The starting point of a scientific study of school leadership is the insight into its central importance for the quality of schools and their development. The importance of school leadership for the quality and development of schools and the relevance of professionalizing school leaders are well supported by scientific evidence and are now increasingly emphasized by school leaders themselves, by educational researchers, and also by educational policy makers. For example, the effectiveness and success of improvement efforts depend to a large extent on the performance of school leaders. Extensive empirical efforts of quantitatively oriented school effectiveness research – predominantly in North America, Great Britain, Australia and New Zealand, but also in the Netherlands as well as in the Scandinavian countries – revealed that the pedagogical control of schools by school leaders is a central factor for the quality of a school. Recent studies on school development or school improvement also emphasize the relevance of school leadership, especially with regard to the intended continuous improvement process in any school (for a critical overview see, among others, Huber, 1999a). School leadership thus assumes a central role in all phases of the school development process. It is often described as responsible for maintaining a view of the whole school in the targeted improvement processes and for ensuring meaningful coordination of individual activities.

In addition, it is to create intraschool conditions for continuous professional development and increasing professionalization of teachers. It bears responsibility for the development of a cooperative school culture, etc. In the current literature, but also in educational policy and practice, it is also recognized that principals face new and expanded demands in light of current developments, namely, for example, the indicated shift in tasks and competencies. The role and function of school leadership have changed significantly, are currently changing, and will continue to change. In German-language school research, however, there are large research desiderata open, for example, with regard to concrete school leadership actions.

In view of the relevance of school leaders and the changing demands for high competence, their qualification (the quantity and quality of training and continuing education) is also of great importance. Up to now, however, it has often been wrongly assumed that there is an identity of competencies between teachers and school management staff. Not least for this reason, there is a lack in the German-speaking world of both a precise job and requirements profile of school administrators and, in particular, studies on the stress and strain experienced by school administrators.