Rate My Professor Karine Verschueren

Karine Verschueren is a full professor in the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences at KU Leuven, where she is affiliated with the research unit School Psychology and Development in Context. She serves as director of the interuniversity Expertise Center TALENT. Her research program investigates how youth's academic, motivational, and psychosocial development is influenced by the interplay of social relationships and interactions at school—with teachers and peers—and individual child characteristics. This work encompasses both general student populations and those with specific educational needs, particularly high-ability students. Verschueren conducts comparative, large-scale, long-term longitudinal studies to explore the generality and specificity of these developmental processes, with special emphasis on adjustment during educational transitions, which are critical periods for identifying maladjustment or fostering positive change. Her methodological approach includes a variety of techniques such as observations, surveys, peer nominations, and daily diary measures.

A hallmark of Verschueren's scholarship is its strong connection to educational and clinical practice. She actively translates research findings into practical applications through public lectures, books, newsletters, blogs, a digital platform, and e-learning modules. Additionally, she collaborates with schools, educators, and support services to identify impactful research questions and develop interventions. Key publications include 'Teacher–child relationships from an attachment perspective' (Attachment & Human Development, 2012, with H.M.Y. Koomen), 'High Cognitive Ability and Mental Health: Findings from a Large Community Sample of Adolescents' (Journal of Intelligence, 2023, with J. Lavrijsen), 'The Role of Psychosocial and Contextual Factors in Academic Talent Development: In Search of General and Specific Developmental Processes' (Journal for the Education of the Gifted, 2024, with A.N. Rinn), and 'Representation of self and socioemotional competence in kindergartners: differential and combined effects of attachment to mother and to father' (Child Development, 1999, with A. Marcoen). She received the Marie-Christiane Maselisprijs for the Samen-Spel project in 2014. Verschueren is a member of the KU Leuven Child & Youth Institute and the KU Leuven Educational Research Institute, and she supervises numerous research projects on topics such as teacher support, cognitive challenge, and student engagement.