Picturing School Development and Support Services through a Kaleidoscope

Abstract

This article researches established support services for school development related to digitalization and their relationship to schools’ requirements. We present a theoretical model combining the dimensions of school development and established services as an extension of the dimensions of school development by Eickelmann and Gerick (2017). We then introduce the project ‹Professional Development and Support Systems for School Development in the Context of Digitalization› (Original title in German: ‹Fortbildungs- und Unterstützungssysteme für Schulentwicklung im Kontext der Digitalisierung›, abbreviated to ForUSE-digi) is introduced. The main aim is the provision of a Germany-wide inventory of strategies, structures and specific measures of school support and teacher professional development systems in all 16 federal states. The article presents initial results consisting of analyses of strategic papers, state-specific structures and concrete measures (including offers for teachers’ professional development and consulting services) for the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW). The results are discussed in relation to the extended model, with the aim of establishing what might constitute ‹optimal› services for schools in the context of digitalization. The results show that ‹optimization needs› still exist in both support services and school development processes. The article ends with a conclusion and a preview of the second part of ForUSE-digi, which will include expert interviews with key persons for the support systems of selected federal states.

Keywords

• Professional Development
• digital school development
• Support system