Wer steuert hier wen und was? Die Übersetzung von Paradoxien in Schulentwicklungsprozessen

This article in the magazine “Gruppe. Interaction. Organization. (GIO)” presents a translation model derived from post-structuralist actor-network theory in the context of educational organizations, which expands the perspectives on power relations and the handling of paradoxes in change processes. The model can serve as an analytical heuristic grid of perception for the various change actors, such as managers, teams or external development consultants. As one result of the autonomy discourse, schools are—on the one hand—given freedom in their concrete development work, while—on the other hand—this is supervised and limited by monitoring and controlling instruments. The control logic of such educational governance approaches is based on a constitutive area of tension that is reinforced by the antinomies inherent in educational activities. Based on two case studies of schools that were advised by a multi-professional team over several years, the question of how the actors involved—the school management and teacher teams on the one hand, the consultants on the other—dealt with the areas of tension and contradictions that arose from the design and implementation of a prescribed development project is examined: Did they succeed in translating the antinomies to such an extent that a constructive development process could be set in motion? Or have areas of tension become tests of endurance that caused the consultancy process to fail? Using the translation model, typical paradoxes in educational organisations are highlighted, and exemplary practices of coping with these are traced. (Translated with DeepL.com).