Democratic school culture is one of the key indicators for monitoring the implementation of basic values and key principles associated with democracy into the educational system. Given the complex nature of everyday school life and a wide range of factors involved in the process of teaching and learning, evaluating school culture has been an important task for either educational authorities or other stakeholders involved in the process of teaching and learning itself. One of the initiatives of the Schule INKLUSIVE demokratischer Veränderungen project has therefore been to prepare a questionnaire that would reflect these elements.
Ultimately, a key aspect of evaluating the democratic school culture is that of bringing to the forefront the goals an educational institution aims to achieve. By identifying the status quo on the one hand and the objectives that are planned to be achieved on the other, it is possible to envision a program that would suit best a particular teaching and learning environment. At the same time, including all the stakeholders at a particular school (e.g., educators, students, parents, school leadership etc.) creates a sense of ownership of the changes aimed to be achieved by all groups involved.