Ben van der Hilst

341 Summary Teamgericht organiseren Summary Team-oriented organization of schools Focus on quality, agility and job satisfaction Objective This thesis focuses on the role of the school leader in all sectors of edu- cation. School leaders face the important task of contributing to the quality of educa- tion, while simultaneously ensuring that the school continues to evolve in a way that enables it to maintain quality, both in the present and in the future (the maneuverability or agility of the school). As an employer, the school leader is also responsible for job satisfaction of the employees. The challenge facing school leaders is therefore threefold: How to lead the school in such a way as to ensure quality, maneuverability and job satisfaction? The goal of this dissertation is to contribute to the school leader’s repertoire so that they can meet management challenges successfully; as well as to contribute to the scientific discourse on management by school leaders. Exploration of the leadership task To that end, the above-mentioned manage- ment assignment will first be explored and problematized. The management task is difficult because, among other reasons, the context in which schools operate is complicated and subject to rapid change. The context is influenced by a number of societal developments, such as the increased individualization and computerization of society. These various trends influence education and therefore the management tasks of the school leader. Because education is part of the public sector, the influ- ence of the development of the new public management since the 1980’s has been particularly significant. Devolution, market forces, amalgamations and the emphasis on strong management (managerialism) have all had a major impact on the function- ing of schools. Increased consumer awareness, high expectations with regards to education, increased accountability and limited resources available, make the school management task even more complicated. After an exploration of these - sometimes contradictory - influences on the management task of the school leader, the thesis provides an overview of possible management interventions available to the school leader. How can the school leader guide the school towards quality, agility and job sat- isfaction? Guiding is predominantly indirect, via a number of control domains, such as the organization of education, the facilities available and personnel policies. A school’s