Zentralisierte Aufnahmeverfahren als Lösung? Frühe Bildung und Zugangssteuerung als kommunales Handlungsfeld in Deutschland, Kanada und Schweden

In diesem Beitrag werden die Zugangsregelungen zu frühkindlicher Bildung und Betreuung (FBBE) in kommunalen Systemen Deutschlands, Kanadas und Schwedens und ihre Auswirkungen auf die Bildungschancengleichheit analysiert. Die zunehmende Bedeutung von FBBE wird im Kontext von Studien wie PISA betont, da sie entscheidend zur Verringerung von Bildungsungleichheiten beitragen kann. Insbesondere wird die Rolle der kommunalen Ebene als Schlüsselakteur in der Gestaltung und Umsetzung dieser Bildungsangebote hervorgehoben

Children at the Crossroads of Opportunities and Constraints: The relationship between school and family from the children’s viewpoint: their perspectives, their positions. Bertelsmann Stiftung Summary Research Report 2 August 2020.

What do primary-school students have to say about formal meetings between parents and teachers? How do they feel about more informal exchanges? What do children think of these interactions and which role do they themselves adopt? Those are the questions addressed by the second research report Children at the Crossroads of Opportunities and Constraints,1 authored by Tanja Betz of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz and her team as part of a project jointly carried out with the Bertelsmann Stiftung. The report focuses on children – actors previously neglected in the academic and policy debates – by investigating their feelings about what makes a “good” educational partnership between families and schools. During group discussions and individual interviews, the researchers spoke with students in the third and fourth grades at five mainstream primary schools in the states of Hesse and Rhineland–Palatinate. Their goal was to learn more about how the family-school relationship is shaped. As the findings clearly show: Children have more than just one perspective and are not a homogenous group – the same way parents and educational professionals are not. Some want to be informed and involved when their parents interact with teachers or others at school. As they see it, they benefit from a close connection between their family and school. They are pleased when their mother or father comes to school and they themselves can have a say – for example, during parent-teacher-student conferences. The findings suggest, however, that this applies more to children from socially advantaged families. Other children, in contrast, attempt to keep the worlds of family and school as separate as possible. One child explained that in his free time he is “a different person than at school” and that this “free-time me” or “at-home me” should remain unknown at school as much as possible. Some children, however, do not succeed in controlling the flow of information between their parents and school on topics they consider “private.” Parents divulge “secrets” instead, or parents and teachers exchange photographs against the child’s will. As a result, these children try to avoid situations where their parents and teachers meet, which they perceive as unpleasant and threatening. In some cases, such meetings are even a source of fear. Other children, however, unquestioningly accept parent-teacher meetings and the role they themselves are assigned. Yet in these situations they sometimes feel incapacitated and powerless. From the perspective of many children, an educational partnership is therefore not seen as ideal, when all participants – teachers, parents, students – come together as equals, work closely together and discuss all manner of topics. The findings point to a range of ambivalent feelings instead. Children, moreover, are not the only ones who feel ambivalent, as other studies and publications have shown, including those released as part of this research project. Teachers, too, struggle to fulfill their role as school representatives – i.e. to teach, evaluate and, especially in the German context, recommend the best type of secondary school – while also interacting with parents and children as trusting, equal partners. Like children, parents exhibit considerable diversity in terms of how much they want to – or an – get involved in educational institutions. Against this background, we feel it is crucial to take a second look at the idealized concept of educational partnerships – an ideal very present in the educational and policy fields in many countries – and to consider it from a much broader viewpoint. We want to use this study to stimulate discussion about alternative forms, possibilities and goals when it comes to cooperation between parents, teachers and children. All levels – schools, educational administrators and policymakers – should develop and test a variety of cooperative methods. Moreover, they should do more to involve children in shaping the family-school relationship. To that end, student representatives should be systematically queried and included right from the start. Another key aspect is that the ambivalent feelings outlined above need to be acknowledged and considered. So, too, should the power structures and inequalities among adults and children, parents and educational professionals, and families from different social backgrounds. Ultimately, that is the only way to pinpoint and address the limits and risks of cooperation in its various forms, especially as it pertains to the educational opportunities and constraints certain children face. This is an important, challenging task which everyone involved must address. It can only be successfully undertaken if the necessary framework conditions are discussed – i.e. the time, personnel, training and settings required for effectively shaping the family-school relationship – and if adequate resources are made available

Plastic Pulse of the Public: A review of survey-based research on how people use plastic

Plastics pollute all environmental compartments because of human activities and mismanagement. Public perceptions and knowledge about plastic pollution differ among individuals and across different jurisdictions. Targeted survey-based research tools can help measure consumer awareness about the impacts of mismanaged plastics and help identify trends and solutions to reduce plastic use and plastic pollution. This review primarily focused on survey-based research from presenters at the scientific track session TS-2.15 Plastic Pulse of the Public at the 7th International Marine Debris Conference (www.7imdc.org) and supplemented by contemporary literature. Survey-based research helps provide new insights about public opinions related to the pervasiveness of plastic pollution. This review includes results about consumer use and perceptions of plastic pollution impacts from diverse studies from nine countries including Ghana, Kenya, Bangladesh, Pakistan, United States, Canada, Norway, Germany, and United Kingdom. Overwhelmingly, public perceptions and consumer awareness of the negative impacts of plastic pollution were extremely high, regardless of geographic location. Awareness about the environmental impacts of plastic waste and plastic pollution was highest within younger, white, female, and well-educated demographic groups. However, differences were observed in public attitudes toward willingness to pay for sustainable alternatives, end-of-life plastic uses, unintended consequences, recycling, and mismanagement

Abstracts from the 20th International Symposium on Signal Transduction at the Blood-Brain Barriers

https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/138963/1/12987_2017_Article_71.pd

Die Akteurschaft von Kindern in Tür- und Angelgesprächen: Ergebnisse einer ethnographischen Studie im frühpädagogischen Setting

In den vergangenen Jahren hat das Verhältnis zwischen Familie und Kindertageseinrichtung im politischen, fachpraktischen und -wissenschaftlichen Diskurs an Bedeutung gewonnen und wird insbesondere mit Bezug auf die Zusammenarbeit zwischen Familie und Kindertageseinrichtung verhandelt. Im pädagogischen Alltag bildet der Kontakt zwischen Eltern und Fachkräften ein zentrales Moment der Zusammenarbeit. Ausgangspunkt des Kontaktes sind häufig die Kinder, welche auch - zumindest theoretisch - als Teil des Verhältnisses zwischen Familie und Kindertageseinrichtung konzipiert werden. Bislang ist jedoch wenig darüber bekannt, inwiefern Kinder dieses Verhältnis (mit)gestalten (können). Im Rahmen eines kindheitstheoretischen Forschungsprojekts wurde mittels ethnographischen Beobachtungen die Akteurschaft von Kindern (3 bis 6 Jahre) im täglichen Austausch von Eltern und Fachkräften am Beispiel von Tür- und Angelgesprächen untersucht. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass Kinder als Akteur_innen in vielfältiger Weise an der Zusammenarbeit zwischen Familie und Kindertageseinrichtung beteiligt sind, indem sie etwa als Expert_innen sowohl für Zuhause als auch für die Einrichtung agieren oder Erwachsene als Sprachrohr für eigene Interessen nutzen.In recent years, home-ECEC relations are becoming an increasingly important topic in policy, practice and research debates and are especially discussed with regard to collaborations between parents and ECEC staff. Within pedagogical routines and practices, regular interactions between the child's parent and ECEC staff are fundamental for collaboration practices. Children often are the subject of these conversations and at the same time - at least theoretically - are conceptualised as being part of these relations. However, little is known about the extent to which children actually (can) engage in home-ECEC relations. Using an ethnographic approach, this paper draws on a research project in sociological childhood studies investigating children's agency (3-6-year-olds) in daily conversations between parents and ECEC staff. Findings reveal that children as social actors shape home-ECEC relations in multiple ways, for example by being experts of both the home and ECEC setting or by getting adults to act as their voice who will communicate the children's needs and interests

(Un)gleiche Zugänge zu frühkindlichen Bildungs- und Betreuungsangeboten? Ergebnisse zur Bedeutung kommunaler Steuerung aus qualitativen Fallstudien in Deutschland, Kanada und Schweden

Der Zugang zu frühkindlicher Bildung, Betreuung und Erziehung bildet seit mehreren Jahren Ausgangspunkt unterschiedlicher (sozial)politischer Maßnahmen, um gesellschaftlichen Ungleichheitsverhältnissen entgegenzutreten. In den vergangenen Jahren rückte dabei die lokale Steuerungsebene als zentraler Akteur in der Gestaltung frühkindlicher Bildungsangebote zunehmend in den Blick der Forschung. Der vorliegende Beitrag schließt hier an und fragt in einer international vergleichend angelegten Studie danach, ob und wie lokales Steuerungsgeschehen in dezentral organisierten Betreuungssystemen (un)gleiche Zugangsbedingungen hervorbringt. Ausgehend von einer governance-analytischen Perspektive bilden die Grundlage der Studie qualitative Interviews aus Fallstudien in drei Kommunen in Deutschland, Kanada und Schweden, die inhaltsanalytisch ausgewertet wurden. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die Handlungsspielräume der Kommunalverwaltungen durch vorgegebene Regelungen und strukturelle Rahmenbedingungen definiert werden. In der Angebotsausgestaltung vor Ort setzen die Kommunen allerdings unterschiedliche Prioritäten, die jeweils ungleiche Zugänge fördern (können).Access to early childhood education and care has become the starting point of various (social) policy measures in order to tackle social inequalities. In recent years, research has increasingly focused on the local steering level as key actor to implement access. This paper explores local steering processes by taking an international perspective. It is investigated whether and how local steering (may) contribute to (un)equal access conditions in decentralised ECEC systems. Based on the concept of governance, qualitative interviews with local stakeholders were conducted in three municipalities in Germany, Canada and Sweden. The interviews of the case studies have been assessed by content analysis. Results show that discretion of local authorities is defined by regulations and structural framework conditions. However, the municipalities pursue different priorities in organising local services, which (may) foster unequal access

Children at the crossroads of opportunities and constraints. Summary research report 2. The relationship between school and family from the children\u27s viewpoint: their perspectives, their positions

The empirical study at hand provides insights into the actors’ varying viewpoints and experiences regarding different types of contact between parents and teachers. The aim is particularly to prioritise the views of the children (a group of actors previously neglected in both research and the professional discourse), and to more closely examine their positions and their self-positioning when it comes to shaping the relationship between the primary school and family. The study shows that it is crucial to take a second look at the idealized concept of educational partnerships and to consider it from a much broader viewpoint. (Authors

Edukative Unterstützung Pflegebedürftiger und ihrer Angehörigen zur Vorbereitung auf die häusliche (Selbst-)Versorgung während der stationären Rehabilitation - Herausforderungen und Erfordernisse

Menzel-Begemann A, Klünder B, Schaeffer D. Edukative Unterstützung Pflegebedürftiger und ihrer Angehörigen zur Vorbereitung auf die häusliche (Selbst-)Versorgung während der stationären Rehabilitation - Herausforderungen und Erfordernisse. Pflege & Gesellschaft. 2015;20(2):101-115

Kinder zwischen Chancen und Barrieren. Forschungsbericht 2. Zum Verhältnis von Schule und Familie aus der Sicht von Kindern: ihre Perspektiven, ihre Positionen

Der Forschungsbericht gibt auf der Grundlage von Einzelinterviews und Gruppendiskussionen mit Grundschüler*innen Einblicke in die Perspektive von Kindern auf die Gestaltung des Verhältnisses von Familie und Grundschule. Dabei zeigt sich, dass Kinder sehr unterschiedliche Wünsche, Erwartungen und Erfahrungen mit Blick auf die Begegnungen zwischen ihren Eltern und Lehrkräften haben. Während einige Kinder diese Zusammentreffen positiv sehen und für sich nutzen, sind sie für andere eher bedrohlich und angstbesetzt. Wieder andere Kinder akzeptieren die Settings einfach, fühlen sich dabei aber machtlos und handlungsohnmächtig. Eine Bildungs- und Erziehungspartnerschaft, in der sich alle Beteiligten – Lehrkräfte, Eltern und Schüler*innen – auf Augenhöhe begegnen, intensiv zusammenarbeiten und sich über alles austauschen, ist damit aus der Perspektive vieler Kinder keine Idealvorstellung. Vielmehr weist der Forschungsbericht darauf hin, dass alternative Formen, Möglichkeiten und Ziele der Zusammenarbeit zwischen Eltern, Lehrkräften und Kindern entwickelt und erprobt werden sollten – und das unter Beteiligung der Kinder. (Autorinnen