Fani Lauermann

Fani Lauermann is a Professor of Empirical Educational Research and Educational Psychology at the University of Bonn, where she is affiliated with the Bonn Center for Teacher Education (BZL). She also serves as a Co-opted Member of the Department of Psychology at the University of Bonn and maintains a research affiliation with the Institute for Research on Education and School Development (IFS) at TU Dortmund University. Her work bridges educational psychology and teacher education through empirical research on motivation and learning processes.

Dr. Lauermann earned her Ph.D. from the Combined Program in Education and Psychology at the University of Michigan (2008-2013) following her Diplom-Psychologist degree at the University of Bonn, Germany (2001-2006). Her academic journey includes postdoctoral research in the Gender and Achievement Research Program (GARP) at the Institute for Social Research at Michigan.

Her research program centers on three interconnected domains: academic motivation and achievement, educational trajectories and occupational choices, and teacher motivation and teaching quality. She frequently applies expectancy-value theory to understand motivational processes across educational contexts, with particular attention to gender differences in academic choices. Recent methodological approaches include longitudinal designs, multilevel analyses, and cross-cultural comparisons, often examining how students' and teachers' beliefs influence academic trajectories and outcomes in math-intensive study programs.

Analysis of her recent publications (2022-2025) reveals a strong focus on gender disparities in educational choices, particularly in STEM fields, as well as the role of comparative processes in forming academic self-concepts. Her work increasingly examines teacher self-efficacy, responsibility beliefs, and their impact on classroom processes, with growing attention to online learning environments and their implications for student motivation and belonging.

Dr. Lauermann has held significant editorial positions including Associate Editor for Learning and Instruction (2018-2021) and editorial board membership for Journal of Educational Psychology, Journal of Learning and Instruction, Contemporary Educational Psychology, and Educational Psychologist. She served as elected coordinator for EARLI SIG-08 "Motivation and Emotion" from 2017-2021, representing members from over 30 countries.

Dr. Lauermann advises several graduate students who have received recognition for their work, including Daria Benden (Paul R. Pintrich Award winner) and Sirui Wan (Graduate Student Research Excellence Award recipient from Division C at AERA 2022). Her research group collaborates with international scholars, notably Eccles, Wigfield, and Bailey on expectancy-value theory research, and with German colleagues at TU Dortmund on the FAIR research profile area.

Dr. Lauermann's research contributes to understanding how motivational processes operate across different educational contexts, with implications for teacher education and classroom practice. Her work continues to advance theoretical models of motivation while providing practical insights for educators seeking to support students' academic development across domains.