ERIC Number: EJ974357
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2011
Pages: 19
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1540-9392
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Organizational Learning in Schools Pursuing Social Justice: Fostering Educational Entrepreneurship and Boundary Spanning
Scanlan, Martin
Scholar-Practitioner Quarterly, v5 n4 p328-346 Win 2011
The field of socially just educational leadership is focused on promoting improvements in the teaching and learning environment as demonstrated by student learning gains, particularly for traditionally marginalized students. The field has identified priorities (i.e., school improvement, democratic community, and social justice) and steps to pursue these priorities (specific strategies school leaders can take and conditions they can foster). Building on this literature, this article examines organizational learning in school communities that claim to be pursuing these priorities. It argues that organizational learning is a lens for socially just educational leaders to link theory with practice and to shift their focus from the knowledge, skills, and dispositions of individuals to the communities of practice within schools. It first describes a theoretical framework for examining organizational learning in schools, then analyzes two school settings illustrating organizational learning in educational entrepreneurship and boundary spanning. It concludes with a discussion of the implications this has for the broader field of socially just educational leadership.
Descriptors: Communities of Practice, Social Justice, Educational Change, Entrepreneurship, Instructional Leadership, Educational Environment, Organizational Effectiveness, Organizational Theories, Workplace Learning, Governance, Catholic Schools, Case Studies, Educational Practices, Theory Practice Relationship, Change Strategies, Educational Improvement, Improvement Programs, Instructional Improvement, Institutional Characteristics
Educator's International Press, Inc. 18 Colleen Road, Troy, NY 12180. Tel: 518-271-9886; Fax: 518-266-9422; e-mail: office@edint.com
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Adult Education; Elementary Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A

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