Thread by @stefguene

Thread: Prof @karenseashore, Prof. Moosung Lee (2016) Teachers’ Capacity for Organisational Learning (OL): the effects of school culture & context. School Effectiveness and School Improvement 27(4) p 535-556

Paper explores connection between school culture & capacity for OL; teachers’ capacity to find/apply new knowledge influences how aspects of school culture link to positive student outcomes/OL.

Barth (1990): relationship btw adults in schools is key to all school improvement efforts. Schein’s (1992 p 18) concept of culture: ‘pattern of beliefs, assumptions and value systems among a group of people’

Culture reflects way group approaches problems/interacting with people inside/outside organisation. Cultural elements=stable/least malleable; incl shared knowledge/conceptual structures/learned/transmitted norms. Shared history informs behaviour helps groups adapt to uncertainty.

Cultures influence schools moving or being stuck; may cycle btw. Initial improvement may lead to cultural change, but culture insufficient for rapid improvement. Difficult to sustain conditions for success. OL may mediate btw culture & improvement.

Beyer, Trice 1982 & Weiss (1979) distinguished btw instrumental use of knowledge to solve problems/make decisions and for conceptual purposes – to enlighten/suggest new ways of thinking. OL relies less on quant. data & more on social processes for innovative thinking.

OL incl habituated searching for, processing, evaluating, incorporating/using/generating new ideas within school & from outside. Difficult to observe OL, but can look for processes likely to lead to learning/change. OL uses idea that learning leads to improvement.

In schools, this means frequent adjustments to practice (change orientation) not big strategic change. Continuous school improvement culture assumes a long-term commitment and ability to see beyond year-year fluctuations associated with compliance/accountability.

OL means attending to implications of new knowledge for changes in classroom practice.
When people in an organisation faced change, can lead to culture adjustment/group learning. Learning may occur when people are ‘watching, noticing, trying & doing’ (Tyre & von Hippel, 1997p75)

Characteristics of effective schools: Academic emphasis - improving schools prioritise academic achievement; Academic support for students – balance btw pastoral/academic support. Caring should include support for intellectual growth;

Trust & respect: strong relationship btw trust/shared norms/values; trust teachers have in their principal>pupil achievement. Trust can be built through supportive behaviour. Key dimensions of trust: personal integrity, competence, openness, reliability, willing vulnerability.

Professional Learning Communities + Communities of Practice = Professional Culture; associated with teacher learning. 3 key components of PLCs contribute to OL: Reflective Dialogue – teachers who engage in deep conversations about their practice more likely to experiment/change;

Deprivatised Practice – when teachers can observe each other teaching and student outcomes improve; Shared responsibility-when people accept joint responsibility for work, productivity increases. In strong PLCs teachers share collective sense of contributing to pupil outcomes.

Context: School poverty - doesn’t affect teacher capacity for learning; School size – smaller schools are better for teachers and students in schools with high deprivation; School level – age group may moderate relationship btw culture and OL.

Discussion: Teachers’ capacity for OL is supported by:core aspects of school culture eg prioritising academic achievement, academic support for students, respect/trust; allocating resources/learning opportunities on basis of student need; teachers’ culture;

Dimensions of PLCs (reflective dialogue/deprivatised practice/shared responsibility) promote interactions for professional learning . Teachers in secondary school less likely than those in elementary schools to perceive capacity for OL.

Link btw reflective dialogue and teachers’ capacity for OL may weaken as school age phase increases. Membership of multiple PLCs maybe critical for OL (Lieberman 2000)

Conclusion: Multiple dimensions of PLCs – academic emphasis, academic support, trust/respect, professional community – increase capacity for OL; Embedded teacher collaboration important predictor of OL;

Active PLC = key pillar of school improvement; mutually accountable/self-critical approach rooted in continuous inquiry.
Evaluation of school culture should be considered as part of improvement strategy – culture might be a pre-condition for change.

Great paper! Thank you @KarenSeashore and Moosung Lee. Writing this thread helped me process it. Hope it's helpful.

@threadreaderapp please unroll