Abstract
When Sweden began to experience a steady decline in student achievement results in PISA and TIMMS, the Swedish National Agency of Education initiated a model of collaboration with Swedish universities aimed at providing support to schools with falling student achievement scores. In this article, we examine how such projects can work at the local school level. Our focus is mainly on how knowledge construction can be realized for teachers and principals; we reflect on whose knowledge is valued, and we explore what role research texts play in school improvement. Working within the frames of both social and cultural processes, we looked at how teachers and principals are provided opportunities to develop and define their own professional understanding of school improvement. We found that knowledge construction of school improvement, as both a political and cultural process, needed to be based on local needs. The guidance of a knowledgeable other in interpreting research literature on school improvement can support such knowledge construction only when the local needs and history are part of the process.
Highlights
Over the last decade, the collaboration between researchers and educational organizations has grown exponentially (Fullan, 2007; Sahlberg, 2011)
In the early 2000s, Sweden began to experience a steady decline in student achievement, as observed in PISA and TIMMS results
This article aims to contribute to the research of how knowledge construction on school improvement literacy, in collaboration with outside agencies, is an important part of school improvement itself
Summary
The collaboration between researchers and educational organizations has grown exponentially (Fullan, 2007; Sahlberg, 2011). Like many other OECD countries, Sweden utilizes a National Inspection Agency to identify schools that fall below established standards. In the light of this, the Swedish government tasked Skolverket (The National Agency for Education) with developing programs and strategies to provide support for the schools and school boards that have experienced challenges in meeting the national standards (OECD, 2015; Skolverket, 2018). They initiated this strategy by inviting collaboration with researchers at different Swedish universities. The university researchers provide guidance and support to the school boards, municipalities, and the identified schools throughout the implementations of these projects. Around 10 different universities in Sweden provide support to the schools involved
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