Successful conclusion: Parent involvement in schools redesigned!

Successful conclusion: Parent involvement in schools redesigned!

On May 28, 2025, the “SODETE – Social and Democratic Participation through Parental Involvement” project was completed after three years of successful work. The initiative, funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), was launched by the Schwäbisch Gmünd University of Education in cooperation with the city of Schwäbisch Gmünd. The aim of the project was to research the success factors for effective parental involvement in schools and thus to strengthen parental involvement.

As part of the project, research teams worked closely with regional elementary schools to develop real-world laboratories in which new ideas and concepts for parent work were tested. These participatory experimental spaces were used to promote collaboration between parents, teachers, school administrators, carers and city representatives. The research phase included interviews with experts as well as observations of school committees and events.

Areas of action and results

During the project period, three central areas of action were identified that should serve as a basis for the further development of parental involvement:

• Ganztagsschule und Familie
• Elternabend, Elternbeirat und Co.

A particular focus was on further developing the “learning time” in the real-world laboratories. This concept aims to support parents in organizing and controlling homework. New models for parent evenings have also been developed to appeal to and reach a broader parent community. The idea of ​​welcoming events was also highlighted to better integrate new parents into the school community.

Dr. Margarete Menz, who accompanied the project, emphasized the need to keep the focus on central issues such as parental involvement even after the end of the project. Prof. Dr. Helmar Schöne emphasized the important role of parents in their children's academic development. In order to present the results of the real-world laboratories, a gallery walk was organized under the direction of Prof. Dr. Daniel Rellstab organized.

Documentation and importance of parental involvement

The documentation of the SODETE project, which is aimed at actors from schools, non-school education providers and municipalities, is divided into a theoretical-conceptual part and a practical section. The successfully implemented real-world laboratories as well as their processes, successes and challenges are presented here. The documentation also offers a collection of materials with concept papers and tools for future applications.

The relevance of parental involvement is particularly high given the educational inequality in Germany. Studies like the PISA study show a significant connection between the social background of students and their educational success. The influence of the family on academic performance remains crucial throughout school. Children from socially disadvantaged backgrounds often do not receive the same educational support, which puts them at a disadvantage in their educational journey. It is therefore of great importance that schools actively develop strategies to promote the participation of all parents and reduce barriers, especially with regard to families with a migrant background or low social status. Initiatives such as Family Literacy or District Mothers are examples of successful approaches to promoting parental involvement.

In summary, parental involvement is a key to reducing educational inequalities. The successes of the SODETE project and the resulting concepts offer promising approaches to further improve parent work in schools in the future and to provide equal opportunities for all children. Further information about the project results is available on the website sodete.ph-gmuend.de available.