Prof. Dr. Charis Förster

Charis Förster was appointed professor for Theory, Empiricism and Childhood Education at the htw saar in 2007. In various roles within academic self-governance, she has shaped the profile of the Faculty of Social Sciences and has headed it as Dean since 2018. In cooperation with key players in the professional field, she is committed to the development of academic and part-time continuing education programs and courses of study, including the Continuing Education Center Saar (CEC Saar, the continuing education institution at the htw saar) and in the Institute for Childhood Education (Institut Pädagogik der Kindheit).  

Her research focuses on the quality of institutional education, care and upbringing in the field of childhood education, as well as the significance and promotion of children's language skills in the context of educational processes and trajectories. During her work at pädquis gGmbH (Berlin, Professor Dr. Wolfgang Tietze) she had the opportunity to prepare relevant projects from a professional and research methodological perspective in an application-oriented approach. In current research projects, including in cooperation with the Saarland University, she is investigating these topics as part of an interdisciplinary research team. Charis Förster was also a long-standing member of the research advisory board at the htw saar.

As the Federal Chairperson of the Pestalozzi-Fröbel Association (funded by the BMFSFJ), she is responsible for networking key players from politics, administration, education, qualification and practice in the field of childhood education. In addition to relevant publications, it is above all her participation in decentralized federal conferences and dialogue events that promote current interprofessional exchange.

Charis Förster studied psychology and theology in Leipzig and Berlin (degrees 1996, 1999) and completed her doctorate in 2003 with Prof. Dr. Ralf Schwarzer within the framework of a interdisciplinary research project (including with the Charité Berlin) on a topic from the field of health psychology.