Ridwan Maulana

Originally from Indonesia, I came to Groningen in 2006 to pursue a Masters study in Educational Effectiveness and Improvement in our faculty. In 2012, I completed a PhD study on teacher-student relationship during the first year of secondary education in the Netherlands and Indonesia. Afterwards, I entered the professorship trajectory via the tenure track system and I am currently an (adjunct) professor in educational sciences, chair comparative learning environments.

My daily responsibilities include research, teaching and management/
organization. My research focuses on investigating teaching quality across education systems, including its conceptualization, measurement, correlates, antecedents, characteristics, and its impact on teacher and student outcomes. Additionally, I teach courses and supervise PhD students and postdoctoral fellows. I have also been a leader and member of various research and education commissions and associations as well as an editor for several international journals.

In my work I aim to reduce educational inequality and narrowing the gap in educational outcomes locally (in the Netherlands) and internationally by generating empirical knowledge about effective learning environments for teachers and students and designing continuous professional development. This supports the preparation of highly-educated future generations with a global outlook.

Ever since I joined the faculty as a master’s student, I always feel that I found my place to work here. The working environment is supportive. The director(s) and my direct colleagues are great people who share not only similar vision in our work but they are also fun to work with. The faculty also promotes diversity, equity, and inclusion which makes it an ideal place to work. I particularly enjoy the small and charming Hortus garden, surrounded by beautiful buildings combining the old and the modern ones.