The ideal of educational partnerships

Families and professionals at educational institutions are expected to “cooperate as equals” so that children’s living environments dovetail perfectly. The study by Tanja Betz, professor at Goethe University Frankfurt, takes a critical look at this ideal of “educational partnerships” and points out the problems and challenges that result from that ideal.

Tanja Betz concludes that simply calling for parents and educators to “cooperate as equals” is insufficient. The relevant actors and their backgrounds must be considered in greater detail, along with their attitudes and viewpoints. This is equally true for the background conditions that must be taken into account if partnerships are to succeed on a daily basis. Moreover, the study focuses on the children themselves, since, until now, they have not been included in the debate as individuals in their own right and with their own perspective.