COE Faculty Profile

Dr. Wolfgang Althof
Teresa M. Fisher Endowed Professor of Citizenship Education
Division of Educational Psychology, Research and Evaluation

Email: althofw@umsl.edu
Office: 411 Marillac Hall
Phone: (314) 516-6818

Education

M.A. (Education) 1978, University of Hamburg, Germany (“Diplom-Pädagoge”)
Ph.D. (Education) 1990, University of Fribourg, Switzerland (“Dr. phil.”)
Habilitation (Science of Education), 2002, Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg, Germany (“Dr. phil. habil.”)

Background

Since January 2005, Wolfgang Althof serves as the Teresa M. Fischer Professor of Citizenship Education. Prior to coming to UM-St. Louis he was at in the Department of Education, University of Fribourg, Switzerland, from 1984-2004. He was a Visiting Scholar at the Harvard University Graduate School of Education in 1995-96. Dr. Althof taught university courses at the University of Fribourg, the University of Bern, the Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, and the Zurich College of Special Education.

Dr. Althof’s research experience includes the development of social and moral reasoning; longitudinal studies of moral action; the development of structures of argumentation and discourse; studies in professional morality (“Teachers' Ethos as Positive Attitude, Commitment, and Justice”); democracy and education in Schools; changes in individual conceptions of personal and societal values and morality in East and West Germany after the liquidation of the German Democratic Republic; values transmission in intergenerational relationships, and prevention of right-wing extremism and ethnic violence in schools. For the last 15 years, his focus has been on moral/character development and citizenship education in school-wide programs called "Just and Caring School Communities" (mostly on the elementary school level) and on their contribution to school and staff development. All of his research utilizes a triangulation of (quantitative and qualitative) methods and a triangulation of perspectives. - Dr. Althof is the co-author (with Fritz Oser) of “Moralische Selbstbestim-mung” (Moral Autonomy; 1992, 4th edition 2001), a monograph on moral development and education that has become probably the most widely used textbook (concerning these issues) in German and Swiss Higher Education programs.

Teaching Interests

Civic/citizenship education
Approaches to democratic schooling
Comparative studies of democracies
Development of social, moral, and political reasoning and action
Intersection of character education and civic education
Qualitative Research in the Social Sciences

Research Interests

Effectiveness of participatory civic education programs
Programs that integrate civic/citizenship and character education
Inclusion in schools
Multi-aged and multi-grade schooling
Sources and processes of social, moral, and political learning/development
School/staff development
Peer mediation
Multi-aged and multi-grade schooling

Teaching Experience

Undergraduate courses taught: Developmental Psychology; Development and Education in Adolescence; Sociology of Education; Interaction and Communication in Educational Processes; Moral Development and Education; Basic Issues in Education; Qualitative Research in the Social Sciences.

Graduate courses taught: Intercultural education; Democracy and Education: John Dewey; History of the Cognitive-Developmental Approach; Theories of Socialization; Seasons of Life: Life-Span Development; Anti-Pedagogy; Collective Education; Pedagogical Issues in the Teaching Profession; Child Abuse; Violence in Schools; History of Childhood; Theories of „Bildung“/ Philosophy of Education; Social Cognition and Social Learning; Qualitative Research Methods (advanced); Democratic Education: Shaping schools into Just and Caring Communities.

Regular Courses and Workshops (Continuing Education) on: Negotiation Strategies; Moral Development and Education; Assessment of Moral Judgment Level; Just Community Programs; Introduction to Issues and Theories in Education; Qualitative Research Methods.


Representative Publications

Books

• Althof, Wolfgang (1990). Moralische Entwicklung, sozialkognitive Entwicklung, Ich-Entwicklung. Theorieelemente zur Ontogenese menschlicher Handlungsfähigkeit. (Moral development, socio-cognitive development, ego development. Theoretical elements in the ontogenesis of human action competence.) Fribourg, Switzerland: Author’s Edition (published version of doctoral dissertation).
• Oser, Fritz / Althof, Wolfgang (1992). Moralische Selbstbestimmung. Modelle der Entwicklung und Erziehung im Wertebereich (630 pp.). (Moral autonomy. Models of development and education in the values domain.) Stuttgart: Klett-Cotta. (4th edition: 2001.) (Edition in Basque language: Autodeterminazioa Morala. Hezkuntza eta garapen ereduak balioen eremuan. Bilbao: Servicio Editorial de la Universidad del País Vasco 1998.)

Articles (Selection)

• Althof, Wolfgang (1984). Moralerziehung in der Schule: Theorie und Praxis Ein Literaturbericht. (Moral education in schools. A literature review.) In: Arnim Regenbogen (Ed.), Moral und Politik - Soziales Bewußtsein als Lernprozeß (pp. 148-212). Köln: Pahl-Rugenstein.
• Althof, Wolfgang / Garz, Detlef (1986). Moralische Zugänge zum Menschen - Zugänge zum moralischen Menschen. Schlußbetrachtungen (pp. 327-362). (Moral approaches to man – approaches to moral man [human being]. Concluding remarks.) In: Oser, Althof & Garz (see below),.
• Althof, Wolfgang / Zutavern, Michael (1986). Politische Erziehung auf entwicklungspsychologischer Basis: Curriculare Überlegungen. (Political education on developmental grounds. Curricular considerations.) Koblenz: Veröffent-lichungen des Instituts für Mediendidaktik.
• Althof, Wolfgang (1987). Politische Sozialisation versus entwicklungsorientierte Moralerziehung? Inhaltliche und strukturale Aspekte. (Political socialization vs. developmental moral education? Content-related and structural aspects.) Zeitschrift für Pädagogik, 21. Beiheft, 51-93.
• Berkowitz, Marvin W. / Oser, Fritz / Althof, Wolfgang (1987). The development of socio-moral discourse. In: W.M. Kurtines & J.L. Gewirtz (Eds.), Social Interaction and Sociomoral Development (pp. 322-352). New York: Wiley.
• Althof, Wolfgang / Garz, Detlef (1988). Sind Frauen die besseren Menschen? (Are women better human beings?) Psychologie Heute, 15 (9), 58-65.
• Althof, Wolfgang / Garz, Detlef / Zutavern, Michael (1988). Heilige im Urteilen, Halunken im Handeln? Lebensbereiche, Biographie und Alltagsmoral. (Pious reasoning, villainous deeds? Action domains, biography, and the moralities of everyday life.) Zeitschrift für Sozialisationsforschung und Erziehungssoziologie, 8, 162-181.
• Althof, Wolfgang (1990). Selbstkonzept. (Self concept.) In: H.J. Sandkühler (Ed.), Europäische Enzyklopädie zu Philosophie und Wissenschaften. Hamburg: Meiner.
• Althof, Wolfgang / Zutavern, Michael (1991). Politisches Handeln und moralische Entwicklung. (Political action and moral development.) In: Michael Walther (Ed.), Widerstand im Gesamtblick II. Lesebuch für Handlungswillige. St. Gallen.
• Lind, Georg / Althof, Wolfgang (1992). Does the Just Community Experience Make a Difference? Measuring and Evaluating the Effect of the DES Project. Moral Education Forum, 17 (2), 19-28.
• Althof, Wolfgang / Oser, Fritz (1993). Editorial. Professional morality: ethical dimensions of teaching. Journal of Moral Education, 22, 197-200.
• Oser, Fritz / Althof, Wolfgang (1993). Trust in advance: on the professional morality of teachers. Journal of Moral Education, 22, 253-275.
• Althof, Wolfgang (1994). Just Community - Die Schule als Gemeinschaft gestalten. (Developing schools towards a just community.) Schweizer Schule, 10, 21-31.
• Althof, Wolfgang (1995). Teachers' moral judgment and interpersonal problem-solving in the classroom. In: R. Olechowski & G. Svik (Eds.), Experimental Research in Teaching and Learning (pp. 271-294). Bern etc.: Peter Lang.
• Oser, Fritz / Althof, Wolfgang (1996). Probleme lösen am „Runden Tisch“: Pädagogischer Diskurs und die Praxis von „Just Community“-Schulen. (Problem solving at a round table: Pedagogical discourse and the practice of Just Community schools.) In: Beiträge zur Lehrerbildung, 14 (1), 29-42.
• Etienne, Jean-Bernard / Althof, Wolfgang (1997). Eine Schule, in der sich Kinder wohl fühlen (zus. m. Jean-Bernard Etienne). (A school where kids feel at home [have a high sense of well-being].) In: Die Neue Schulpraxis, 67(5), 31-36.
• Althof, Wolfgang / Oser, Fritz (1998). Zusammenhänge zwischen Ethosdimensionen und Niveau der moralischen Urteilskompetenz. (Relationships between dimensions of professional morality and level of moral reasoning competence.) In: F. Oser, Ethos – die Vermenschlichung des Erfolgs (pp. 153-180). Opladen: Leske + Budrich.
• Oser, Fritz / Althof, Wolfgang (2001). Die Gerechte Schulgemeinschaft: Lernen durch Gestaltung des Schullebens. (The just school community. Learning by forming/arranging/influencing life in schools.) In: W. Edelstein, F. Oser & P. Schuster (Hrsg.), Moralische Erziehung in der Schule. Entwicklungspsychologie und pädagogische Praxis (pp. 233-268). Weinheim und Basel: Beltz.
• Althof, Wolfgang (2003). Implementing „Just and Caring Communities“ in Elementary Schools: A Deweyan Perspective. In: Wiel Veugelers & Fritz K. Oser (Eds.), Teaching in Moral and Democratic Education (pp. 153-172). Bern etc.: Peter Lang.

Editorships

• Oser, Fritz / Althof, Wolfgang / Garz, Detlef, eds. (1986), Moralische Zugänge zum Menschen - Zugänge zum moralischen Menschen. (Moral approaches to man – approaches to moral man [human being].) München: Kindt.
• Althof, Wolfgang (1992). Guest Editor of the „Moral Education Forum“: Special Issue „Three Paths Toward a Just Community: The German Experience“, 1992, 17 (2).
• Althof, Wolfgang / Oser, Fritz (1993). Guest Editors of the „Journal of Moral Education“: Special Issue „Professional Morality: Ethical Dimensions of Teaching“, 1993, 22 (3).
• Althof, Wolfgang (1995). Editor of: Lawrence Kohlberg, Die Psychologie der Moralentwicklung. (The psychology of moral development.) Frankfurt/M.: Suhrkamp 1995 (Paperback edition in 1996).
• Althof, Wolfgang / Baeriswyl, Franz / Reich, K. Helmut, eds. (1999). Autonomie und Entwicklung. (Autonomy and Development.) Festschrift zum 60. Geburtstag von Fritz Oser. Fribourg (CH): Freiburger Universitätsverlag.
• Althof, Wolfgang, ed. (1999). Fehlerwelten. Vom Fehlermachen und Lernen aus Fehlern. (Worlds of mistakes. On making mistakes and learning from them.) Opladen: Leske + Budrich.
• Garz, Detlef / Oser, Fritz / Althof, Wolfgang, eds. (1999). Moralisches Urteilen und moralisches Handeln. (Moral reasoning and moral action.) Frankfurt/M.: Suhrkamp Althof, Wolfgang / Garz, Detlef (2000). Editors of: Lawrence Kohlberg, Die Psychologie der Lebensspanne. (The psychology of life span development.) Frankfurt/M.: Suhrkamp.
  
  Translations
  
  Translation (from English to German) of numerous articles and the books „The Psychology of Moral Development” (Lawrence Kohlberg) and „Raising Good Children” (Thomas Lickona).
  
  
  Recent Grants / Projects (former position in Switzerland)
  
  Implementing Just and Caring School Communities in Elementary and Secondary Schools in Switzerland. Funded by regional authorities and school districts, these programs focus both on character development and on educating for democratic citizenship by providing manifold opportunities for moral and political learning, e.g. when students jointly search for fair rules, regulations, and conflict solutions and are involved in deliberative discourses. Because the programs have a strong participatory aspect, students also become familiar with democratic procedures and make experiences with expressing standpoints not only in small groups but also in big assemblies. Longitudinal data sources include student, teacher, and parent questionnaires, interviews with students and teachers, and video observations in different settings (classroom, school meetings, school-wide activities). Some additional schools were advised in Germany and Northern Italy. Wolfgang Althof was Principal Investigator on most of these projects (and each on the elementary school level). – Several of the schools were honored for their Just Community programs by awards from regional or national institutions. For example, in November 2004 a school in the Canton of Solothurn received the “Pestalozzi Award for Child-friendly Communities”, donated by UNICEF Switzerland, the National Swiss Teacher Association, as well as Pro Juventute and the Childrens’ Lobby, two national organizations for the rights and concerns of the youth.
  
  “Preventing Right-Wing Extremism and Ethnic Violence in Schools.” Funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation, we have developed intervention programs for secondary schools that are currently implemented and will be evaluated regarding both process quality and student outcomes. Professor Fritz Oser is the Project PI.
  
  “What they believe is transmitted: Why children and adolescents form value alliances with their grandparents and have value conflicts with their parents.” In this research project, also funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation, we address the question: Do grandparents “transmit” values to their grandchildren in ways that are qualitatively different from how parents transmit values? We develop and test a theory of Double Teaming that posits that parents tend to tend to “transmit” values (in the social, moral, political, religious and personal domains) in conflictual ways, whereas grandparents form alliances with their grandchildren and engender values through emotional bonding. Questionnaires are administered to three generations of 120 families (n=460). A partial sample (n=96) will be interviewed in order to illuminate the nuances of variables such as attachment, developmental task, sociological ambivalence and the understanding of values. Finally, in the third layer, we video-tape a subset of the interviewed families in male, female and mixed groups in order to systematically codify the process of intergenerational modes of discourse (negotiation, value alliance, conflict, etc.) around value-laden issues. – Co-Project PI with Drs. Fritz Oser and Ronnie Blakeney.
  

• Adult Education/Development
• Child Development
• Cognition
• Cognitive Processes/Development
• Discourse Processes
• Educational Reform
• Elementary Schools
• Ethics
• Faculty Development
• High Schools
• Middle Schools
• Moral and Character Education
• Peer Interaction/Friendship
• Politics
• Principals
• Professional Development
• School/Teacher Effectiveness
• Self-Concept
• Social Context
• Social Processes/Development
• Staff Development
• Teacher Education/Development