Strong teachers, strong students: model project strengthens democracy in Hesse!

Strong teachers, strong students: model project strengthens democracy in Hesse!

On March 9, 2025, the important model project “Strong Teachers – Strong Students” was officially completed at the Philipps University of Marburg. The aim of the project was to strengthen democracy education and the prevention of extremism at vocational schools in Hesse. The project was funded by the Robert Bosch Foundation, the Hessian Ministry of Culture, Education and Opportunities and the Federal Agency for Civic Education and supported numerous teachers and specialists over three years.

An important part of the project was the consideration of how to support teachers in dealing with anti-democratic attitudes. This was recognized by a specialist and final conference in which more than 120 participants from school practice, educational administration, politics and science took part. Prof. Dr. Susann Gessner, the project manager and expert in political education didactics, led the program and provided comprehensive scientific support.

Positive feedback and sustainable structures

The project received consistently positive feedback from participating schools and teachers, supported by accompanying scientific studies. The initiatives included the training and advisory program on topics such as right-wing extremism, anti-Semitism, racism and conspiracy theories. In addition, so-called democracy teams were established at all participating schools.

These multi-professional teams advised both students and teachers in challenging situations. The six participating schools were: the Bethmannschule Frankfurt, Brühlwiesenschule Hofheim, Peter Paul Cahensly School Limburg, Reich President Friedrich Ebert School Fritzlar/Homberg, Werner von Siemens School Wetzlar and Willy Brandt School Gießen. Hesse was the fourth location of the project, preceded by Saxony, Lower Saxony and Brandenburg.

Long-term perspectives and further developments

The scientific support of the project was carried out by the didactics of political education department at the Philipps University of Marburg. The resulting structures should continue to exist after the end of the project. In the next six months, a further evaluation of the accompanying scientific studies will take place in order to analyze the progress made so far.

Hesse's Minister of Education, Prof. Dr. R. Alexander Lorz, highlighted the importance of the project, which focuses on the values ​​of the Basic Law, especially human dignity, during the presentation on April 27, 2023 at the Brühlwiesenschule in Hofheim am Taunus. He emphasized that teachers play a key role in democracy education and act as multipliers in their schools to promote a democratic school culture.

The success story of “Strong Teachers – Strong Students” makes it clear that further training offers and targeted support for teachers are crucial for the social integration and political education of young people. Further information about the project is available at www.starkelehrer-starkeschueler.de available.