Educational mission statement

Mission statements contain long-term objectives. They serve to align the actions of the actors involved with jointly defined goals and, as it were, to offer joint strategies for solving problems.

The purpose of a mission statement is for the various stakeholders to develop common goals and coordinate their measures accordingly. This serves not only to reassure themselves of their own work, but also to facilitate further cooperation with the intention of creating a city-wide educational landscape in order to improve the development and learning opportunities of people of all age groups.

Mission statement from 2010

The educational mission statement of the city of Jena from 2010 had proven itself in practice, but was now over five years old. Since the mission statement was adopted, framework conditions, interests and special features in the education sector have changed, meaning that it was necessary to update the mission statement. For example, the demographic framework conditions have developed much more positively than was foreseeable at the time.

Education conference 2016

For this reason, the city of Jena organized an education conference on 28.11.2016. The following stakeholders from civil society and the education sector were invited to attend

• the state education authority,
• the daycare centers and schools,
• the two universities,
• youth welfare and adult education providers,
• other educational institutions,
• training companies,
• representatives of employers and employees
• as well as politicians from the city council parties.

The event began with a keynote speech by Prof. Dr. Peter Fauser, who drew a line from globalization to municipal responsibility for education and praised Jena's school policy.

Diverse educational landscape

A diverse school landscape has emerged in Jena, which meets the requirement of concentrating and organizing quality-relevant resources as close to the school and on site as possible. The Thuringian education plan up to the age of 18 and the following previous areas of the mission statement were then discussed at nine themed tables:

• Skills acquisition,
• quality,
• equal opportunities,
• inclusion,
• educational transitions,
• information and advice,
• networking and cooperation
• and education for the whole community.

The results, which focus more strongly than before on learning throughout the entire life course, were evaluated in an interdepartmental editorial group. This group had the task of adapting and updating the mission statement accordingly.

The mission statement contains key objectives for Jena's educational landscape and is based on a modern concept of education. The following important topics are underpinned by objectives:

• Equal opportunities,
• inclusion,
• Information and advice on educational opportunities,
• questions of skills acquisition and the quality of educational institutions and
• the transitions between different forms of education.

The facilitation of further cooperation and networking was included.

Goals

The content of the objectives was confirmed, but compared to the first version of the mission statement, the language was not only revised, but also formulated more concisely and precisely. In terms of content, the idea of lifelong learning was emphasized more clearly than in the 2010 mission statement and emphasis was placed on addressing all age groups.

No concrete measures to achieve the goals

It is important to note that the mission statement does not formulate sufficiently concrete measures to achieve the objectives. This is also not the task of a mission statement.

The mission statement will be fleshed out by further resolutions of the city council and its committees, for example by the youth development plan and the school network and school development plan, or by the individual providers who develop their own educational concepts and base their objectives on the mission statement.