Research and practice · KPH Vienna/Lower Austria · since 2022
School development consulting
What schools expect from external advisers, what school leaders see as its effects — and how the first phase of a consulting process can be planned and evaluated
In Austria, school development consulting — external advisers who accompany a school through a development process — is largely the task of the universities of teacher education. Since 2022 Roland Bernhard has studied it with colleagues at KPH Vienna/Lower Austria and the University for Continuing Education Krems and within a nationwide working group on evaluating consulting in school development processes: three studies, a set of practical instruments and a project report for the school system.
Three studies and a toolkit
What we have learned so far
Instruments for the contracting phase
The first phase of a consulting process — clarifying the assignment (Auftragsklärung) — is of particular importance. With Manfred Fede (University for Continuing Education Krems), Roland Bernhard developed two instruments for it: a checklist for planning and a guide for qualitative, formative evaluation — first for the nationwide working group in 2022, then published in Schulpraxis entwickeln (2023).
Instructional development is rarely the focus
A study among 64 school development consultants in Austria, carried out with Eva Hofbauer (R&E-SOURCE, 2023), shows that most see themselves as process experts whose work centres on organisational development; instructional development is the focus least often. The authors argue that a stronger focus on instructional development in consulting could bring great added value for schools in difficult circumstances.
School leaders’ expectations and perceived effects
With Michaela Waldherr and Peter Eckel (KPH Vienna/Lower Austria), an exploratory triangulation study used qualitative interviews and focus group discussions to examine what school leaders expect from consulting and which effects they perceive (R&E-SOURCE, 2025): consulting is perceived as effective in organisational and staff development, while its influence on instructional development remains comparatively small. First results were presented at the 7th Research Day of the PH-Verbund Nord-Ost in February 2025. A KPH project report (2025) adds school leaders’ perspectives on quality management, consulting and professional development.
The topic connects to two other lines of work: the SQTE project, whose eight recommendations for Austria include hours for middle management in every school and far less administration for school leaders and teachers, and the work with school leadership teams described under Character-Based Leadership.
Publications