Ultimately, it is a give and take - parents should, as teachers demand, lay the social foundations for the successful teaching and schooling of their children in their educational work. Teachers, on the other hand, according to the equally high expectations of parents, should no longer only impart knowledge, but also make them strong for life, strengthen their sense of responsibility and self-confidence, promote individual skills...
A give and take that is obviously working at the moment - at least from the parents' point of view. The majority of parents are very satisfied with their children's teachers. Both in terms of the professional competence of the teachers in imparting knowledge and the relationship with the pupils, as well as in terms of the cooperation between teachers and parents.
Competent and committed teachers - education study confirms parents' satisfaction
This is the result of the recently published 4th Jako-O Education Study, which is based on a representative survey of 2,000 parents with school-age children, conducted by Mentefactum and Kantar Emnid. According to the study, over 80% of parents consider their children's teachers to be professionally competent (88%) and appreciate the fact that the teachers are committed to maintaining a good relationship with the pupils (82%). In addition, more than three quarters of parents agree that teachers are very committed, can arouse the interest of their pupils and are considerate of the children's individual circumstances.
What's more, 92% of parents agreed with the statement that teachers behave in such a way that they do not have to worry about their child at school. And even more than 85% of the parents surveyed were satisfied with their direct contact with the teachers, stating that the teachers listened to their concerns and that they had the feeling that the teachers were honest with the parents and also willing to offer them help.
Overall, the teachers and schools scored much better in the eyes of the parents than the education policy of the federal states, which was also rated by the parents in the education study. Conversely, this means that the majority of parents know very well how to differentiate and rightly do not blame teachers for the failures of politics that need to be criticized.
Teachers - also the No. 1 contact for educational issues
The fact that parents have an increasingly positive attitude towards teachers was not only confirmed in the course of the last Jako-O education studies. A parent survey conducted by the Allensbach Institute in 2015 also came to the conclusion that the majority of parents have a positive attitude towards teachers and appreciate their expert knowledge. One thing in particular was surprising: even when it comes to educational issues, parents of schoolchildren turn to teachers first and foremost (70%). According to the Allensbach study, teachers are trusted far more than other parents, psychologists or pediatricians when it comes to education.
"Yes, parents also come to us with parenting questions - in my opinion, far more than before," confirms Hanne Zilles from her own experience. However, the German and French teacher at Schloss-Schule Kirchberg understands that parents are increasingly becoming so-called "helicopter parents" in the face of "increasing social uncertainty" - who then approach teachers with too many educational and performance expectations. "In my view, however, the relationship with these parents is not fundamentally strained, as they can be actively involved in finding solutions. Rather, the relationship with the parents has become somewhat more complicated in the sense of more sensitive due to the high mutual expectations. Both sides need to be more understanding of each other." However, Zilles continues, as long as they remain in conversation, the parent-teacher relationship is one thing above all: relaxed.
Parents feel increasingly relieved
The fact that, according to the Jako-O education study, fewer and fewer parents feel that they are the "assistant teachers of the nation" or that they have to provide too much homework or learning support, which is actually the responsibility of the school or teachers, certainly contributes to a relaxed relationship. A perceived relief that actually takes place. This is because the expansion of all-day schools and after-school care means that children's learning times are actually increasingly taking place during the school day. This is welcomed not only by parents, but also by teachers, who argue that parents should not take on the educational task in addition to their parenting duties - especially not as overzealous homework helpers.
Weaker pupils and new teaching methods - what teachers are still missing out on
Despite all the praise, there are of course also points of criticism of the teaching staff, combined with the parents' wish for improvement. First and foremost, these are the teachers' lack of skills in supporting weaker pupils and the insufficient use of new teaching methods. The striking difference between elementary school and grammar school teachers is particularly noticeable in the results of the education study regarding the support of weaker pupils: while 75% of parents believe that elementary school teachers are competent when it comes to individual differentiation, only 47% of respondents believe that grammar school teachers are competent in this area.
According to the study, parents were also in favor of more general education topics in the areas of economics, nutrition and health as well as internet and social media being taught in schools in order to do justice to the reality of children and young people's lives today.