EDUCATION MATTERS
POLITICAL DYNAMICS AND OTHER CHALLENGES The implementation of the Startchancen-Programm requires particular sensitivity given its complexity and political significance. Close coordination with the federal government and the 16 federal states—each of which brings its own requirements and processes within Germany’s federal education system—has a direct impact on scheduling and project management. The repeated need to flexibly adapt procedures and timelines places high demands on cooperation, decision-making agility, and—on the part of IEA Hamburg and beyond—on resilient project management. The extent to which political changes can influence the course of the project is exemplified by the change of government in Germany in spring 2025. With the appointment of the new Federal Minister of Education, Karin Prien, immediate changes followed: the steering committee meeting originally scheduled for May 2025 had to be postponed. As a result, the first monitoring survey at the approximately 4,000 participating schools cannot begin as planned in autumn 2025 and has been rescheduled for the first quarter of 2026. In addition to organizational and scheduling challenges, involving the target groups—particularly parents or legal guardians—also presents a central challenge in this large- scale project, as schools with a low social index were specifically selected to participate in the program. To ensure broad and inclusive participation, it is essential to use
accessible and target-group-appropriate communication. Parents are to be reached through clearly worded letters written in plain language and encouraged to take part in the survey—especially those with limited reading skills or restricted knowledge of German. NEXT STEPS Despite political hurdles and numerous coordination rounds with the ministries of education of the federal states as well as within the consortium, the key foundations have now been laid to enable the first data collections to begin in early 2026. Following an intensive initial phase through mid-2025, characterized by conceptual work, content coordination, and close collaboration with all consortium partners, the concrete implementation phase with the schools began in the summer. For this, the 300 schools for the in-depth cross-sectional surveys had to be selected, the digital infrastructure for data collection (IEA OSE online school management system and the online testing platform) had to be implemented or adapted, and all 4,000 schools had to be informed at an early stage about the procedures and content of the evaluation. With this, IEA Hamburg is bringing the Startchancen- Programm into its practical phase—with the clear goal of making a lasting contribution to greater educational equity in Germany. ■
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