Families and schools as central institutions in society, as well as for the socialization and education of children and young people, changed fundamentally within the last century in all of Europe. There were changes in types and lifestyles of families as a product of social changes in general (liberalization, democratization) and special challenges from migration and increasing poverty in Europe. As a result, the heterogeneity of parents has increased.

Simultaneously, the desire for cooperation between families and schools has increased, too, and has been supported by law. In many European countries new legislation has given parents a more important role especially in school choices and influencing school life. In the past, demands for more parental participation were guided by the call for more democratization of schools: in the present, the pedagogical perspective is emphasized more, i.e. not “separate responsibility” but “shared responsibility” has come to the fore (cf. Epstein 1986; Wild & Lorenz 2010). As a result, parents are more and more addressed as active partners at school-level as well as in their children’s educational and learning processes..

However, schools are confronted with different kinds of parents. On the one hand, there are parents who seem well informed and show their expertise in a self-confident manner, on the other hand, there are complaints about uninterested and overburden parents who are not able and/or not willing to show responsibility.

From the point of schools it has become more and more important to synchronize the main ideas of learning and caring, especially given the new challenges in many European countries like inclusion or all-day-schools. Research results support this point of view. The latest OECD research report, for example, pointed out the high influence parental behavior, beliefs and educational practices have on the learning outcomes of pupils at all levels of education although the effects differ among the various countries (Borgonovi & Montt 2012). Several meta-analyses also show the positive effects of parental involvement in school on the achievement and general well-being of pupils (Jeynes 2011; Hill & Tyson 2009; Henderson & Mapp 2002).

In this symposium we want to discuss some of the current developments which have taken place in Europe within the last decade. From different points of view the symposium wants to discuss the following aspects in all presentations:

• Efforts of schools in different European contexts to share with parents the responsibility for learning and education

• Role of parents in these different contexts (parents as “actors”, “partners”, “suppliers” or “consumers” in programmes and initiatives)

• Challenges for schools and parents

• Challenges for research on this topic