Scientific support of the project School Leadership Coaching in North Rhine-Westphalia

The School Management North Rhine-Westphalia has been running the school leadership coaching project since the 2012/2013 school year. In addition to further existing training programs, individualized coaching was designed with the aim of professionalizing school leaders and supporting systematic, competence-oriented instructional development. The Department of Empirical Educational Research at the University of Kassel has taken on the scientific monitoring of this project. In an initial qualitative study (2013/2014), individual interviews were conducted with coached principals and coaches qualified within the project. Therin the occasions, topics and developments in coaching as well as its effects on school principals and the school system were examined.

In the second, quantitative part of the study (2014-2016), the effects of coaching on the areas relevant for school development, such as leadership behavior of principals, professional stress and satisfaction, willingness to innovate of the teaching staff, and school climate, are examined. Furthermore, it will be determined whether coaching is a useful addition to existing training and support programs for school leaders in North Rhine-Westphalia. In a standardized written pre-post-follow-up survey (three survey dates) of all school principals participating in the project, the assessment of the above-mentioned school conditions will be collected. In order to validate the results, not only the head teachers but also the teaching staff at selected schools will be surveyed longitudinally on these conditions.