School Constellations (educational)

School Constellations or Educational Constellations are a specific application of the systemic approach to the educational field, developed primarily by Marianne Franke-Gricksch since the late nineties. They are applied in contexts such as teacher training, advising management teams, understanding individual student difficulties, and resolving conflicts in classrooms or between families and the school.

Central premise: the classroom is a system with its own systemic laws equivalent to the orders of family love —belonging (who is part of the classroom and who is excluded), order (the teacher-student hierarchy and legitimate authority), balance (the exchange between teacher and students)—. When these orders are respected, the classroom functions; when they are broken, symptoms appear: bullying, generalized academic failure, chronic conflicts, 'difficult' students.

Frequent dynamics revealed by the systemic perspective:

The symptom-student: the 'problematic' child is often representing something from the family clan that is not named (an excluded one, a grief, a loyalty). The bullying they receive often reflects the systemic exclusion they carry.

Parental teachers: teachers who assume a more parental than pedagogical role, generally because the student's family has dysfunctional dynamics. It is necessary to recognize this and set boundaries.

Carrying students: children parentified by their own family systems who arrive at school carrying adult responsibilities. It is difficult for them to learn; their psyche is occupied elsewhere.

Practical application: a school constellation can involve the child with their family, the teacher with their own family (mirror), and the school system (hierarchy, team). The results are often remarkable: 'chronic' difficulties that subside in a few sessions when the systemic reading names what was operating.