Completed project · 2006–2008
ReBiz III
Within the ReBiz project (development of vocational schools into regional vocational training centres), the vocational schools in Bremen and Bremerhaven have been working towards decentralised self-governance since 2002. Five fields of action are pursued: development of educational programmes, staff development, quality development, cooperation relationships, and organisational development. ReBiz III, with its focus on organisational development, aims at developing and testing structures and processes that are appropriate for schools acting with greater autonomy and responsibility.
In ReBiz III, organisational development is understood as a process that, in addition to increasing organisational efficiency, should also contribute to promoting constructive working conditions. An explicit leitmotif of ReBiz III – and a basic condition for greater learning and innovation capacity at schools – is therefore the question of how the workload of teachers can be reduced in the medium and long term.
Topics of organisational development are institutional framework conditions and cross-curricular processes such as communication and cooperation, team development, decision-making structures and committees, information flows, workplace design, objectives, as well as cultural characteristics and working atmosphere. Particularly in connection with the field of staff development and the planned extension of the area of responsibility of head teachers, it is necessary to consider changed forms of participation and delegation of responsibility within the schools. The aim of ReBiz III is to initiate a learning and development process at the organisational level that will shape the school organisation from a student-oriented perspective in the future. This means anchoring coordination, communication and the processes of teaching and learning organisationally in such a way that optimal subject-related, methodological and social development is made possible for the learners. In the course of the project, the project schools will develop school-specific development measures, starting from their own organisation and making full use of the possibilities provided by school legislation.
Research questions
Three research questions can be formulated in connection with the project:
- Does this form of organisational development suit vocational schools?
- Which central developments are vocational schools in Bremen currently undergoing?
- How can the central organisational problems of vocational schools (in Bremen) be addressed?