School management 2.0: Between aspiration and reality

I have been a headteacher for more than 20 years. I still think my job is one of the best there is. It is literally meaningful. The tasks have not changed much since the introduction of school management at the turn of the millennium. However, the challenges have increased enormously due to the changing needs of schoolchildren, parents and society.

I will go into three topics in more detail below:

1. teacher shortage and teacher health

The shortage of skilled labour is just as noticeable in the education sector as it is in the economy. As in most schools, we have too few trained teachers, remedial teachers and therapists. The fact is that we have to employ people without the appropriate training or despite some lacking it.

As a headteacher, my primary goal is to provide children with lessons that motivate them to learn. A dilemma? With weekly discussions and announced short visits to the classroom, I recognise the concerns and needs of teachers who are not yet fully trained and can respond to them.

Despite all the measures, the shortage of well-trained teachers in schools means that the workload remains high.

It is just as important to be a present, empathetic leader for the experienced, long-standing teachers. They can come to me at any time with their concerns and needs. I try to utilise the personal strengths of the employees in the team and appreciate their tireless commitment to the school children and the school team.

However, everyone is challenged by the extraordinary situation. The new teachers have the right to receive professional guidance and support during their induction. As a team, we agree who can provide this temporary support to whom. It is helpful that the education-friendly city of Baden provides us with mentors for all new teachers and the canton of Aargau provides mentors for teachers without training.

Despite all these measures, the workload for the whole school remains high, and the topic of teacher health is on my mind every day. If necessary, an online tool for personal health management developed by a school management working group in Baden helps teachers and me to recognise where action is needed.

2. diversity of pupils

Children who are motivated and enjoy coming to school learn better. It is our task to integrate children from foreign cultures into our school culture. And to give them a new home where they feel accepted and cared for. Only if we succeed in doing this will they be willing to learn our language and participate in the community. It is also our duty to respectfully accompany and support every child with their abilities and skills as a valuable and independent personality, regardless of which parental home they come from.

A few years ago, I worked at a multicultural school. We set up a project there with the aim of promoting community and social skills among the pupils: For each age group from kindergarten to sixth grade, an experiential educator worked with the teacher to organise a trip to the forest several times a term. There, everyone worked together on these topics, among others: Exploration and discovery, trust, perseverance, exclusion and integration, taking responsibility and overcoming conflicts.

It was impressive for me to see how this improved the school climate in a short space of time and how the children treated each other with greater respect. A basis that favours individualised learning.

3. digitalisation and new technologies

Corona has accelerated digitalisation in schools. I have also noticed a major development at our school. In adapting the school's own digitalisation concept to the changed framework conditions, we are looking for answers to these questions, among others:

• How can we professionally support teachers in the ongoing process of digitalisation?
• Are the dangers of digitalisation being sufficiently discussed and consistently addressed?
• Are our schools prepared for the constantly changing IT equipment?
• Are the new requirements sufficiently taken into account in the planned buildings?
• Are the technical support resources sufficient to support the whole school?
• What can educational support do?

In many schools, teachers have taken on the role of pedagogical ICT support during the pandemic. They continue to play an important role when it comes to motivating and supporting team colleagues to further develop their teaching digitally.

As long as we still have to mention digitalisation, it hasn't really arrived yet.

One of our core messages is that digital teaching media should serve to optimise teaching and learning processes. A colleague from the association aptly describes the current situation: «As long as we still have to mention digitalisation, it hasn't really arrived yet.» It is up to us school leaders to close the gaps with all the means at our disposal.

Teacher shortage, diversity, digitalisation: three topics that keep me on my toes as a headteacher. Children with behavioural problems, psychological health, school absenteeism, inclusion-oriented school development, change in learning culture, artificial intelligence and dealing with social media are other challenges. My work never gets boring!

Despite numerous complex tasks, I also experience a lot of satisfying things in my job. A few days ago, gas escaped from a building site next to our school building. There were a lot of children on the playground at the time and the atmosphere suddenly became tense due to the noticeable odour.

When I stood in front of the assembled school community to announce that we had to move away from the school playground, a little girl with a cognitive impairment stood next to me and quietly pressed a beautiful poppy flower into my hand. I was very touched by this moment. And made me realise once again how meaningful the work of a headteacher is.