The initiative “Grundschule voraus – gemeinsam.gestalten.lernen” aims to prepare committed teachers for taking on a school management role. Since 2023, committed primary school teachers have been receiving targeted support for their professional development and personal growth in a continuing education and qualification programme. The initiative is jointly run by the Alfred Toepfer Foundation F.V.S., the Heraeus Education Foundation and the ZEIT STIFTUNG BUCERIUS.

The task of the scientific support provided by Marcus Pietsch, Hariet Schellig and
Jasmin Witthöft at Leuphana is to evaluate the effectiveness of the initiative. Their study collects empirical data from teachers nationwide beyond the scope of the “Grundschule voraus” qualification initiative. Parallel to the evaluation of the initiative, a survey was conducted by the opinion research institute forsa in autumn 2024. This survey, which is representative of Germany, involved 932 teachers from general education schools in Germany who did not hold school management positions (reference sample). In addition, data from 17 participants from the second cohort of the “Grundschule voraus” initiative who were surveyed prior to their participation in the initiative were also included.

The longitudinal mixed-methods design of the study makes it possible to track how professional development and leadership responsibilities change over several years. It allows conclusions to be drawn about which teachers can imagine taking on leadership roles in schools and school management positions, and for what reasons. It also allows to compare the attitudes of participants in the “Grundschule voraus” initiative with those of teachers who are not participating in this training programme.