Dr. Magdalena Fellner

Magdalena Fellner has been a senior researcher at INCHER at the University of Kassel since March 2024, focusing research topics on students and graduates. 

From 2019 to 2024, she was a Senior Scientist and Course Director at the Department of Higher Education Research at the University for Continuing Education Krems. From 2016 to 2022, she worked as a lecturer and research assistant at the Department of Educational Research at the Johannes Kepler University Linz.

Her academic background includes a Master's in Social Policy and Social Research at University College London and a Diploma in Teacher Education at the University of Vienna. She completed her doctoral studies ("passed with distinction") at the Johannes Kepler University Linz in 2023. As part of her dissertation entitled „Studierfähigkeit als soziales Konstrukt. Einschränkung und Erweiterung kollektiver Möglichkeitsräume durch zugrunde liegende Verständnisse“, she analysed and deconstructed the concept of “ability to study” from a historical-comparative perspective. In doing so, she analysed the effects of different understandings and rationalities of social differentiation at universities on the participation opportunities of social groups. For this work, she was awarded the Ulrich Teichler Prize for outstanding dissertations in higher education research in 2024.

Magdalena is particularly interested in analysing the diverse connections between education, educational institutions and social inequality. Her research areas include social permeability at universities, equal opportunities in higher education, the recognition of prior learning and the social engagement of students. 

ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3724-7579 

Fellner, Magdalena (2026): ‘Independent learning’ in higher education: examining the dynamics of autonomy and collaboration. Journal of Further and Higher Education [Online First], 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/0309877X.2026.2711358.

Fellner, Magdalena; Knop, Julian (2026): Hochschulbildung im Strafvollzug auf dem Prüfstand. Zwischen Bildungsanspruch und institutionellen Grenzen. Forum Strafvollzug 75 (2), 99–103.

Petrik, Flora; Lessky, Franziska; Weiß, Sabine; Bartok, Larissa; Fellner, Magdalena (2026): Finding their way: becoming a researcher in higher education studies. Higher Education Research & Development 45 (6), 1834–1849. https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2026.2634267.

Fellner, Magdalena (2025): Der außerordentliche Studienstatus an Österreichs Hochschulen: Genese, Dynamiken und Konsequenzen am Beispiel der öffentlichen Universitäten. nhz 13 (1), 7–10. https://doi.org/10.37942/nhz202501000701.

Fellner, Magdalena (2025): Entwicklungsfähig: Studierfähigkeit als dynamisches Konstrukt. Forschung & Lehre 32 (4). Online https://www.forschung-und-lehre.de/heftarchiv/ausgabe-4/25, checked on 9/1/2026.

Fellner, Magdalena (2025): Pitfalls in applying intersectional frameworks to social inequality: a systematic review of research on first-generation students. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal [Online First]. https://doi.org/10.1108/EDI-09-2024-0417.

Fellner, Magdalena (2025): Problematiken und Fallstricke der Validierungsverfahren vor dem Hintergrund sozialer Ungleichheitsverhältnisse. In: Magdalena Fellner, Attila Pausits, Thomas Pfeffer, Stefan Oppl (Eds.): Anerkennung und Validierung non-formalen und informellen Lernens an Hochschulen. Orientierungen in einem komplexen Feld. Münster, New York: Waxmann (Studienreihe Hochschulforschung Österreich, Band 7), 133–149. https://doi.org/10.25656/01:33292.

Fellner, Magdalena (2025): Universities as Elite Allies: Disclosing Global Patterns of Inequality in Tertiary Education across Time. In: Christopher Wimmer, Tobias Rieder (Eds.): Global Inequality. Rethinking Sociology in the 21st Century. Leiden, Boston: Brill (Studies in Critical Social Sciences Series, 329), 250–281. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004733626_011.

Fellner, Magdalena (2025): (Un-)bewusste Reproduktion sozialer Ungleichheiten in der wissenschaftlichen Weiterbildung. Lehrgangsleitungsspezifische Handlungsstrategien zwischen Exklusion und Inklusion. Zeitschrift Hochschule und Weiterbildung (ZHWB) (1), 20–29. https://doi.org/10.11576/zhwb-7618.

Fellner, Magdalena; Pausits, Attila; Pfeffer, Thomas; Oppl, Stefan (Eds.) (2025): Anerkennung und Validierung non-formalen und informellen Lernens an Hochschulen. Orientierungen in einem komplexen Feld. Münster, New York: Waxmann (Studienreihe Hochschulforschung Österreich, Band 7). https://doi.org/10.25656/01:33292.

Fellner, Magdalena; Rameder, Paul; Resch, Katharina; Knapp, Mariella; Fahrenwald, Claudia; Slepcevic-Zach, Peter (2025): Institutional status and support for campus-community partnerships in Austrian higher education: exploring faculty perceptions of implementation and challenges. Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship 14 (1), Article 71. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13731-025-00542-4.

Fellner, Magdalena (2024): Studierfähigkeit als soziales Konstrukt. Eine gesellschaftskritische Perspektive. Frankfurt am Main: Campus.

Lessky, Franziska; Freudhofmayer, Sabine; Fellner, Magdalena; Resch, Katharina (2024): Student civic engagement practices from an equity perspectiv: Case studies from Austian universities. In: Cathy Stone, Sarah O'Shea (Eds.): Research handbook on student engagement in higher education. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar, 302–3015.