Parent-oriented educational work - parents empower their children

Educational research has shown that parents have a significant influence on their children's educational path. However, not all parents are able to support their children to the same extent. In very few cases is this due to a lack of will on the part of the parents, quite the opposite: newly immigrated parents and parents with a migrant background who have lived here for some time have high educational ambitions for their children and want to support them in their school career. However, the education and training system in Germany is complex and sometimes difficult to understand. In most cases, newly immigrated parents are not familiar with the German school system and are not aware of the expectations it places on parents. In addition, there are language and cultural hurdles. These parents in particular need support.

Against this background, the Offenbach Adult Education Center has developed the project "Parent-oriented educational work - parents strengthen their children", which aims to inform parents about the education and training system through trained multipliers. In this project, multipliers are important "mediators" who pass on prepared educational information to parents in their native languages. To this end, free information events for parents are offered in various languages. The aim is to empower parents to support their children's education in order to improve their educational opportunities.

The project is primarily intended to reach Offenbach parents, regardless of their origin. These can be, for example, newly immigrated parents with a need for information at daycare centres, primary and secondary schools or parents in migrant self-organizations (associations and communities). In addition, parents can be reached who are already involved in projects in Offenbach (e.g. Diesterweg Scholarship, German Summer, ELMO - Eltern lernen mit in Offenbach).

14 multipliers who speak 18 different languages were selected for the project. They were prepared in advance and received a basic qualification as part of a training course at the Offenbach Adult Education Center. During the comprehensive training, the multipliers were given a comprehensive insight into the education and training system in Offenbach, among other things.

Since October 2019, the multipliers have been offering topic-related information events to inform parents about important school-related aspects in various languages. At these information events, for example, school and training pathways, support during transitions and the role of parents in the education system are highlighted. They started with the topic "What comes after elementary school?". In February/March 2020, the topic "My child is starting school - transition from nursery to elementary school" was offered. In September 2020, parents received important information on the topic of "The transition from secondary school to work/training/studies" and in October 2020 on the transition from elementary school to secondary school.

In 2021, the information events on the educational transitions from primary school/secondary school and school/career/training/studies were continued. In addition, a new information and exchange format was launched in May 2021 with the Parents' Café.

Information events will be offered in the following languages: Arabic, Bulgarian, Greek, Polish, Romanian, Russian and Turkish.

The current dates of the information events can be found here:

If you are interested in participating in the project as a multiplier, we will be happy to send you the registration form. Simply send us an e-mail to bildungoffenbachde

The project "Parent-oriented educational work - parents strengthen their children" is carried out by the Offenbach Adult Education Center. The Georg Spamer Foundation funded the project from March 2021 to December 2022. The city's Parent School Network funded the project from 2019 to March 2022.