More than 1.000 positions for principals are told to be vacant in Germany. What makes this career job – though exciting for pedagogues – so unattractive? The PISA trauma has resulted in hectic activities in all German states. In the process, the important question is raised: Who is to blame for the disaster? The basically appropriate decision for self-dependent schools and quality accountability of principals involves the tendency to move the responsibility from the control level of the administration to those who have to deal with the given conditions. As a principal by passion, I want to contribute thoughts and experiences from my personal perspective. What can a principal achieve? What must he or she do? Where are his or her boundaries? At the same time I want to show – using the example of my school – which role a principal can play in a highly participative system.

Schlagworte
self-dependent school, accountability of schools and of principals, principals’ chances and boundaries, school as participative system