Sarah Straub is a political scientist and researcher based at the Demokratiezentrum Wien. She also works as a researcher and lecturer at the University of Vienna, where she is affiliated with the Centre for Teacher Education and focuses on civic and citizenship education. Her academic work centers on democracy education, inclusive citizenship education, and participation among young people.
She studied International Development and completed her doctorate in political science, with research emphasizing inclusive citizenship and mentoring approaches in education. Alongside her teaching, she contributes to research projects and publications on democratic engagement, inclusion, and civic participation in formal and non-formal education.
Her work focuses on strengthening political literacy, critical thinking, and inclusive participation, her research helps equip young people to evaluate information, resist misinformation, and engage constructively in democratic processes. This contributes to the capacity of societies to withstand polarization, disinformation, and anti-democratic narratives by fostering informed, reflective, and active citizens from an early age.
Relevant publications
Straub, Sarah (2025): Inclusive Citizenship Education in Teacher Education through Interaction and Active Relationship Building. In: Kenner, S., Kleinschmidt, M., Lange, D., Reichert, F., Schröder, C., (Hrsg.), Inclusive Citizenship: Interdisziplinäre Perspektiven auf Bürgerschaft und politische Bildung. Wiesbaden: Springer VS. 2025. p. 413-422.
Straub, Sarah/Metz, Corinna/Berger, Clara/Kierot, Lara/Lange, Dirk (2024): Wie sich Jugendliche Demokratie vorstellen: Eine Studie zur Didaktik der Politischen Bildung. Wiesbaden: Springer VS.
Lange, Dirk/ Straub, Sarah (2023) Demokratiebildung: Von der Theorie zur Praxis. In Kulhanek-Wehlend, G., Hofmann-Reiter, S., Knecht, H., Wagner, S., Wagner, O., Süss-Stepancik, E., Petz, R., (Hrsg.), Doing Democratic Education in School and University: Democratic Education als Aufgabe von Schule und Hochschule. (Forschungsperspektiven). Wien: LIT Verlag. p. 3-11.
Straub, Sarah (2022): Citizenship education as a relational practice. In: Biddulph, James/Rolls, Luke/Flutter, Julia (ed.): Unleashing Children’s Voices in New Democratic Primary Education. London: Routledge