ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at the domains “School”, “Classroom”, and “Curricula”. The domain “School” comprises all the factors that describe structural and formal characteristics at school level. Time and again the closure of small schools leads to discussions, and time and again there are complaints about schools that have become too large. In the search for the optimal school size, a critical value of approximately 800 students is considered the ideal. School leaders are often mentioned in the literature as playing a key role. If school leaders succeed in ensuring a common vision about the nature, level, and quality of impact on their students, a common understanding of a good school and of teaching quality creates a sense of togetherness, called “collective teacher efficacy”. One of the most persistent political demands and election promises across the world is that more money needs to be invested in education.
