MESHGuides

There is a growing expectation that schools will show an ability to learn, for individuals (teachers, leaders, other adults participating in school work) and the school organisation. Organisational learning (OL) is how organisations reach the ideal of a learning organisation.

“It is clearer today than ever that educators need to learn, and that’s why professional learning has replaced professional development. Developing is not enough. Educators must be knowledgeable and wise. They must know enough in order to change. They must change in order to get different results. They must become learners …” (Easton, 2008)

It is important to re-engineer schools to adapt them for 21st century learning.

OECD findings (2015) suggest a focus on four elements: learners, educators, content, and resources. The report concluded that schools are most powerful when they:

We consider this knowledge has significant transferability. The focus is on placing learning at the centre of schooling and this emphasis on the things that matter in schools to advance learning will be applicable worldwide. 

The most important characteristics are –

School vision and mission

Clear and accessible to most staff

Shared by staff

Perceived to be meaningful by most staff

Pervasive in conversation and decision-making

Culture

Collaborative

Shared belief in continuous professional growth

Mutual support

Belief in providing honest feedback to colleagues

Sharing of ideas and materials

Support for risk taking

Encouragement for open discussion of difficulties

This section is the main core of the MESH Guide and introduces the idea of schools as learning organisations. Schools as learning organisations (SLOs) is proving a very popular concept in policy and in practice for those schools seeking long term change and improvement (Doherty, 2018; Doherty, 2020; Harris & Jones, 2018; OECD, (2016); Welsh Government, 2017). Creating such schools requires a significant cultural shift, often a change of mind-set and definitely a schoolwide commitment to self-reflection and evaluation.

A number of models of the learning organisation exist, mostly from the business world and the principles are easily transferrable to schools. Summarising the main ideas behind these, are seven dimensions as shown in the table below.

There has been a long history of research in this field and this MESHGuide pulls together core information for those interested in the field.

School Improvement

Chapman, C., D. Muijs, D. Reynolds, P. Sammons, and C. Teddlie (Eds) (2015). The Routledge International Handbook of Educational Effectiveness and Improvement: Research, Policy, and Practice. London: Routledge.

Learning schools

Schools as learning organisations

Innovative learning environments

Schooling Redesigned

School case studies

Professional Learning