Schools, as central educational institutions, are under constant pressure to adapt to various societal demands, including social, economic, and political challenges. In the context of political conflicts and social polarization, educational institutions are increasingly regarded as key drivers of social change. They are expected to contribute to solutions for pressing societal challenges through their continuous development and adaptation. Consequently, school development has become a focal point in education policy initiatives, training programs, and the efforts of individual schools (cf. Rolff, 2007).

While schools are undoubtedly embedded in broader social discourses and relationships, the dominant approaches in international school improvement and school development research (e.g., Fullan, 2008; Rolff, 2016) primarily concentrate on the meso level—the internal processes and structures of individual schools. However, these approaches mostly neglect the broader social, historical, economic, and political contexts that influence school development processes, leaving these dimensions underexplored.

Berkemeyer (2016) argues that school improvement research tends to engage with the relationship between schools, politics, and society in an uncritical manner. This limited perspective imposes significant restrictions on its explanatory power and, consequently, its ability to enhance our understanding of the broader dynamics at play. This critique aligns with another observation regarding current research approaches: they often operate at the level of practical models rather than developing systematic theories. Although these approaches draw on a variety of theoretical frameworks from disciplines such as organizational theory, management theory, neo-institutionalism, educational governance, and systems theory, an independent and coherent theory of school development remains underdeveloped. This gap is highlighted as a key desideratum (cf. Maag Merki 2021).

In response to these challenges, the presented dissertation takes a step back to analytically investigate these theoretical gaps in school development research. Its central hypothesis is twofold:
First, it is posited that the conceptual foundations of current school development research approaches are insufficiently transparent and critically examined. For instance, the implicit assumptions about the purpose of theory or the concept of “development” shape a specific—and often narrow—understanding of school development processes and the role of school development research. However, these assumptions are rarely made explicit.
Second, the dissertation hypothesizes that the current conceptualization of school development and its associated research is rooted in the separation of school theory and school development research that has taken place over recent decades. Contemporary school development research prioritizes the question of how to develop schools effectively, while largely avoiding the broader societal question of where schools should develop. This omission raises the critical question: What are the goals of schools within contemporary society, and what role should school development research play in achieving these goals?

To address these gaps, this dissertation proposes a critical reflection framework that reconnects school theory with school development research. This framework positions schools as societal institutions that are inherently interwoven with the societal conditions in which they operate. By re-establishing this connection, it becomes possible to critically examine the narrow conceptualizations prevalent in current approaches to school development research.

Against this backdrop, the dissertation seeks to answer the following research questions:

1. How do current approaches in school development research define the concept of "school development" and the role of school development research as a discipline?
2. What theoretical potential and practical consequences arise from a societal conceptualization of school development?

The presented dissertation adopts a theoretical approach. To address the research questions, the first step involves outlining the current state of research on school development. This review demonstrates that, over recent decades, a wide range of questions have been explored within the field, employing diverse theoretical paradigms and methodological frameworks (cf. Bohl 2020). However, two major research gaps emerge, as highlighted earlier: the lack of comprehensive theory building in school development research and, more specifically, the absence of theories capable of analyzing the relationship between schools and society in which school development processes take place. In the second step, the dissertation focuses on both recent (a.o. Buhren et al. 2008, Asbrand et al. 2021) and earlier (a.o. Rolff & Tillmann 1980, Tillmann 1993) efforts to address these research gaps. It becomes evident that perspectives on what constitutes the essential components of a suitable school development theory—and how these components should be constructed—vary significantly across the field. Through an in-depth analysis of existing approaches, several analytically significant areas are identified that are crucial for the development of a comprehensive school development theory. These areas include: • The concept of "development"; • The concept of "theory"; • The relationship between theory, (empirical) research, and practice; • The interaction between research and policymakers; • The conceptualization of schools as institutions versus organizations; and • The normative legitimation of school development research. In the fourth and final step, these areas are critically discussed in relation to the two central research questions. The dissertation concludes with an outlook on the potential of redefining the role and aims of future school development research. By engaging with a critical reading of the philosophy of practice, this approach seeks to offer a more normatively grounded understanding of school development processes within society. The primary focus of the presentation at the ECER 2025 lies in the third step of the research process: the systematic reconstruction of existing approaches to theory building and the identification of analytically relevant areas for further investigation. The findings from this step form the foundation for developing new perspectives and guiding future theoretical work. Even though the analysis of the state of research focuses on publications from the German-speaking world, the results are contextualized within the international debate. Furthermore, the analytical questions raised demonstrate relevance beyond the narrower cultural context.

Amid the global turmoil of political conflicts and social polarization, educational institutions are increasingly regarded as key agents of societal change. However, the relationship between schools and society remains underexplored in contemporary school development research. This doctoral thesis seeks to contribute to a critical understanding of schools as societal institutions by challenging school development research to explicitly account for this societal dimension in its approaches. In addressing the identified research gaps, I argue that the field of school development research is not so much lacking theories in general as it is lacking a coherent theoretical program. My thesis explores the potential of establishing a critical program in school development research, one that is committed to fostering educational environments that promote both individual growth and democratic community and solidarity— thus charting a way forward. Regarding the format of the ERC, I would particularly value the opportunity to discuss the structure of my analysis with international colleagues and the ERC chairs.

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