James LOPARICS

James LOPARICS serves as Professor for All-Day Education at the University of Teacher Education Vienna's Institute for Continuing Education, teaching primary/leisure education courses while providing school development consulting across Viennese all-day schools. His institutional role bridges academic research and practical school improvement through direct engagement with educators and policymakers.

Academic Background

• Doctorate in Educational Science, University of Rostock (2018-2022)
• Master's in Education and Sustainability, University of Rostock (2015-2017)
• Bachelor's in Educational Science, FernUniversität Hagen (2011-2014)
• University Course in School Development Consulting, PH Vienna (2018-2020)
• Advanced Psychotherapy Training, Austrian Society for Behavioral Therapy (2020-present)

Loparics' research centers on transformative education frameworks addressing epochal crises like climate change, with critical examinations of economization in school quality systems and innovative approaches to leisure pedagogy. His work consistently connects theoretical constructs with practical school contexts, particularly through Viennese case studies on interdisciplinary cooperation in all-day settings.

His 15 most recent publications (2019-2024) reveal three dominant trends: (1) Development of indicators for sustainable development education (SDG 4.7) amid measurement challenges; (2) Critical analysis of quality management systems (QMS/SQR) as manifestations of educational economization; and (3) Theoretical advancement of leisure pedagogy as neglected policy domain. These threads converge in his signature focus on 'epochal key problems' as quality criteria for all-day schooling.

He actively supervises master's theses in primary education programs and contributes to the ÖKOLOG-Team's environmental certification (Umweltzeichen) initiatives, developing sustainability curricula for Viennese schools while presenting research at international conferences including ECER and WERA Extended Education forums.