I am assistant professor at the Child Development & Education Sciences department of the UvA. My research focuses on the social development of youth in ethnically diverse societies. I study how social and societal competences (knowledge, attitudes, and behavior) are related to characteristics of the social contexts of youth, to aspects of citizenship education, and to adolescents' peer relations. I am specifically interested in differences in how these competences develop in ethnically diverse versus ethnically homogeneous school classes, in differences between ethnic groups, and in the role of intra- and interethnic peer relations.
I am also the coordinator of the Dutch part of the "International Civic and Citizenship Education Study 2016" (ICCS 2016). The aim of this international comparative research project is to document citizenship competences (knowledge, behavior, and attitudes) of 13 to 14-year old students, and civic and citizenship education in secondary schools.