Lars Bieringer

Making structures in elementary school more child-friendly - that is an important concern for Lars Bieringer (29). Since 2022, he has been obtaining a doctorate as an external doctoral candidate at the Doctoral Center for Social Work on the topic of "Perspectives of (primary school) children on pedagogical staff and their cooperation in all-day education". He is already familiar with Hochschule RheinMain (HSRM) from his studies on the Master's degree program in Social Work with a specialization in Education. He remained in contact with his supervisor at the time, Prof. Dr. Tanja Grendel, even after submitting his Master's thesis and worked intensively on his chosen research topic.

Diversity in primary school staff

His research focuses on primary school pupils and the educational professionals who look after them. Until the 2000s, these were almost exclusively teachers. In recent years, however, the diversity of professions in elementary school has expanded significantly. "School social workers, special education teachers, inclusion specialists, all-day specialists and school psychologists now work together in multi-professional teams to provide children with the best possible support," explains Lars Bieringer. However, it is still unclear "how children perceive this multitude of adult caregivers and how they would like them to be addressed and integrated."

To investigate these research questions, Lars Bieringer conducts all-day school walks led by children. This qualitative perspective is supplemented by data from a nationwide survey of school social work professionals - with a focus on the extent to which their staff are oriented towards the interests and needs of children.

Giving children a voice

What particularly excites him about his research is "that I can capture the subjective perspectives of children and place them at the center of my research. Children are often not sufficiently heard in school change processes - yet they have clear ideas about how schools should be designed. With his work, he can make a contribution to giving children a voice in the conceptual development of schools. The aim is to make the structures in elementary school more child-friendly.

In addition, he hopes that his chosen method of school walks will contribute to the further development of survey methods of children's perspectives in the school context.

Funding challenges

At the beginning of his doctorate, Lars Bieringer gave a lot of thought to financing it: "Every form of doctorate funding - be it through a scholarship, a project position, academic staff or practical experience - has its own advantages and disadvantages." He himself initially worked at the Saarland Ministry of Education and Culture and is now involved in several research projects. "This gives me the opportunity to develop my profile in many different ways. At the same time, however, as an external doctoral candidate this often leaves too little time for the actual work on the dissertation." It is crucial not to compare yourself with other doctoral candidates who are working under different requirements.

Plans for the future

Lars Bieringer is looking forward to the moment when he can present the results of his research at academic conferences and in political committees in order to "provide impetus for structural changes in the field of school social work". After completing his doctorate, he would like to continue his academic career. It is particularly important to him that his staff "make a contribution to an inclusive and just society".