The “Schule Leiten” workshop series was an advanced training series for principals of general education schools in the Saarland. It was held in cooperation with the Saarland Institute for Education and Media and the German School Academy. Experienced coaches and the principals of schools that have won the German School Award contributed to the series’ conceptual design and implementation. The goal of the workshop series was to support principals in initiating, developing and strengthening school development processes. This was achieved by promoting and developing the participants’ capacity to act (“good administration”). The result was an improvement in school quality based on the criteria of the German School Award (“good school”).

The evaluation of the “Schule Leiten” workshop was focused on whether the program has contributed to (a) strengthening the principals’ leadership skills, (b) implementing structures and processes that promote the development of the participating schools and (c) improving the school’s quality through the implemented measures. For this purpose, it was specifically assessed the individual measures introduced in the workshop series as well as the overall program. The evaluation of the overall program was intended to provide insight into the program’s proven effects not only on principals and teachers, but also on schools as learning organizations. It also shed light on the components that are particularly important for the program’s success.