Strengthening Participation in State and Civil Society Institutions: Perspectives of Migrant Parents (PARMEL)
Network project
Political (in)equality in the post-migrant democracy (PoMigDem)
Project description
Democratic societies are enlivened by civic engagement. Participation in state and civic institutions allows individuals to actively shape social processes, express their own positions and improve the community for the benefit of all. Such forms of political participation are particularly important for people without German citizenship. Against this background, the project Strengthening participation in state and civil society institutions: perspectives of migrant parents (PARMEL), as a part of the collaborative DeZIM research project Political (In)Equality in Post-Migrant Democracy (PoMigDem), examines the institutional and contextual conditions of parental participation in key institutions of socialisation focusing particularly on the under-researched perspective of parents with an immigration history.
The aim of the project is to
- identify institutional factors that enhance or inhibit the participation of immigrant parents, and
- generate approaches based on these findings to strengthen the participation of immigrant parents.
The project follows a mixed-methods approach that incorporates the experiences of parents with and without an immigration history in different institutional (day-care centres, schools, clubs) and regional contexts (e.g., urban/rural, diverse/homogeneous). The aim is to identify similarities and differences in parental participation processes under varying conditions. The project will analyse what opportunities for participation parents perceive, what motives underlie their participation and which institutional conditions are viewed as necessary for participation by parents. Additionally, the project will elaborate on diversity strategies and measures actually implemented by state and civic institutions to include immigrant parents. The findings will be used to generate starting points for political and institutional interventions to intensify parental participation in co-production with migrant organisations and representatives. These, will then be discussed with key stakeholders and transferred into practice.
Research team
Principal investigator:
Co-principal investigator:
Dr. Alison Benbow, Prof. Dr. Philipp Jugert (Universität Duisburg-Essen, InZentIM)
Project coordinator:
Researcher:
Student researcher:
Viola Cernovskij (Humboldt-Universität, BIM), Emily Schulte (Universität Duisburg-Essen, InZentIM)
Partner institutions
- Interdisciplinary Centre for Integration and Migration Research (InZentIM)
- Mannheim Centre for European Social Research (MZES)
Practice Cooperation
Bundeselternnetzwerk der Migrantenorganisationen für Bildung & Teilhabe (bbt)
Funding information
Funding organisation:
Federal Ministry of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth (BMFSFJ)
Duration
01/2025–12/2027
* * *