The Potential to Build Collective Capacity for Organisational Learning in the Context of Teachers’ Use of Digital Technology for School Improvement

Susila Davis-Singaravelu

doi:10.3390/educsci12010033

Abstract

This article considers how digital spaces focused on whole school improvement combined with supportive leadership may be mobilised towards building collective capacity for evidence-informed practice and organisational learning. This topic originated from a qualitative, multi-method design-based research (DBR) project that studied practitioners’ use of an online resource for primary school practitioners called Pathways for school improvement, designed by Oxford University Press (OUP). Semi-structured interviews, participant observations and a documentary analysis were conducted with teachers and senior leaders in five primary schools across England between 2014 and 2016. Connections were made with the dynamic approach to school improvement (DASI) that encourages practitioners to systematically engage with a variety of evidence in their reflections and efforts to design school and classroom improvement strategies. Pathways’ four-step system and series of systematised tasks under each step seemed to provide opportunities for practitioners to explore elements of theory and practice in conjunction with empirical and pupil performance data, and potentially guide them through how to collaborate with others in developing specific whole school approaches to improvement. Opportunities and challenges in developing collective capacity for improvement are also explored.

Highlights

This article explores school practitioners’ use of digital technology for school improvement and teachers’ professional development and learning
The dynamic approach to school improvement (DASI) [1] considers both perspectives where in a sense, change is co-constructed by practitioners, leaders and other school stakeholders in order to meet the goals and demands of an external model, which includes a process of mutual adaptation [70] (p. 444). These two strands appear to combine as proposed by Hargreaves [60], in forming a kind of organisational leadership ‘collective’. In studying both schools’ and Oxford University Press (OUP) perspectives, the research outlined in this paper aims to bridge the fields of school improvement and educational digital technologies, and these ‘inside’ and ‘outside’ perspectives that have emerged in the author’s own perspective and design-based research (DBR) approach
Magpie’s headteacher, Mrs Magpie distributed a portion of leadership activities and roles, and in the process, a kind of individual, professional ‘autonomy’ via the strategic use of the Teaching and Learning Responsibility 3 scheme (TLR3s)

Summary

Introduction

This article explores school practitioners’ use of digital technology for school improvement and teachers’ professional development and learning. Vermunt and Wubbels [4] report that teachers considering their practice in more informal learning environments, compared to more structured settings (peer coaching and collaborative project groups) recounted more instances of experiencing negative emotions and continuing their old or existing practices. They found fewer instances of experimentation, surprise and developing new ideas. In contrast to other educational technology-related projects that tend to focus more on students’ perspectives, this study’s unique contribution to knowledge lies in its investigation of teachers’ school improvement practices and professional learning in the context of online technology, combined with the application of the DASI in practical, authentic settings

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Discussion

Conclusion