News

On September 26, 2025, the field of educational research lost one of its most influential and distinguished voices: David C. Berliner passed away in the United States at the age of 87. His intellectual vision, critical acumen, and unwavering commitment to public education shaped educational research, practice, and policy for more than half a century. His passing represents a profound loss to the international educational research community.
David C. Berliner was Regents’ Professor Emeritus of Education at Arizona State University. Over the course of his distinguished career, he taught and conducted research at numerous renowned institutions, including the University of Arizona, the University of Massachusetts, Stanford University, and universities in Australia, the Netherlands, Spain, and Switzerland. His scholarly reputation was matched by his international presence and influence.
David Berliner was elected to both the National Academy of Education and the International Academy of Education, and served as president of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) as well as the Division of Educational Psychology of the American Psychological Association (APA). His leadership in these professional communities reflected his enduring commitment to strengthening educational research as both a scientific and a public endeavor.
His contributions to scholarship were wide-ranging and deeply impactful. His work helped to shape key areas of educational research, particularly teacher education and school reform. Among his internationally acclaimed publications are the standard textbook Educational Psychology (six editions, with Nathaniel L. Gage), The Manufactured Crisis (with B. J. Biddle), 50 Myths and Lies That Threaten America’s Public Schools (with Gene V. Glass), and Collateral Damage: How High-Stakes Testing Corrupts American Education (with Sharon Nichols). Through these and many other writings, he persistently challenged unfounded policy claims, defended the professional expertise of teachers, and advocated for evidence-informed educational practice.
For his lifetime achievements, David Berliner received numerous prestigious awards, including the Brock International Prize in Education, the AERA Award for Distinguished Contributions to Education, and the E. L. Thorndike Award of the APA. These honors attest to the breadth and depth of his influence as a researcher, educator, and public intellectual.
We had the privilege of collaborating with David Berliner over many years. He was an incisive thinker, a generous colleague, and a deeply humane presence in every scholarly exchange. Over the past decade, he served on the International Research Advisory Board of the PLATO (Positive Learning in the Age of Information) project, where his concept of warranted knowledge in the digital age played a decisive role in shaping the theoretical foundations for a framework of positive learning. He also introduced a powerful perspective through his idea of modeling for seeking truth in educational policy classrooms. This vision continues to shape the goals of our DFG-funded research group CORE (Critical Online Reasoning in Higher Education), whose International Research Advisory Board he joined in 2023. His emphasis on exemplary modeling as a pedagogical strategy for fostering truth-seeking has significantly enriched our work on cultivating COR skills.
David Berliner was far more than a distinguished scholar. He was a wonderful person, a cherished friend, a generous mentor, and a thoughtful interlocutor. Through his tireless engagement, intellectual openness, and warmth, he inspired generations of researchers. Until his very last months, he remained actively involved in multiple projects, leaving a lasting imprint on our work and on the field of educational research as a whole.
David Berliner’s passing leaves a deep and painful void - professionally and personally. We will remember him with profound gratitude, admiration, and affection. His legacy will continue to inspire educational researchers around the world for many years to come.
Olga Troitschanskaia
on behalf of colleagues in the PLATO Project and the CORE Research Group

The main assessments of the winter term 2023/24 have concluded. Analyses are now under way.

The PLATO program as well as the newly established DFG research unit CORE (FOR 5404) mourns the passing of our brilliant colleague and principal investigator Prof. Dr. Uwe Schmidt, who left us much too soon on December 18, 2023, at the age of 63. [...]