School Quality and Teacher Education (SQTE)
How England's most disadvantaged schools became outstanding — 40+ school leaders interviewed in London and beyond; findings now shaping Austrian school development.
Prof. Dr.
Roland Bernhard
Full Professor of Education — School Development, Leadership & Leadership Culture · KPH Vienna/Lower Austria
Visiting Researcher, University of Oxford · Visiting Professor, University of Vienna
I study how schools become places where young people don't just achieve, but flourish — with character, resilience and a love of learning. And I work every day to bring that evidence into practice, in classrooms across Austria and Europe.
At a glance
Research with reach
100+
scholarly articles — 38 of them peer-reviewed
18
books & journal special issues authored or edited
130+
talks & keynotes in 15 countries
€2m+
in competitive third-party funding (co-)acquired
85+
media features on his research — ORF, Kurier, Die Presse, Der Standard …
5,000+
participants in his MOOCs & online courses
Plus: 118 university courses at more than ten universities in three languages, work with 55 different co-authors, 35+ supervised master's and doctoral theses, 20+ academic conferences organised — and advisory work for schools, foundations, ministries and the Government of Wales.
About
Bridging rigorous research and everyday school practice
Roland Bernhard trained as a teacher of history and Spanish — a five-year Magister degree, the Austrian equivalent of a master's — and studied theology alongside. His doctorate, completed with distinction, and his habilitation (University of Salzburg, 2019) are both works of educational research; the habilitation is the German-speaking world's post-doctoral qualification for a full professorship, in effect a second, more extensive doctorate. As a Visiting Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Oxford (2018–2020) he led the Austrian Science Fund project School Quality and Teacher Education, investigating how London's once-failing schools became some of the best in England — and it was there, in Oxford, that he first encountered character education and character-based leadership, the themes that have shaped his work since. After a professorship in history education at the University of Vienna, he was appointed to the chair of School Development, Leadership & Leadership Culture at KPH Vienna/Lower Austria in 2021 — one of Austria's two largest universities of teacher education, serving around 2,000 schools. There he also leads the transdisciplinary Department of Potential Development, Gifted Education and Character Education.
His work centres on a conviction: education succeeds when it forms the whole person. Working from neo-Aristotelian virtue ethics, he founded the Austrian Character Initiative in 2022 and co-founded the European Character and Virtue Association (ECVA) — bringing the international research conversation on character and virtues, from the Jubilee Centre in Birmingham to the Oxford Character Project, into German-speaking education. In 2026 his essay “Persönlichkeitsbildung als Zukunftsthema” (character education as the theme of the future) was sent to every teacher in Austria through the teachers' union's Education Community.
What sets his profile apart is the reach into practice: events and training courses with thousands of school leaders and teachers, close work with school leadership teams, co-founding schools and kindergartens and writing pedagogical concepts that are implemented — and, alongside academia, many hundreds of talks in family and community settings, especially for fathers, on parenting, marriage and questions of meaning. He speaks from experience: he is married and a father of six.
In brief
- Born
- 1980, Heiligenkreuz am Waasen (AUT)
- Personal
- Married, six children
- Habilitation
- University of Salzburg, 2019
- Stations
- Graz · Salzburg · Oxford · Vienna · KPH Vienna/Lower Austria
- Academic profiles
- Google Scholar · ORCID
- Working languages
- German, English, Spanish
- Certifications
- FranklinCovey trainer · AI consultant (AI Training Institute, 2026)
Research
Projects that move school systems
From London's strongly improving schools to a twelve-country European study and AI for character education: internationally networked, competitively funded, built for impact.
100+ publications, documented on Google Scholar and ORCID.
TEPACE
Teachers' and Parents' Perspectives on Character Education in Europe — initiated and led by Roland Bernhard with 40+ researchers from twelve countries; funded by the Porticus Foundation.
Kompass School of Character, Vienna
Scientific lead of the mixed-methods evaluation of Vienna's new proof-point school of character in the city's most disadvantaged district.
Bounce Back
Developing a life-skills pedagogy for resilience and character strengths in Austrian and Hungarian schools, with the European Office of the Vienna Education Directorate — a project within the Austrian Character Initiative.
The Austrian Character Initiative
Research-based initiative making character education accessible to Austria's schools — 35+ publications, evaluations, teacher education and hundreds of classroom materials.
KISU
How artificial intelligence is changing school and teaching development in Austria — an interview study with school leaders and system stakeholders.
What the research shows
01A whole-school focus on the quality of teaching measurably increases students' progress of attainment.School Effectiveness and School Improvement, 2024 — with the University of Oxford
02Austrian teachers want schools to develop character — and say clearly what they need for it.Journal of Moral Education, 2024 — Austrian TEPACE study
03Parents and teachers across Europe share the priority of character education — a mandate documented in twelve countries.TEPACE · British Journal of Educational Studies
04Religiosity is a documented resource for resilience and mental health — with practical implications for schools.Bernhard 2024, with a foreword by Peter Stippl
Selected publications
Character education & flourishing
2024Austrian secondary school teachers’ views on character educationKropfreiter, Bernhard & McDermott · Journal of Moral Education — the Austrian TEPACE study; Evelyn Kropfreiter completed her doctorate within it, supervised by Roland Bernhard. Full text →
—The European twelve-country TEPACE studyTEPACE consortium · British Journal of Educational Studies — teachers’ and parents’ perspectives on character education across Europe, with a large international author team.
2024Challenges and Opportunities for Character Education in AustriaBernhard · in: Character Education in Europe (McGraw-Hill) — what Austria needs now: anchoring character education systematically in teacher education, school development and policy rather than leaving it to chance. Full text →
2024Religiosity, resilience and mental health: why Christian schools have one resource moreBernhard, with a foreword by Peter Stippl · SQTE Research-to-Practice Working Paper — why Christian schools have one resource more: international evidence on religiosity, resilience and mental health, taken up by Austrian media. Full text → · Media coverage →
2025Psychosocial health, character strengths and life skillsBernhard & Hanyka (eds.) · special issue of SchulVerwaltung — numerous contributions on character education, including the presentation of the Austrian Character Initiative. Full issue → · Bernhard 2025: The Character Initiative →
2024Gratitude for learners’ mental healthBernhard · SchulVerwaltung — how school development can bring the character strength of gratitude into everyday school life. Full text →
2021Learning history for lifeBernhard · Geschichte für das Leben lernen (Wochenschau) — 50 in-depth interviews with history teachers: what matters most to them is the relevance of the subject for students’ present lives; critical thinking emerges as a bridge between subject learning and character education. Full text →
School improvement & leadership
2024A focus on quality of teaching in schools increases students’ progress of attainmentBernhard, McDermott, Hasenhüttl, Burn & Sammons · School Effectiveness and School Improvement — with the University of Oxford. Full text →
2025Uncompromisingly practice-orientedBernhard, Cadman, Hohengasser & Marton · R&E-SOURCE, open access — how school leaders implement instructional development with deliberate practice; insights from the London study, Teach For Austria and KPH. Full text →
2024Onboarding of new teachers – ideas for the quality manualBernhard, Marton & Pfingstner · Vienna — a practical onboarding template for school leaders, developed with state-prize-winning principal Doris Pfingstner, building on the SQTE project. Full text →
2026Bounce Back: strong for school, strong for lifeBernhard & Cataldo-Schwarzl · guideline modules for resilience- and character-strengths-oriented school development, implemented in Austrian and Hungarian schools within the EU project Bounce Back. Full text →
2023Planning and evaluating the contracting phase of school development consultingBernhard & Fede · Schulpraxis entwickeln (SpE), open access — practical instruments for the contracting phase of school development consulting. Full text →
Research methods
2019How to use mixed-methods and triangulation designsKelle, Kühberger & Bernhard · History Education Research Journal — widely cited methodological introduction to mixed-methods research. Full text →
Peer-reviewed in leading journals; edited volumes with McGraw-Hill; papers at the Jubilee Centre's Oxford conferences, AERA, EARLI, BERA and ECER; commissioned review for the Government of Wales.
From research to practice
The Austrian Character Initiative
Founded by Roland Bernhard in 2022 and carried by a growing team at KPH Vienna/Lower Austria together with partners across the country, the Austrian Character Initiative makes evidence-based character education accessible to schools — connecting research, teacher education, school leadership, policy and public debate. What began as an idea has become a movement:
1.400+school leaders reached
4.000+course participants
35+publications
100sof classroom materials in use across Austria
On the basis of this work, the Education Directorate of Lower Austria has made “Leadership and Character Education” the annual theme for all schools of the province in 2026/27 — with Roland Bernhard as its leading academic voice, workshops for the school leaders of every school type, and a workbook published in three editions for primary and secondary levels. With Jörg Schulte-Altedorneburg he translated the Jubilee Centre's internationally leading Framework for Character Education into German; with Heidi Burkhard he worked on implementing the Leader in Me programme (FranklinCovey's 7 Habits) in Austrian schools.
How the initiative came about and what it does — Bernhard (2025), full text →
Schools should be places where not only young people, but also teachers and school leaders, deliberately develop character and virtues — courage, gratitude, honesty, respect, self-discipline and practical wisdom. — from the vision of the Austrian Character Initiative
Sought beyond the school system
A commissioned review of initial teacher education for the Government of Wales; expert contributions at the European Forum Alpbach alongside Austria's Education Minister; a keynote for the Future Dialogue on Education with the education spokespeople of all parliamentary parties; presentations to the boards of the Austrian Innovation Foundation for Education; contributions to party think-tanks on anchoring character education in schools; and regular participation in the Austrian Education Forum, where seventy experts — the Education Minister among them — spend twenty-four hours on the future of the school system. Audiences range from CEO conferences to youth clubs.
Events and training courses with thousands of school leaders and teachers across Austria — character education has reached the mainstream.
The next chapter
Three frontiers I am building on
The institutional home for this work: a Centre for Character Education at KPH Vienna/Lower Austria, growing out of the Austrian Character Initiative — a hub linking research, teacher education, schools and policy for the German-speaking world.
I
Character education for mental health
Around half of all young people develop a clinically significant mental disorder before the age of 25. Character strengths such as gratitude are among the best-documented protective factors — this frontier turns that evidence into programmes, a MOOC and a university certificate course for schools.
II
Character education against disadvantage
For children facing adversity, school is often the only sanctuary of stability. Building on the London findings: proof-point schools of character in Austria's most disadvantaged areas — starting with the Kompass school in Vienna.
III
Agentic AI for flourishing schools
Developing agentic AI for character education itself — and using it at scale to improve Austria's schools: supporting quality development and relieving school leaders of administrative burden. Technology in the service of human flourishing.
This is being built with partners — universities, foundations and school authorities. I would be glad to talk.
Start a conversationVoices
What participants say
“Your seminar was probably the most valuable of my entire studies […] I was truly able to take away an incredible amount from every one of your presentations.”
“There is no higher award for your talk than this letter of thanks — a sign that you touch people with what you say.”
“Prof. Bernhard is a gifted storyteller and a competent researcher. I received many new ideas […] and I was truly personally touched.”
“This course was not only academically well-founded and didactically appealing but also deeply relevant to real life. […] Not just ‘nice to know’, but ‘essential to live’.”
“Your seminar was the last course of my bachelor's degree in history, and I can say it was the best course of my entire studies.”
“So kind — truly one of the nicest people I've ever met. He is incredibly enthusiastic about what he teaches, and it's directly contagious!”
“I have never had such a motivating instructor as you, and I therefore really learned a lot from you.”
“It was by far the best online seminar in this COVID semester.”
From course and training evaluations, 2019–2025 · Read all 230+ voices →
Public scholarship
Research in the public conversation
85+ media features on his research — from the main evening news to multi-page portraits. Making the science of character and school improvement accessible to the public is part of the work.
ORFÖ1KurierDie PresseDer StandardKronen ZeitungKleine ZeitungNewsDie FurcheSalzburger NachrichtenTiroler Tageszeitung
06/2025“A question of character”Kurier – on the Character Initiative
06/2025Feature on character education in schoolsORF 2 – „Wien heute"
06/2025“Game changer in education policy: experts call for more character education in schools”OÖ Nachrichten
08/2024“Time for character”Sonntagsblatt – full-page feature
Three press conferences, one message
Since 2023, three press conferences have carried this research into Austria’s media. Two made the case for character education and mental health, both jointly with the Austrian Federation for Psychotherapy (ÖBVP): 2023 on the mental health of children and young people (reported from ORF.at to Kronen Zeitung), and in June 2025 — in the run-up to the ECVA Conference in Vienna — “Persönlichkeitsbildung wirkt!” (“Character education works!”), with Rector Ulrike Greiner, ÖBVP President Barbara Haid and Gary Lewis, former President of the Association for Character Education. A third, at the Concordia Press Club in 2023, presented the SQTE study on school improvement and leadership — how England’s most disadvantaged schools became outstanding. The 2025 echo alone, documented by the university’s media monitoring, spans more than 40 reports, from APA, Kurier and Tiroler Tageszeitung to ORF 2’s “Wien heute”. The cooperation with the ÖBVP has since grown into ongoing joint projects for schools.
3press conferences since 2023 — two with the Federation for Psychotherapy
40+reports on the 2025 press conference alone (university media monitoring)
10m+combined print circulation and online readership of the covering outlets
The ECVA Conference 2025, Vienna
Europe's character education community, gathered in Vienna
In June 2025, the conference of the European Character and Virtue Association came to Vienna: 130 researchers, educators and policymakers from 23 countries explored the question “What makes a life of flourishing — and how can education support it?”. Roland Bernhard organised the conference together with Martin Brestovanský (University of Trnava); the Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues — founded by ECVA President James Arthur — co-hosted it.
Roberta Metsola, President of the European Parliament, opened the conference with a video greeting. Speakers included Andreas Schleicher (OECD), Michael Stevenson, Liz Gulliford, and the English school leaders Gary Lewis — former President of the Association for Character Education — and Chris Clyne, whose keynote on character education as a tool for school improvement drew many participants from the ministries. Ongoing exchanges — for example with Agustín Porres, who works with education ministries worldwide on character education — carry the conversation on.
Click to enlarge — more impressions to follow.
Networks & partners
University of Oxford
Jubilee Centre, Birmingham
Oxford Character Project
ECVA (Co-founder & Board)
EULEAD (Vice-President)
University of Salzburg
University of Vienna
UCL Press (HERJ Editorial Board)
Teach For Austria
Education Directorates of Vienna & Lower Austria
Georg-Eckert-Institut
Publications
Books
Six of 18 authored or edited books and special issues — from research monographs to practical workbooks.
Leadership und Charakterbildung
Challenges and Opportunities for Character Education in Europe
Character-Based Leadership
Sternstunden der Charakterstärken
Geschichte für das Leben lernen
Von PISA nach Wien
Complete list: 100+ articles, 38 peer-reviewed —
CV (PDF) →
Teaching & professional development
Teaching that changes practice
118 university courses in three languages, 35+ supervised theses, 5,000+ MOOC participants — and continuing education programmes that fill within weeks.
Teaching & research at more than ten universities
KPH Vienna/Lower Austria
University of Vienna
University of Salzburg
University of Graz
University of Innsbruck
University of Oxford
University of Teacher Education Salzburg
University of Teacher Education Vorarlberg
University of Teacher Education Burgenland
Theological-Philosophical University Heiligenkreuz
New
University certificate course: School-based character education for mental health
Led by Roland Bernhard at KPH Vienna/Lower Austria, in cooperation with the Austrian Federal Association for Psychotherapy (ÖBVP). Participants develop a supervised, evaluated practice project at their own school.
6 ECTS100 % online1 SemesterStarts February 2027€ 700
Register (until 1 Jan 2027) More information (PDF)
Free MOOC
MOOC: Character education for mental health
The open online course on character education for mental wellbeing — free for everyone on iMooX, developed with a team at KPH Vienna/Lower Austria. More than 5,000 people have taken part in his MOOCs and online courses.
iMooXFree of chargeOpen to all
Start the course →
Click to enlarge — photos from earlier years to follow.
EULEAD Summerschool
The annual summer school for Austria's school leaders, initiated and led by Roland Bernhard — in 2026 with 100+ leaders from education, business and civil society, and a registration cap for the first time. Lectures from 2024 were broadcast by BildungsTV.
2026“Leading with character — making others great”with Prof. Matthias Ehrhardt (Boston) · Lilienfeld Abbey
2025Character strengths, AI and leadershipStift Lilienfeld
2024Leadership for mental health, resilience and character strengthsStift Lilienfeld
2023Character — Spirit — LeadershipStift Göttweig
2022School quality, leadership and trustStift Göttweig
2021School leadership and school qualityStift Göttweig
Browse the programmes of the past editions:
Summerschool 2026 — programme (8 pages)
Summerschool 2025 — programme (6 pages)
Summerschool 2024 — programme (6 pages)
Summerschool 2023 — programme (10 pages)
Summerschool 2022 — programme (9 pages)
A resource page on academic writing for students is in preparation.
News
“Making others great” — EULEAD Summerschool 2026
The sixth EULEAD Summerschool brought 100+ leaders from education, business and civil society to Lilienfeld Abbey.
Global webinar on the Character Initiative
80+ researchers from four continents joined the talk “The Austrian Character Initiative and Three Pressing Frontiers” in the international Flourishing Student series.
Co-hosting the ECVA Conference 2026
KPH Vienna/Lower Austria co-hosts the international conference “Bridging the Knowledge–Action Gap in Character Development”.
Contact
Let's talk
Funders & partnersProjects, proposals and cooperation on character education, leadership and AI for schools.
Schools & school authoritiesTraining, school development support, materials and in-house seminars.
Media & keynotesInterviews, statements and keynote requests.