Parent participation in schools: Successful project in Schwäbisch Gmünd!

Parent participation in schools: Successful project in Schwäbisch Gmünd!

Schwäbisch Gmünd, Deutschland - The project "Sodte - Social and Democratic Participation through Parents' Participation" was successfully completed after three years of intensive cooperation. This research and practical project, funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), was initiated by the Pedagogical University of Schwäbisch Gmünd in cooperation with the city of Schwäbisch Gmünd. The aim was to research the success factors for effective parent participation in schools and thus to reduce educational barriers.

As part of the project, various measures were tested in real laboratories to improve parent work. Parents, teachers, school management, supervisors and city representatives worked together on the development of new ideas. Research primarily affects the topics of all -day school, diversity in school and family as well as the organization of parents 'evenings and parents' advisory boards.

research and cooperation

The research phase included extensive interviews with experts and observations at school bodies and events. A central result was the development of a new structure for parents' evenings in order to achieve wider parenthood. The organization and control of homework by parents was also further developed in a real laboratory. These measures are part of a documentary that is aimed at actors from schools, extra -curricular educational institutions and municipalities and provides the results and materials.

dr. Margarete Menz emphasized the need to sustainably process central topics such as parent participation and to the importance of participating in parents in school developments referred to Prof. Dr. Helmar Schöne. This cooperation between the university and the municipality was particularly appreciated when the project was completed, as Prof. Dr. Daniel Rellstab organized a Gallery Walk for the presentation of the project results.

educational inequality and parent participation

parent participation plays a crucial role in the school success of children. Studies, such as the PISA study, clearly show that the family background has a significant impact on educational opportunities. In Germany, the connection between social origin and educational success is even more pronounced than in the OECD average. Children from socially disadvantaged families, especially those with a migration background, often perform worse performance and have less chances of an academic career.

The different resources that result from economic, social and cultural capital influence the decisions of parents about educational paths. Most of the parents are not active, especially if they are less informed about their children's educational path. This also applies to communication between schools and parents, which is often not designed for long -term cooperation.

In order to reduce educational inequality, measures to promote parent participation are essential. These can be supported by various initiatives, such as the “Family Literacy” program or the “Parents Foundation Baden-Württemberg”. The Sodte project represents an important step to improve the participation of parents and thus enable them to help shape the educational biography of their children.

The results and suggestions for improving parent work are available on the website sodete.ph-gmuend.de offer comprehensive input for schools and participants.