Research team
Expertise
My research expertise centres on academic optimism, a multidimensional framework comprising academic emphasis, trust in students and parents, and efficacy. I study its role in fostering positive student outcomes, particularly in diverse urban school contexts. Grounded in the broader discourse on equity and excellence in education, this research aims to strengthen the theoretical and empirical foundations of academic optimism while advancing its practical applications. This involves refining the measurement of both school and teacher academic optimism in primary and secondary education, understanding its variation across diverse contexts, and identifying strategies to foster its development as a key driver of school improvement. This work draws on attribution theory to examine how teachers' beliefs about the causes of student outcomes relate to academic optimism. It also situates the construct within broader research on school culture and school leadership. Beyond this core research line, my background includes experience in school and education policy, alongside twelve years of teaching experience in secondary education, grounding this work in classroom practice. I also train school leaders in translating academic optimism into their practice, and I am regularly invited as a (keynote) speaker, particularly in the context of compulsory education and higher education in Flanders, and occasionally in the Netherlands.