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The publication of the PISA 2000 findings drew public attention to two problematic areas of the German educational system. Firstly the poor average performance of German students in an international comparison, and secondly the unequal distribution of educational success in terms of socio-demographic factors, in particular social background. The extent of the reactions to the PISA findings inevitably led to an increased focus on teachers, in view of their central role in the school system. They have responsibility for the key tasks of the school, namely transmitting knowledge, skills, and values to the students. In addition, by giving grades and certificates and making recommendations, they also carry out the other key function of schools, namely that of evaluation and selection, by means of which access to the next levels of education and occupational positions are regulated. Teachers are not only the key agents, but are at the same time also the major cost factor; personnel expenses for schools account for some 80 per cent of the entire budget for public education in Germany. It is hardly surprising, therefore, that teachers are regarded as being particularly important for the quality of the educational system. This intuitive assumption has meanwhile been backed up by empirical studies (cf. Section 1.2.1 in the thesis). Of course, teachers differ in their ability to increase the knowledge of school students. They therefore also influence the extent of the two problematic areas mentioned above. If a country does not recruit able teachers then the average quality of the teaching will be poorer and, other things being equal, so too will the educational opportunities of the students. If the variance in the ability of teachers is great and if they select systematically unequal into different schools or tracks, then there is an increased probability that this will generate unequal educational opportunities. When looking for ways of achieving improvements in student performance and the socio-demographic distribution of success, an obvious approach is therefore to concentrate on the teacher. Against this background, my aim in this publication-based thesis was to analyse the empirical evidence on the importance of teachers in the two problem areas. Starting from the fact that the quality of teaching also depends on the recruitment of suitable trainees, the two empirical papers in the first part of the thesis consider questions of the (self)selection for teacher education. The papers in the second part of the thesis address the unequal distribution of educational success. Two papers consider gender inequality in education, and the extent to which a feminisation of the teaching profession may contribute to the less successful educational outcomes for boys in comparison with girls. A further paper addresses social inequalities at the transition to secondary education and the role of the recommendations given by primary school teachers. The five empirical chapters are framed by an introductory chapter and a concluding chapter. In the introductory chapter, I provide an overview of the state of research on the influence of teachers on student’s advances. I then consider the size of teacher effects. I also explain which specific, observable teacher characteristics are related to student progress. Finally I discuss how teaching skills develop and how they can be improved. The dissertation concludes with an outlook on future research questions which evolve from the previously reported research.

The publication of the PISA 2000 findings drew public attention to two problematic areas of the German educational system. Firstly the poor average performance of German students in an international comparison, and secondly the unequal distribution of educational success in terms of socio-demographic factors, in particular social background. The extent of the reactions to the PISA findings inevitably led to an increased focus on teachers, in view of their central role in the school system. They have responsibility for the key tasks of the school, namely transmitting knowledge, skills, and values to the students. In addition, by giving grades and certificates and making recommendations, they also carry out the other key function of schools, namely that of evaluation and selection, by means of which access to the next levels of education and occupational positions are regulated. Teachers are not only the key agents, but are at the same time also the major cost factor; personnel expenses for schools account for some 80 per cent of the entire budget for public education in Germany. It is hardly surprising, therefore, that teachers are regarded as being particularly important for the quality of the educational system. This intuitive assumption has meanwhile been backed up by empirical studies (cf. Section 1.2.1 in the thesis). Of course, teachers differ in their ability to increase the knowledge of school students. They therefore also influence the extent of the two problematic areas mentioned above. If a country does not recruit able teachers then the average quality of the teaching will be poorer and, other things being equal, so too will the educational opportunities of the students. If the variance in the ability of teachers is great and if they select systematically unequal into different schools or tracks, then there is an increased probability that this will generate unequal educational opportunities. When looking for ways of achieving improvements in student performance and the socio-demographic distribution of success, an obvious approach is therefore to concentrate on the teacher. Against this background, my aim in this publication-based thesis was to analyse the empirical evidence on the importance of teachers in the two problem areas. Starting from the fact that the quality of teaching also depends on the recruitment of suitable trainees, the two empirical papers in the first part of the thesis consider questions of the (self)selection for teacher education. The papers in the second part of the thesis address the unequal distribution of educational success. Two papers consider gender inequality in education, and the extent to which a feminisation of the teaching profession may contribute to the less successful educational outcomes for boys in comparison with girls. A further paper addresses social inequalities at the transition to secondary education and the role of the recommendations given by primary school teachers. The five empirical chapters are framed by an introductory chapter and a concluding chapter. In the introductory chapter, I provide an overview of the state of research on the influence of teachers on student’s advances. I then consider the size of teacher effects. I also explain which specific, observable teacher characteristics are related to student progress. Finally I discuss how teaching skills develop and how they can be improved. The dissertation concludes with an outlook on future research questions which evolve from the previously reported research.

Zeitschrift für Soziologie 39 (2010) 3, S. 202-214, In Anlehnung an die klassische Arbeit von Boudon (1974) gibt es zwei Ursachenkomplexe für soziale Bildungsungleichheit: primäre Effekte, die sich im Zusammenhang von sozialer Herkunft und Schulleistungen ausdrücken, und sekundäre Effekte, die schichtspezifische Übergangsneigungen widerspiegeln, selbst bei gleichen schulischen Leistungen. Die Abschätzung der relativen Bedeutung von primären und sekundären Effekten ist das Ziel einer wachsenden Anzahl internationaler Beiträge. Die vorliegende Untersuchung möchte hierzu einen Beitrag leisten, indem sie erstens die relative Bedeutung der Effekte am Übergang auf das Gymnasium in Deutschland abschätzt und zweitens untersucht, inwieweit die bundeslandspezifische Ausgestaltung der Grundschulempfehlung die relative Bedeutung von primären zu sekundären Effekten beeinflusst. Mit bundesweiten Längsschnittdaten des DJI Kinderpanels der Jahre 2002 bis 2005 lassen sich primäre und sekundäre Effekte durch eine neue kontrafaktische Dekompositionsanalyse zerlegen. Es wird gezeigt, dass sekundäre Effekte 59 Prozent der Bildungsungleichheit am Übergang auf das Gymnasium ausmachen. Besonders bedeutsam sind sie bei Kindern im mittleren Notenbereich. Weiterhin finden sich Hinweise, dass der relative Erklärungsbeitrag von sekundären Effekten größer ist, wenn Eltern frei entscheiden können und geringer, wenn die elterliche Wahlfreiheit durch eine verbindliche Grundschulempfehlung eingeschränkt wird. Theoretische und bildungspolitische Konsequenzen werden diskutiert. (DIPF/Orig.), According to Boudon’s (1974) well-known micro-theoretical model of educational transitions, inequality in educational opportunity stems from two sources: primary effects – which are all those that are expressed by the association between social origin and academic performance; and secondary effects – which are propensities toward transition differing between families of different social origin – even at the same level of school performance. The evaluation of the relative importance of primary and secondary effects is the aim of a growing body of literature. This article contributes to this line of research first by evaluating the relative importance of these two effects at the transition to upper secondary schools in Germany and second by assessing whether the differences in translation regulations between the various German federal states (Bundesländer) affect the relative importance of these effects. Employing nationwide panel data (years 2002-2005) collected by the German Youth Institute (DJI), primary and secondary effects are decomposed through counterfactual analysis. Results indicate that secondary effects are the main source of educational inequality, accounting for 59% of total inequality. These effects are especially strong for children with medium (as opposed to very high or very low) grades. Furthermore, the relative importance of secondary effects ends to be higher when parents are allowed to choose a secondary school track, and lower when the parents’ freedom of choice is restricted by teachers’ recommendations. Theoretical and policy implications are discussed. (DIPF/Orig.)

The correlation between electronic and crystal structures of 1T−TiSe2 in the charge-density wave (CDW) state is studied by x-ray diffraction in order to clarify basic properties in the CDW state, transport properties, and chirality. Three families of reflections are used to probe atomic displacements and the orbital asymmetry in Se. Two distinct onset temperatures are found: T_CDW and a lower T* indicative for an onset of Se out-of-plane atomic displacements. T* coincides with a DC resistivity maximum and the onset of the proposed gyrotropic (chiral) electronic structure. However, no indication for chirality is found. The relation between the atomic displacements and the transport properties is discussed in terms of Ti 3d and Se 4p states that only weakly couple to the CDW order., Physical Review Research, 3 (2), ISSN:2643-1564

Physical review research 3(2), L022003 (1-6) (2021). doi:10.1103/PhysRevResearch.3.L022003, The correlation between electronic and crystal structures of $1T−TiSe_{2}$ in the charge-density wave (CDW) state is studied by x-ray diffraction in order to clarify basic properties in the CDW state, transport properties, and chirality. Three families of reflections are used to probe atomic displacements and the orbital asymmetry in Se. Two distinct onset temperatures are found: $T_{CDW}$ and a lower $T^∗$ indicative for an onset of Se out-of-plane atomic displacements. $T^∗$ coincides with a DC resistivity maximum and the onset of the proposed gyrotropic (chiral) electronic structure. However, no indication for chirality is found. The relation between the atomic displacements and the transport properties is discussed in terms of Ti $3d$ and Se $4p$ states that only weakly couple to the CDW order., Published by APS, College Park, MD