Dr. Pascal Alscher is a psychologist and education researcher with a focus on civic literacy, political education, and school development. He is currently a Research Fellow at the College for Social Sciences and Humanities of the UA Ruhr and a research assistant at the Institute for School Development Research (IFS) at TU Dortmund University, where he has been involved in major national projects such as the National Educational Panel Study (NEPS).
He completed his doctorate in psychology at TU Dortmund University in May 2024 with a dissertation on the conceptualization and measurement of civic literacy in adolescence. His academic background includes a Master’s in Political Science and Public Administration from Leiden University and a Bachelor’s in Public Governance across Borders, studied jointly at the University of Münster, the University of Twente, and Seoul National University.
FFP 2025 Project
During his time as a Future Fellow, Dr. Pascal Alscher will explore how young people become active and engaged participants in democratic life, and how schools and educational systems can help support that development. His research focuses on civic competence in adolescence, a formative period when political values, knowledge, and behaviors begin to take shape, especially as young people near voting age.
Drawing on a civic competence model he developed during his PhD, currently implemented in Germany’s National Educational Panel Study, he takes an integrative approach that includes knowledge, motivation, attitudes, and volition. His goal is to better understand how different education systems conceptualize, measure, and foster these components of democratic engagement.
He will be hosted by Dr. Laura Wray-Lake at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), an expert in youth civic engagement whose work offers rich ground for exchange and collaboration. Together, they will examine how civic education is implemented in different social and political contexts, and what can be learned from cross-national perspectives to strengthen democratic participation among the next generation.
Latest Activites
Some of the project’s key activities are presented below:
- On October 6, Dr. Pascal Alscher was welcomed at the UCLA campus by Prof. Laura Wray-Lake (host) and Shelly Brooks (administrative staff)
- On October 8, Dr. Alscher engaged with international scholars at the UCLA Fall International Scholar Social at the Dashew Center. The Dashew Center aims to serve the entire UCLA community by promoting the values of creating global connection, international understanding, and cultural sensitivity.
- From October 13 onward, Pascal Alscher held weekly meetings with graduate students to coordinate literature research for his paper project, as well as meetings between his host professor, Laura Wray-Lake, and the applicant.
- On October 20, Dr. Pascal Alscher met with Dr. Christine Ong, research scientist at the Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, & Student Testing (CRESST), to talk about ongoing projects in the field of civic education research.
- On October 28, Alscher participated in a talk about „Protecting Democracy and the 2025 Redistricting Battles“ with former California Attorney General and Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Xavier Becerra
- On November 6, Alscher will present his work on Civic Literacy and Political Engagement in Secondary Schools by sharing insights from his research at the UCLA School of Public Affairs.