Until 2020 a third of all present Austrian teachers and school leaders will retire [1]. This holds true for Germany, too. This will make – since only teachers may become school principals according to law – recruitment of school leaders more difficult. Thus, the question ‘Who wants to become a principal and why?’ and “By what kind of means of HRM influence career planning?” become important issues for education authorities and training and development agencies.

This paper investigates first what motives influence applying for school leadership positions and second the use of multiple learning approaches and different modes and types of learning in the (continuous) professional development (PD) of school leaders, particularly the use of self-assessment and feedback, and what kinds of impact this have on career planning.

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