Research
Maria oscillates as a social scientist deliberately in the tension-field between societal structures and individual spheres aiming to discover, optimise and develop opportunities for designing society on a common sense basis. In her projects she deals with theories of society as well as with socio-economic, political and social-pedagogical approaches.
Recently she analyses questions on structures and cultures of social organisations and their contribution to participation and social innovation, especially in times of marketization and activation. Additional research fields of her are processes of change in the Working Society and their consequences for Social Work as well as the role of Social Work in the interdisciplinary context of Sustainable Development. Her research is trans- and interdisciplinary orientated and related to regional, national and international contexts.
Empirically she uses qualitative, quantitative and audio-visual methods. Further she has dedicated herself to the advancement of participation-driven approaches in terms of a “pop-science” (public spheres opened by participatory science), which aims to open spaces for communication, common understanding and development between various groups of stakeholders. The material generated during this research procedure supports to sensitise the public, whereby further communication-cycles emerge.
