The stimulation of school improvement processes: the orientation of development perspectives

In a constantly changing world, schools need to adapt. Difficulties, successes, and experienced challenges can be important driving forces for school improvement. This study aims to develop a comprehensive understanding of the situation and decision-making processes related to school improvement strategies in socially disadvantaged areas, where schools face particularly challenging circumstances. The study comprises data from 100 Austrian schools, that is, answers to open-ended questions in a survey. A mixed-methods approach was applied. The qualitative data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. The data were processed, frequencies of themes were determined, and latent profile analysis was applied. The results show the diversity of challenges, difficulties, strengths, and development perspectives reported by schools. The results of the latent profile analysis indicate that there are different underlying profiles in the orientation of development perspectives towards strengths, difficulties, challenges, and/or not identified factors.