A cooperative relationship characterised by trust and appreciation

Professor Dr Juliane Schlesier on the 'Primary School of the Future' teaching and learning project

First place in the University of Wuppertal's Third Mission Honour Award was not the first award that Juliane Schlesier received for her teaching-learning project 'Primary School of the Future' last year. "It's a project that started on a very small scale," says the professor, "and this success clearly shows us that there is potential for transfer."

Schools receive support with school development

Schools receive support from the university for school development. The question of why schools cannot manage this on their own does not arise for the academic. "Schools do a lot and do it very well. At the same time, however, the requirements are also growing beyond pure teaching," she explains. "School development, sustainable design and the promotion of social participation are all complex, long-term processes that naturally have to be jointly organised in some way and, above all, further developed on an empirical basis." Schools are already working at full capacity on a day-to-day basis, so external support can also provide relief and additional perspectives as well as systematically and effectively support development processes.

Reflecting on authentic practical experience with the knowledge of today

Today, teacher training often lacks authentic practical experience and lively cooperation with society, even though it has all been there before. "In principle, this is old hat," says the researcher, "because authentic practical experience and social cooperation were already a central element in teacher training in the past, especially in training at teacher training colleges for primary school teachers. Especially in the period before the 1970s, before the reforms, the PHs were primarily training centres for primary school teachers and there was a very close practical focus." With the reforms of the 1970s, the primary school teaching profession was also more firmly anchored at universities. As a result, the scientific and empirical foundation of pedagogical concepts became more important and training became more formalised and scientifically oriented overall. "Today, there is a return to what existed in the past, I can already see that, but with the knowledge of what we have learned from the strong academisation of teacher training in recent decades. So we are not just taking steps backwards, but are reintroducing new or further developed practical concepts into the predominantly theory-based teacher training programme."

'Primary school of the future' project

In a teaching-learning project entitled 'Primary School of the Future', funded by the Barthel/EWE Foundation, which is based on the democracy-building teaching-learning method of learning through engagement, Schlesier brought together around 150 student teachers and around 400 primary school children in Lower Saxony in small, inclusive so-called 'heroine teams' to develop and implement charitable and sustainable projects for schools. The prerequisite was individual support for each school. "In the project, the real needs of the schools were determined in advance and the projects were also embedded in the curriculum, i.e. in subjects such as science, German, art and maths lessons," says Schlesier, explaining the approach. "The children were actively involved in the planning and implementation so that these projects could not be planned in advance. The schools individually investigated what was needed so that lessons could take place properly, so that the children could perhaps have a nicer playground where they could relax and play after lessons." The measures ranged from the simple refurbishment of old benches to the planting of snack bars and raised beds, the cleaning of ponds and the construction of insect hotels. "Sensory trails have been created and construction trailers have been purchased and converted so that toys can be stored in them. We now have around 70 projects that have been created and are totally diverse."

Interaction without social media

A key aim of the project, which ran from 2023 to 2025, was for people to reconnect and interact with one another without digital media. Schlesier commented: “In fact, this is a key objective of the method: to shape learning as a collaborative, real-life activity and to consciously bring people into direct, personal contact with one another. During the Covid-19 pandemic, there was a strong emphasis on everyone going their own way. This was a development that occurred during the pandemic, at a very formative stage in the children’s lives. Now, however, in these sub-projects of ‘Primary School of the Future’, the children, students, teachers and parents worked together without digital media, coordinated their efforts, made decisions, solved problems and simply engaged in joint activities.” And this shared interaction was already seen as extremely valuable after just three to five days of on-site project work. “Such close bonds were formed that the children hardly wanted to let the students go afterwards. Relationships were forged, meaning that the project’s success can be measured not only in figures, but also in the spirit that was created.” The project did not manage entirely without digital media, however, as at each school a group took on the task of documentation, which was then carried out using digital media. “However, that too was done collaboratively,” emphasises the project leader, continuing, “interviews were conducted with the other participants, so it wasn’t simply a matter of passively consuming digital media, but of actively working with it.”

A culture of mutual support

The ‘Primary School of the Future’ project fosters a culture of mutual support, which was evident on several levels. “Within the ‘Hero Teams’, the children and students took responsibility for one another. They supported one another with planning, implementation and problem-solving, and contributed their different strengths. Help was not seen as a burden, but as a natural part of working together. The older children also helped the younger ones as a matter of course. Those who didn’t have the strength to saw or dig were given immediate support.” Further support also developed between the different groups involved. As the teachers opened up their school to this new project experience, the university suddenly became actively involved and helped shape the project. “It was, after all, a school project taking place during school hours. The teachers were there in an advisory capacity, but remained in the background and only mediated when problems arose between students and pupils. That worked out really well. It was a cooperative partnership characterised by trust and mutual respect.”

A project with potential for wider application

“Idid run the project in primary schools,” says Schlesier, “but of course it can also be adapted to other types of school. The project is based on the ‘learning through engagement’ method, which is already predominantly used in secondary education, albeit in a slightly different way to how I do it, because so far it hasn’t been linked to teacher training. So it’s quite special that I’ve taken the project to primary schools and linked primary education with teacher training. It shows that it works even with very young pupils. That’s where the potential for transfer lies. Universities and schools can work more closely together and build reliable partnerships, so that theory can be put into practice and, conversely, practical ideas and experiences can also reach trainee teachers.” Schlesier receives strong support from the university and will now also be launching the project in schools in Wuppertal.

Interested schools can find further information on the project at: schlesier[at]uni-wuppertal.de

Uwe Blass

Prof. Dr Juliane Schlesier heads the Primary School Education Research Unit at the Institute for Educational Research at the University of Wuppertal. Her research focuses on socio-emotional school experiences at primary level, particularly relationships, emotions, well-being and stress, as well as teacher training and school development. Her projects focus, amongst other things, on profiles of relationship experiences, intervention approaches such as ‘Learning through Engagement’ and transitions within the school system.