A study tour of the project team members to Austria and Germany

During the project and the implementation of the project element 2: Teaching instructors − strengthening the capacity of study program teachers, the project team members went for a study tour in Austria and Germany from 22nd to 26th May, 2016.

The journey included visits to educational and pedagogic institutions responsible for the education of the principals in those countries. The project team members met with the principals and employees of the educational institutions providing forms of principals’ education. The aim of the visit was to get acquainted with the system of selecting principals for their jobs, of keeping their positions, and to get to know principals’ duties and daily activities. In addition, the project team members were presented with the system of financing the schools and with principals’ responsibilities.

During their stay in Austria and Germany, the project team members visited the following educational institutions:

• School BRG-Viktring (Klagenfurt, Austria),
• Institut für Unterrichts- und Schulentwicklung, Alpen-Adria-Universität (Klagenfurt, Austria),
• school Volksschule Geidorf (Graz, Austria),
• school EDV-Mittelschule Ferdinandeum (Graz, Austria),
• Institut für Educational Governance und Qualitätsentwicklung (Graz, Austria),
• Pädagogisches Institut (München, Germany).

In the above-mentioned educational institutions the project team members received valuable information about the systems of principals’ education and about improving principals’ knowledge. In this respect, they were primarily presented with the compulsory education systems to be taken over upon principals’ appointment in addition to the recommended systems, such as the Leadership Academy. Austria is currently thinking of launching a new educational system for the principals. Germany develops its own educational system by respective provinces co-financed by the cities.

As a safety measure, Germans have an orientation course for principals indicating if the candidates are capable of being principals, thereby reducing the risk and costs. Germany has the obligation of the annual education, while in Austria there is no such obligation.

All the meetings in these institutions included formal conversations with principals and employees, as well as with students. During this tour many data were collected for making benchmark analysis of the Croatian system of principals’ education. At the same time the project team established different contacts for future further training and possible joint projects and researches.