Prof. Dr. Monika Oberle

Curriculum Vitae

From 2011 until 2024, Monika Oberle worked as Professor of Political Science/ Civic Education at the University of Göttingen (since 2014 as Full Professor). From October 2014 to April 2017 she was head of the Department of Political Science. She studied political science in Marburg, London and Berlin (achieving her Diploma at the Otto Suhr Institute of the Free University of Berlin), and from 2006 to 2011 she was a research assistant at Karlsruhe University of Education, where she completed her doctorate. At the Università per Stranieri di Perugia, Italy, she studied the Italian language and culture. For many years she worked as a trainer in extra-curricular, non-partisan civic education (target groups: school students and young adults).

Since 2018, Monika Oberle has been member of the scientific advisory board of the Federal Agency for Civic Education (bpb) (Chairwoman since January 2023) as well as member of the advisory board of the Stiftung Adam von Trott, Imshausen. Since 2023, she is also member of the scientific advisory board of the Museum Friedland and member of the General Assembly of the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung.

Since April 2024, Monika Oberle is working as Professor of Political Science/Civic Education at Goethe University Frankfurt (e-mail: oberle@soz.uni-frankfurt.de).

Positions in professional associations (selection):

2016-21: Chairwoman of the Society for Civic Education Didactics and Civic Youth and Adult Education (GPJE).
2017-2021: member of the executive board of the Society for Empirical Educational Research (GEBF)
2012-18: member of the executive board (2013-16 chairwoman) of the Political Science and Civic Education division in the German Political Science Association (DVPW)
2015-16: board member of the DVPW
2012-16: treasurer of the GPJE

Membership of other scholarly organizations:

Main areas of work (Selection):

Empirical Teaching and Learning Research

Civic Education about the European Union

Democracy Education

Education for Sustainable Development

(Digital) Game-Based Learning in Civics

Teacher Professionalization

School-Based & Extracurricular Civic Education

Further Positions:

Since 2016, Monika Oberle has been a member of the steering committee of the Schlözer Program Teacher Education, which is funded by the BMBF as part of the Quality Initiative Teacher Education.Schlözer Programm Lehrerbildung. From 02/2018 to 06/2019, she held the overall project management of the SPL according to the established rotation procedure and was responsible for the application for the 2nd funding phase.

From July 2020 to April 2021, she was the interim director of the Bundesfachstelle Linke Militanz (Federal Agency for Left-Wing Militancy), which is funded by the BMFSFJ in the "Demokratie leben!" program and also functions as a center of expertise on left-wing extremism: Project Website.

Information on ongoing and completed projects can be found on the Chair's website: