Which school does Switzerland want?

Mr Auf der Maur, which school do parents want for their child?

Put simply, our results can be broken down into three main concerns, which parents also see as the greatest need for action. Firstly, they want their child to enjoy learning. Secondly, they want their child to enjoy going to school and feel comfortable there. Thirdly, children should be supported individually, i.e. be allowed to learn at their own pace and neither be under- nor over-challenged.

Curriculum 21 places great emphasis on individualisation. If you look back on your experience as a teacher and headteacher: How realistic is the demand given the diversity in the classroom?

It is precisely this diversity that leaves no alternative. Children are extremely different in terms of their level of development; even among children of the same age, the spectrum of individual requirements is huge. This is a fact that actually leaves us no choice but to take these differences into account as much as possible.

What does individualisation mean in your view?

enable children to find their own personal learning paths. Good variants are open questions that automatically lead to different paths. The school can also focus more on programmes with more options. I'm thinking of learning landscapes, for example, where there is a variety of different content and materials to choose from.

However, we certainly need to move away from the classic lesson, which prescribes everything step by step. There are children who are already doing maths in the thousands in second grade - it doesn't make sense for them to have to work their way through the hundreds first because the teacher wants them to. In the same way, those who take longer should not have to rush because the same learning objectives apply to everyone.

This sounds attractive, but raises the question of feasibility, especially in terms of resources.

I often work with schools that are trialling alternatives. What I notice is that this only works as a team. If the teachers prepare material in such a way that content is jointly coordinated, used and exchanged, everyone ultimately benefits from relief and inspiration.

Even if the school utilises existing resources such as team-teaching hours and the workload for special needs education efficiently, there is a lot of potential. However, this must not end up with special needs teachers exclusively taking care of «their» children, even outside of the classroom.

Another result of your study: parents want more project lessons.

Yes, probably because children have the opportunity to work more individually and on topics that interest them. Teachers are often reluctant to do this. I think many are unsure whether children are learning the right things when they are given a lot of freedom. Some may fear that pupils could then fall behind in other ways. We have to learn to let go. During the coronavirus pandemic, we had no other choice.

Nine out of ten respondents would like schools to do more to combat bullying.

However, the pandemic also showed that children are sometimes unable to cope with self-organised learning.

That is true. However, project lessons, for example, do not mean doing without structure and guidance - some children are even more dependent on them. Another realisation from the pandemic is that there are children who really flourish with more freedom and less guidance. We want young people to take responsibility for their learning when they leave school. Then they must also be given the opportunity to practise this.

According to your study, parents also want their children to have more freedom to learn. How well can this be reconciled with Curriculum 21?

In principle, Curriculum 21 would actually offer more room for manoeuvre. This can be seen, for example, in the fact that learning objectives are based on multi-year cycles. Children would therefore actually have much more time to acquire certain skills. Unfortunately, the reality is often different: Everyday life is dictated by exams in which different children have to be able to do the same thing at the same time. Curriculum 21 thinks in cycles, schools do not.

Why is that?

Curriculum 21 is probably a little on the heavy side when it comes to the number of competences that children should acquire. This puts teachers under pressure to get through everything. And no matter how individually you work with pupils, at the end of the semester, grades have to be included in their report cards. Individualised learning is basically only possible if we rethink assessment. We need to move away from our culture of assessment.

However, their analysis also shows that the majority of respondents do not question homework or grades.

If you look at the result across all respondents, yes. However, there are major differences between the various groups: Women are more clearly against grades overall, namely 50 per cent, while only just under a third of men are in favour of abolishing them.

Two thirds of parents would consider a public school. That surprises me.

The majority of parents with children in kindergarten and primary school are also in favour of this. As far as homework is concerned, just over half of those surveyed at primary school level want to retain it.

Does that surprise you?

Conditionally. Most adults only know school from their memories - usually with homework, exams and grades. At most, they have vague ideas about alternatives. Ideals that many share - that children can learn without pressure - are met with uncertainty that arises when conventional structures are broken up: Will my child learn enough? I also understand when parents say that grades and homework are helpful as feedback to keep track of where their child stands at school.

Which finding surprised you the most?

Although only around five per cent of children in Switzerland attend a public school, two thirds of parents would consider doing so. I wouldn't have expected that. According to our study, the desire for individualised support is the most frequently cited reason why parents withdraw their children from primary school.

Many also argued with the well-being of the child. Our overall results show that more attention needs to be paid to this aspect: nine out of ten respondents would like schools to do more to combat bullying and promote mental health. What I find very pleasing is that the importance of primary school remains high in the perception of the parents and adults surveyed, and that teachers are important.

In what way?

The survey participants all believe that teachers have a demanding job. They are also not of the opinion that they have too much holiday or earn too much. In addition, lateral and new entrants are seen as an opportunity for the school.