School program

A school program is a written document in which a school specifies its mission statement and sets medium to long-term priorities for quality development. It acts as an orientation aid in the process of school development and has a binding character for the school community.

The strengthening of the individual school's personal responsibility, which is required by educational policy, requires continuous self-reflection , analysis of practice and accountability for the work performed and to be performed.

All those involved in the school ( school management , teaching staff , parents , pupils , external partners) pool their strengths as part of the development of the school program and systematically and transparently give their actions a guideline and working basis against the background of the specific conditions at the educational institution.

The school program serves not only for communication within the school and for team building, but also for the specific design of the requirements and freedom that are laid down in the school law of the respective federal state. Here, teaching regarded as the core of school work. If all those involved have the opportunity to discuss their ideas about quality and if they find a common vision, then synergy effects can be used to realize the goals derived.

Part of the school program work is the clear definition of the ways to achieve the goals, concrete measures and responsibilities. The partners can demand compliance with the stipulations. On the basis of the school program, there is regular accountability internally (e.g. to the teaching staff) and externally (e.g. presentation of the school to parents and cooperation partners).

If the school program is understood as an instrument for systematic school development, it has a double function: on the one hand, it is a development instrument for schools , is used in the regular evaluation of the school and is continuously further developed in the course of the same, and on the other hand, it is a control instrument for the management level , which in decisions such as B. the personnel selection can be helpful.

The school program can serve as an orientation aid and decision-making aid for parents and pupils when it comes to making a selection for further school attendance.

history

In the 1980s, the first school programs were integrated into quality development in schools (e.g. pilot project in North Rhine-Westphalia ).

Since the first half of the 1990s, an increasing number of schools began voluntarily with school program work. Very different school programs emerged in terms of scope, content and structure.

At the beginning of the 21st century, school program work was legally anchored in many federal states through new school laws.

Legal basis

In connection with the educational policy discussion about more self-reliance of schools, a school program represents a means to fill existing creative leeway in educational, personal, financial and organizational aspects with life and to come to an understanding about quality requirements at the school.

In several German federal states, all schools are obliged to develop a school program.

Goals of school programs

Increasing the quality of educational work on a binding, common basis
more effectiveness by concentrating on focal points
Accountability and evaluation for quality assurance
Outward profile presentation for orientation and cooperation
continuous analysis of development status and requirements
greater identification of those involved with the school and improved communication

Components of school programs

There are central aspects that no school does without in its school program: inventory analysis, setting of priorities, catalog of measures and evaluation.

Statements on the following sections are included in school programs:

Inventory analysis of the quality of the school, in particular the teaching processes and school-specific framework conditions
Development focus in the areas of teaching, organization, personnel, value education and school life (vision)
educational guiding principles of the school (mission statement)
Time and action planning for the realization of the development projects
Statements about the further training of teachers and cooperation relationships of the school
Subjects, objectives and methods of evaluation

vision

A shared vision for the development of the school increases the effectiveness of the school program.

Therefore, at the beginning of the school program work, those involved discuss their ideas about the direction in which the school should develop and how the educational mandate should be carried out intensively and while maintaining constructive freedom.

The vision is not only a future-oriented collection of ideas, but also the consolidation of values with the aim of grasping realistic guiding principles for changes.

A school vision is strongly shaped by the normative ideas and personality of the headmaster.

Mission statement

The mission statement expresses a consensus of values and jointly worked out basic ideas of the school. In the area of tension between overarching school policy goals and its own development goals, the school specifies the need for action.

Guiding principles as a concept in school development have existed since the 1980s. Role models come from business and administration who tried to reorient.

Process / ideal-typical course of the school program work

The school program is developed in a participatory manner at the school . The participation of teachers, students, parents and external partners of the school in the development is desired and can be regulated in different ways.

Entry by an impulse z. B. from the headmaster
Formation of a steering group
Analysis of the current situation
Understanding a vision
Development of a mission statement
Selection of development priorities, definition of goals
Implementation planning
Creation and communication of a text version
Decision of the school conference and thus confirmation of the binding force
internal evaluation
external evaluation
continuous updating of the school program

The inventory analysis is the basis of every school program development. It happens using different approaches. So z. B. examined existing school statistics or carried out satisfaction surveys within the teaching staff, among the students or their parents. The methodological spectrum ranges from simple map inquiries to extensive empirical surveys (e.g. SWOT analysis ).

Possible questions are: Are there any key objectives? Which groups feel committed to these goals to what extent? What activities are there already at the school? Can these already be assigned to a main educational goal?

After determining the particular strengths of the school, it is jointly determined what should be retained because it is meaningful, beneficial and future-oriented for the school. In this phase, the actors seek agreement on the educational goals, formulate them clearly and bindingly.

In the next step, measures to achieve the goals are developed as detailed as possible. They must be coordinated with the help of a concrete and realistic plan of responsibilities and made binding for all parties involved.

All steps in the implementation of the school program should be independently verifiable.

The school program approved (e.g. by resolution of the school conference ) will be announced to the school public in a suitable manner and made available to all interested parties upon request.

Work on the school program will continue continuously. This is based on regular evaluations.

Tax groups

The establishment of a steering group has proven its worth. Its members reflect the interests of different groups within the school community as much as possible.

The steering group will be entrusted with the management of the school program work for the foreseeable future. It initiates the necessary work steps, works in a goal-oriented manner and ensures that information on the progress of the school program work is passed on to all interest groups. In addition to the steering group, topic-related working groups are often formed.

Advisory and support systems

The use of external advice and support systems can be helpful both in the development and in the implementation of the school program.

Schools make use of different options:

Contact and exchange with other schools at different levels (individual teachers, steering groups, school administrators) - establishment of a "school development" network
Building up know-how at the school through the participation of teachers in topic-specific training courses
In-house training for teachers, parents and students
Advice from external process consultants for school development
Inclusion of the extensive publications on the topic and the documentation on the Internet

Evaluation

Both the school and the school inspectorate regularly assess the quality of the educational work on the basis of the school program.

School programs therefore contain information on quality indicators with the help of which the approximation to the set and agreed goals is determined.

The process of the systematic collection, analysis and evaluation of information about learning, teaching and the school as a whole by the school staff, aligned with the development priorities of the school, is known as self-evaluation. It serves the independent control of school processes.

In some federal states, the self-evaluation measures are supplemented by an external evaluation.

As a rule, the school program also informs the public about what goals the school is setting itself, what measures it is planning and what it has already achieved.

School programs are to be continuously updated on the basis of the results of the evaluation.

The submission to the responsible school supervisory authority is regulated in the school laws of the individual federal states.

Evaluation of school programs

School programs differ greatly in the level of detail of the documents and the form of public presentation. For the structure as well as for the choice of the development priorities of the school programs, there are no cross-federal state binding criteria, but only recommendations or state-internal guidelines.

General criteria:

Formally:

Presentation (elaborate - simple)
Text structure (structure available - not available)
Scope (possibly including attachment)
responsible signatory

Organizational:

Which stakeholders were involved?
Was the work organized in groups (including a steering group)?
Was external advice used?
Is there a specific implementation schedule?

Inventory analysis:

What aspects does the analysis of the current situation contain: environment, student background, material equipment, personnel equipment, readiness for action and willingness to innovate on the part of the teachers, skills of the teachers, commitment of parents, a sense of togetherness, working atmosphere?

Development priorities as a conclusion from the inventory analysis

Are there overarching principles / a motto?
Number of development priorities
Have the priorities been converted into tangible and transparent goals?

Examples of the development priorities taken up in school programs:

social learning (e.g. tolerance, independence)
subject-related competence (language competence, music, MINT subjects )
Exercise / health ("moving school", healthy eating)
Opening of the school (cooperation with the municipality, associations)
special forms of teaching ( open teaching , differentiation, cooperative learning )
Use of modern media (e.g. media cabinet, Moodle )
Learning techniques (learning to learn)
Teacher competence (e.g. advanced training concept for teachers)
Supervision offer (e.g. homework supervision)

criticism

The enormous amount of time invested in developing a school program and the fact that the content of the school program then partly has nothing to do with everyday school life is criticized.

literature

Elmar Philipp, Hans-Günter Rolff: Developing school programs and models , Weinheim 2006
Heinz Günter Holtappels: School Programs - Instruments of School Development , Weinheim and Munich 2004
Herbert Altrichter, Katharina Maag Merki: Manual New Control in the School System , Wiesbaden 2010
Helmut Fend: Design School , Wiesbaden 2008
Stephan Huber: Handbook for Steering Groups , Cologne 2009