Integrative perspective-this pulls together other perspectives, as defined by Watkins and Marsick's (1996), where: "people are aligned to a common vision, sense and interpret their changing environment, generate new knowledge which they use, in turn, to create innovative products and services to meet customers' needs" (p.10). 'People' and 'structure' work together in the process of changing and developing with the following action imperatives identified by Yang, Watkins & Marsick (2004)continuous learning, inquiry and dialogue, team learning, embedding systems for capturing and sharing learning, empowerment, system connection, and strategic leadership. Several other models exist. Common features across perspectives Many different interpretations of the concept exist, even among those who have aimed to develop integrated models. Despite these differences, we can identify common features. First, it is agreed that the LO is necessary, is suitable for any organisation, and that an organisation's learning capability will be the only sustainable competitive advantage in the future. Second, the LO is generally seen as a multilevel concept and can be defined as 'organic' and in terms of interrelations between individual behaviours, team organisation and organisational practices and culture. Third,

JT03417968Complete document available on OLIS in its original format This document, as well as any data and map included herein, are without prejudice to the status of or sovereignty over any territory, to the delimitation of international frontiers and boundaries and to the name of any territory, city or area. OECD EDUCATION WORKING PAPERS SERIESOECD Working Papers should not be reported as representing the official views of the OECD or of its member countries. The opinions expressed and arguments employed herein are those of the author(s).Working Papers describe preliminary results or research in progress by the author(s) and are published to stimulate discussion on a broad range of issues on which the OECD works. Comments on Working Papers are welcome, and may be sent to the Directorate for Education and Skills, OECD, 2 rue André-Pascal, 75775 Paris Cedex 16, France.This document and any map included herein are without prejudice to the status of or sovereignty over any territory, to the delimitation of international frontiers and boundaries and to the name of any territory, city or area.The statistical data for Israel are supplied by and under the responsibility of the relevant Israeli authorities. The use of such data by the OECD is without prejudice to the status of the Golan Heights, East Jerusalem and Israeli settlements in the West Bank under the terms of international law.You can copy, download or print OECD content for your own use, and you can include excerpts from OECD publications, databases and multimedia products in your own documents, presentations, blogs, websites and teaching materials, provided that suitable acknowledgement of OECD as source and copyright owner is given. All requests for public or commercial use and translation rights should be submitted to rights@oecd.org.Comment on the series is welcome, and should be sent to edu.contact@oecd.org. This working paper has been authorised by Andreas Schleicher, Director of the Directorate for Education and Skills, OECD.EDU/WKP (2016)11 3 ABSTRACTWhat are the characteristics of a school as learning organisation? This paper should be seen as an attempt to work towards a common understanding of the school as a learning organisation concept that is both solidly founded in the literature and is recognisable to all parties involved, i.e. educators, policy makers, parents and others alike. The paper provides an in-depth analysis of the learning organisation literature in general, and within a school context. It identifies and operationalises the characteristics of the school as learning organisation in an integrated model that consists of seven overarching 'action-oriented' dimensions: 1) developing and sharing a vision centred on the learning of all students; 2) creating and supporting continuous learning opportunities for all staff; 3) promoting team learning and collaboration among staff; 4) establishing a culture of inquiry, innovation and exploration; 5) establishing embedded systems for collecting and exchanging knowledge and learning; 6) learn...

IntroductionThe aim of this article is two-fold. First, it presents in succinct summary a selection of the work conducted by OECD in the field of technology and education. This has been an on-going focus since the 1980s and recently, much of this has been carried out under the heading of 'New Millennium Learners'. But the technology focus extends well beyond a single project and includes work on innovation, open educational resources and the development of the digital resources market, as well as ICT use in educational settings, access, and digital competence.Second, the article considers the assumptions underlying much work on technology in education to propose that a more holistic focus on learning environments, of which technology is only a part, represents a fruitful avenue to help design education for current and future systems. OECD has a project called Innovative Learning Environments (ILE) which has just reconceptualised 'learning environments' in general and 'innovative learning environments' in particular, drawing on 40 case studies in 19 systems (sometimes countries, sometimes regions or states) to illustrate the framework and to refine it iteratively 1 . This article presents this framework to show how technology enters into schooling in very diverse ways. There is neither a single 'technology effect' nor does technology operate by itself, but always in combination with all the other elements, dynamics, contexts, and partners of learning environments. OECD Work on Technology in EducationThere is longstanding work in OECD on 'new technologies', dating back to the 1980s that include analyses on how such technologies might transform the teaching of reading, writing, science and mathematics (OECD, 1986; 1987). In the years that followed, adults were as much in focus as school-age students, and in the early 2000s this resulted in two reports that also had a strong equity focus -one on the digital divide (OECD, 2000) and one on ICT and out-of-school youth and adults (OECD, 2004a). Schools and schooling were not ignored, and the 2001 report 'Learning to Change -ICT in Schools', written under the 'Schooling for Tomorrow' umbrella, arrived at a set of conclusions that maintain a relevance today:Digital literacy is now a fundamental learning objective, including informationhandling skills, and the capacity to judge the relevance and reliability of web-based information. Curriculum change is needed in the Internet age: the open, skills-based, studentcentred approaches supported by ICT call for changes in schooling, teaching and learning.

This study is part of the OECDs efforts to support countries in the design and effective implementation of their education policies, grounding these efforts on evidence, and multidisciplinary tools and approaches.Wales is committed to providing high-quality and inclusive education for all its citizens. It in 2011 embarked on a large-scale school improvement reform that has become increasingly comprehensive and focused on the ongoing development and implementation of a new, 21st century school curriculum. Wales considers the development of schools as learning organisations a key means for empowering them to bring the new curriculum to life. It recognises this will require concerted effort and in many cases it will mean that teachers, support staff, school leaders and many others involved will need to expand their skills. As such, the development of a thriving learning culture in schools and other parts of the education system is expected to play a pivotal role in putting the curriculum into practice in schools throughout Wales. This report aims to support Wales in realising this objective. It assesses the extent to which schools in Wales have developed as learning organisations, and identifies areas for further improvement -at both school and system levels.Following an introduction to this report and a description of Wales' school system (Part I, Chapter 1) the report is organised the following:Policies promoting a shared and future-focused vision centred on the learning of all students ......

A growing body of scholars, educators and policy makers has argued for reconceptualising schools as "learning organisations" in the last 25 years as. However, a lack of clarity on the concept has hindered its advance in theory and practice. This study responds to this problem by developing a schools as learning organisations scale that expands and clarifies the concept on several points. Drawing on survey data (nschool staff = 1,703) from Wales (UK), it examines the key characteristics of a school as a learning organisation through a principal component analysis and reliability analysis. The results showed that such a school is associated with eight dimensions: (a) a shared vision centred on the learning of all students, (b) partners contributing to school vision, (c) continuous learning opportunities, (d) team learning and collaboration, (e) a culture of enquiry, innovation and exploration, (f) systems for collecting and exchanging knowledge and learning, (g) learning with and from the external environment, and (h) modelling learning leadership. The resulting 65-item scale demonstrated good psychometric qualities. A reliable and valid schools as learning organisations scale can help enhance our understanding of the concept. The scale can also be used by school leaders, teachers and all others wanting to develop a thriving learning culture in their schools.