Collaborating and Learning in Networks During Challenging Times

• In Event: School Leadership of Teacher Professional Development as Contested Practice Globally: Roles of Professional Learning Networks

Abstract

Chile has a long tradition supporting and developing school networks (Avalos, 1999), nevertheless, these networks face many challenges to support the professional capital of their headteachers and teachers (Pino-Yancovic et al., 2019). A recent study of the School Improvement Networks, which is a national strategy to support the professional capital of school leaders, concludes that headteachers requires specific capacities to lead networks, many networks lacks from a clear and meaningful methodologies to support this work, and there is a need for an straightforward system infrastructure that supports collaboration among schools (Pino-Yancovic, González, Ahumada and Chapman, 2020).

In this challenge context we designed, implemented, and research the effects of a Collaborative Inquiry Network model (CIN) to support the development of networked leadership capacities of headteachers and curriculum coordinators to support teachers’ practices (Pino-Yancovic and Ahumada, 2020). The design of CIN was based on the School Improvement Partnership Program developed by the Robert Owen Centre for Educational Change in Scotland (Chapman et al, 2016) and focused the suggestion from successful Professional Learning Networks (Brown and Flood, 2019). This methodology was implemented with 21 schools from one district during one year, with monthly meetings and inquiry activities with research teams from the schools about their teachers’ practices, and including three workshops with the district coordinators.

To study the implementation and effects of the project, the questionnaire ‘Communities in Network for a Systemic Improvement’ was applied at the beginning and end of the program (April and November 2019). Qualitative content analysis of open questions was preformed, and for the analysis of the quantitative data, statistical descriptive analysis was used to determine arithmetic mean and deviation of the first and second applications of the instrument. Also, comparisons of these means through t-test of students for two dependent paired samples were performed, with a sample of 68 participants that responded questionnaires at the beginning and end of the implementation of the pilot program.

The findings of this research indicate that CIN is an empowerment opportunity for school leaders to inquiry about their teachers practices and to share experiences, generating learning opportunities with others school leaders, which are key elements for meaningful professional learning networks. Specifically, participants highlighted that this program allows them to use data and evidence to guide their decisions, and that the use of share data about teachers practices to inform their own practices as leaders has increased, this difference being significant between the first and second application (t = -2,203; sig. =, 031; p <0.05 *). Because of the value of this methodology, it is now being implemented with 28 schools in the same district to support headteachers and curriculum coordinators to cope with COVI-19 health and educational crisis. A significant issue of this year has been the adaptation of this model to support online collaboration among headteachers and curriculum coordinators, that now are leading the work of teachers in a complex context of distance education, facing many and diverse challenges.

Authors

• Mauricio Pino-Yancovic, Universidad de Chile, Centro de Investigación Avanzada en Educación (CIAE)

• Luis Ahumada, Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Valparaiso

• Juan Pablo Valenzuela, Universidad de Chile