Uncovering the Organizational Learning Capacity in Schools
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| Year of publication | 2013 |
| Type | Conference abstract |
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| Description | The paper focuses on several specific aspects of organizational learning in schools, namely organizational learning capacity. Our attempt to uncover the organizational learning capacity is based on two assumptions. (1) For purposes of discussion on organizational learning capacity it is helpful to clarify the answer to the question “at what level of organization does the learning take place ”. This question has two aspects: what are the levels of organizational learning and what is the learning potential of these levels of organization. (2) In this context, it seems to be useful to separate organizational learning processes such as learning from the capacity for learning, i.e. from preparedness of mechanisms of creation and sharing of knowledge, culture and climate conducive to sharing mechanisms, and finally mechanisms of the "coordinated systemic change" in the organization (Marsick, 1994). While the measurement of organizational learning capacity is difficult, if not impossible, research may answer the following question: What levels of organization in the school (inter-individual level, group level, or organizational level) constitute mechanisms of organizational learning? Based on the data collected by authors (team led by Milan Pol) during the work on the project Processes of Organizational Learning and their Leadership and Management in Schools, we try to answer the above question. We found that the different functions in the processes of organizational learning are attributed to different levels of the organizational life of the school. These functions vary also depending on the topics of organizational learning in school. The authors continue interpreting the data in order to explain comprehensively these phenomena. The research project was supported by Czech Science Agency. |
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