” in Baden-Württemberg will now also be carried out from DIPF. As director at the Leibniz Institute, the researcher succeeds Prof. Dr. Marcus Hasselhorn, who held this position for around 18 years and drove forward milestones in the institute's development. These included the establishment of the “IDeA” (Individual Development and Adaptive Education of Children at Risk) research center, which investigates development and learning processes in children at risk of educational disadvantage. The coordination and laboratories of IDeA will remain a key task of the DIPF department under the new leadership. Marcus Hasselhorn is also handing over his seat on the Scientific Board of the IDeA Center to Yvonne Anders. Other major projects of the department, such as participation in the research center DYNAMIC, which investigates new approaches to the diagnosis and treatment of mental illness using dynamic network models, will also be continued.

Contact

New Director: Prof. Dr. Yvonne Anders, +49 (0)69 24708-450,

Press contact: Philip Stirm, DIPF, +49 (0)69 24708-123,
Dr. Dirk Frank, Goethe University, +49 (069 798-13753, ZnJhbmtAcHZ3LnVuaS1mcmFua2Z1cnQuZGU=