Heidi Keller

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Heidi Keller (born December 8, 1945 in Talling , Hunsrück ) is a German developmental psychologist . Until her retirement, she was head of the development and culture department in the human sciences department at the University of Osnabrück and the research center for development, learning and culture at the Lower Saxony Institute for Early Childhood Education and Development (nifbe). She is the director of Nevet, the Greenhouse of Context-Informed Research and Training for Children in Need at the Paul Baerwald School of Social Work and Social Welfare at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

Life

Keller studied psychology at the University of Mainz with the minor subjects zoology, physiology, philosophy and sociology. From 1971 to 1978 she was Albert Wellek's research assistant there . In 1975 she received her PhD in biology. In 1978 she was a guest at the chair for medical psychology at the University of Mainz. From 1979 to 1984 she was an assistant at the TH Darmstadt . In 1982 she took over the chair for developmental psychology at the University of Augsburg . In 1984 she qualified as a professor and received the professorship for development and culture at the University of Osnabrück. In 2008 she also took over the management of the research group on culture, learning and development at the Lower Saxony Institute for Early Childhood Education and Development (nifbe). Since 2007 she has been the director of Nevet at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem .

Area of ​​Expertise

Heidi Keller deals with the interplay between biology and culture. Their thesis is that development represents the interface between biology and culture . In particular, her multicultural research program is about reconstructing development paths that are understood as culture-specific solutions for universal development paths. Culture is understood as the sum of actions and behaviors as well as their representations shared by people who live in similar socio-demographic contexts. In cross- cultural comparative longitudinal studies , Keller was able to demonstrate that the cultural messages of everyday life influence the speed, sequence and expression of development tasks.

She is very committed to the realization of multiculturalism in the day care center. Based on scientific findings about different educational and developmental ideals in different cultures, she conducts workshops and seminars with the aim of replacing judgment with curiosity. In terms of educational policy, she takes the view that diversity is a basic human condition and a valuable resource.

Key publications

  • H. Keller, YH Poortinga and A. Schölmerich (Eds.): Between culture and biology . Cambridge University Press, 2002.
  • H. Keller (Hrsg.): Handbuch der Kleinkindforschung . 3rd edition, Huber, Bern 2003. (Handbook of Infancy Research, 3rd edition)
  • H. Keller: Socialization for competence. Cultural models of infancy . In: Human Development . Volume 46, No. 5, 2003, pp. 288-311.
  • PM Greenfield, H. Keller, A. Fuligni and A. Maynard: Cultural pathways through universal development . In: Annual Review of Psychology . Volume 54, 2003, pp. 461-490.
  • H. Keller, RD Yovsi, J. Borke, J. Kärtner, H. Jensen and Z. Papaligoura: Developmental consequences of early parenting experiences. Self regulation and self recognition in three cultural communities . In: Child Development . Volume 75, No. 6, 2004, pp. 1745-1760.
  • H. Keller: Cultures of Infancy . Erlbaum, Mahwah, NJ 2007.
  • H. Keller: Everyday life in children . Springer, Heidelberg 2011.
  • J. Borke and H. Keller: Culture-sensitive early childhood education . Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 2014.
  • H. Keller and K. Bad (Eds.): The Cultural Nature of Attachment . MIT Press, New York 2017.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Keller, Heidi
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German developmental psychologist
DATE OF BIRTH December 8, 1945
PLACE OF BIRTH Talling , Hunsrück