DDS – Die Deutsche Schule: Issue 2/2026, 118. Volume “The School Dances” – Accompanied by Research

This report describes a multi-year collaboration within the framework of a dance project between the Zurich Opera House (OHZ), the secondary school “Im Birch”, and the Centre for School Improvement (ZSE) at the Zurich University of Teacher Education. The cultural project was initiated in response to experiences during the COVID-19 period; its aim was to strengthen the sense of belonging within the school. The report outlines the project, describes the activities, and explains how, in cooperation with the partners, the accompanying research and the format of feedback on the results were defined. Over the course of the long-term collaboration, a close connection developed between the partners, with the accompanying research framing both the further development of the project and the overall school improvement.

Keywords
school improvement, research-practice partnership, formative or process-accompanying research