Historically, migrant parent organisations have played a central role in post-war German migration history, particularly in advocating equal participation for their children in the education system. However, civil society organisations representing migrant parents have long been overlooked in academic research and political discourse. Until the 1990s, collaboration with these organisations was widely avoided as they were primarily viewed as manifestations of a so-called 'parallel society' (Hunger/Holz 2019; Klevermann, 2022). Since the early 2000s, however, migrant parent organisations have increasingly been recognised as important 'stakeholders' within the German education system. They are often conceptualised as playing a 'key role' as extracurricular learning spaces, 'bridges' between migrant families and schools, or 'partners' of educational administrations (Kollender, 2023). Nevertheless, these externally imposed conceptions often differ from the organisations' own understanding of their role, with some publicly resisting the 'migrantisation' of their engagement (Foroutan 2022). Using a triangulated research design, this paper examines the positioning of migrant parent organisations within the current political discourse and how their members incorporate these roles into their self-perception (Alkemeyer/Bröckling 2018; Butler 2003). Firstly, an analysis of political and administrative documents reveals the normative expectations placed on migrant parent organisations within the German school system. Secondly, through qualitative interviews with members of self-identified migrant parent organisations, the paper explores how individuals relate to the expectations imposed on their organisational activities. The analysis reveals that the current surge in populist discourse and the perceived 'crisis of the national order' within the German school system, which is linked to rising forced migration to Germany, as well as a wider 'crisis' of the welfare state, is a pivotal context for subjectivation processes of 'migrant parent organisations'. By examining the strategies that these organisations use to challenge and disrupt prevailing systems of recognition and belonging in schools, this paper illustrates how they navigate the complex interplay between neoliberal and racist interpellations. Using the example of a Berlin-based parents' organisation, the paper illustrates how it addresses the structural exclusion of parents and students in schools, while also critically appropriating the growing scientific racism-critical discourse on parents and schools in Germany. Against this backdrop, the paper discusses the role of educational researchers — including the author — not only in critically investigating continuities in the exclusion of migrant parents and their children in German school systems, but also in tackling these issues within civil society networks alongside parents.

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