Katharina Maag Merki

Prof. Dr. Katharina Maag Merki serves as Professor of Educational Science with focus on Theory and Empirical Research on Educational Processes in Schools at the University of Zurich's Institute of Educational Science. Her work centers on improving educational quality through rigorous theoretical and empirical research on school processes, with particular emphasis on reducing educational disadvantages and promoting equal opportunities.

Maag Merki's research interests focus on the theoretical and empirical analysis of students' educational processes in school, with special attention to self-regulated learning. She investigates how students plan, monitor, and modify their learning when goals aren't met, examining the conditions that enable optimal educational processes and their effects on student outcomes. Her work spans school quality and development research, educational governance, and strategies for reducing educational disparities.

Her recent publication trends reveal a strong emphasis on collaborative approaches to school improvement, particularly examining teacher collaboration networks and their impact on student achievement. She has conducted significant research on how schools adapt to challenging situations, including the pandemic, with a focus on routine regulation strategies and brokerage in educational change. Her work increasingly integrates longitudinal and mixed-methods approaches to understand the dynamic nature of school development.

• UZH Mentoring Award 2021 - Recognizing outstanding doctoral supervision and support for young researchers
• Highly Commended Paper Award from the 2015 Emerald Literati Network Paper Awards for Excellence for her work on intervention studies in school improvement

Maag Merki actively mentors doctoral students across multiple institutions, supervising projects examining academic optimism in teaching development, self-regulation training for new teachers, and strategies for promoting self-regulated learning among students. Her research portfolio includes significant SNSF-funded projects such as 'The Art of Managing Oneself as a Teacher' and 'Regulation of Routines in Teaching Development' (R2), demonstrating her leadership in securing competitive research funding.

She leads the Chair for Theory and Empiricism of School Educational Processes, coordinating a research team focused on understanding educational processes in schools through multiple methodological approaches. Her work examines not only the actions of teachers, parents, and students but also their motivations, goals, and strategies for adapting to new challenges, with the ultimate goal of using research findings to improve concrete school practice and the education system.