Jana Groß Ophoff

Jana Groß Ophoff is a Professor of Educational Sciences at the Vorarlberg University of Education in Austria, where she has held a professorship since February 2021. She leads the Institute for Secondary Education and is deeply involved in multiple research initiatives focused on educational leadership, teacher development, and evidence-based educational practice. Her work spans international collaborations across Germany, Austria, and the UK, with significant contributions to school leadership monitoring and research-informed educational practice.

Her primary research interests center on educational assessment, school leadership development, and the integration of research evidence into educational practice. She investigates how teachers and school leaders engage with data and research findings to improve educational outcomes, with particular focus on research literacy among educators and the development of evidence-informed school cultures. Her work bridges theoretical frameworks with practical implementation in educational settings, examining both structural and motivational factors that influence educational improvement.

Analysis of her recent publications reveals a consistent focus on school leadership challenges, particularly through the Schulleitungsmonitor (school leadership monitor) projects in Germany and Austria. Her research demonstrates growing interest in data literacy among educational professionals and the practical implementation of research findings in schools. She has increasingly focused on international comparative perspectives, examining how different educational systems approach evidence-based practice and leadership development.

Professor Groß Ophoff serves as Principal Investigator for multiple significant research projects, including the Schulleitungsmonitor Österreich (2022-2024), several initiatives under the "Bildungsinnovation braucht Bildungsforschung" funding program (2023-2026), and the International Research Network "Research-Informed Educational Practice" (2024-2026). Her work has received funding from the Austrian Federal Ministry for Education, Science and Research, the Wübben Foundation, and international organizations including the World Education Research Association.

She is an active member of numerous professional organizations including the Austrian Society for Research and Development in Education (ÖFEB), the German Society for Empirical Educational Research (GEBF), the German Society for Educational Sciences (DGfE), the German Psychological Society (DGPs), the American Educational Research Association (AERA), and the International Congress for School Effectiveness and Improvement (ICSEI), where she serves as Network Coordinator for the Data Use Network.