Knowledge management strategies for sustaining Lesson Study

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is explore the relative effectiveness of people-based and information technology-based knowledge management (KM) strategies as implemented by principals in Hong Kong schools to facilitate and sustain Lesson Study for teachers’ knowledge sharing and internalization. Design/methodology/approach Data from 184 principals in Hong Kong were collected by a cross-sectional quantitative survey. Confirmatory factor analysis and reliability tests have been used to examine the constructed validity and reliability of the instrument. A structural equation model was applied to confirm the predictive effect of people-based and information technology-based KM strategies on teachers’ knowledge sharing and internalization through Lesson Study. Findings Results show that people-based KM strategy predicts knowledge sharing and internalization by and among teachers. However, while information technology-based knowledge management strategies predict teachers’ knowledge sharing, they do not predict how effectively they internalize knowledge. Practical implications Cultivating communities of practice, professional learning communities and mentoring schemes in schools can nurture a knowledge-sharing culture to facilitate and sustain Lesson Study for teacher learning. Institutionalizing an information technology system can help teachers to retrieve, share and store the school’s explicit knowledge. Originality/value The paper not only suggests school management strategies and practices for school leaders to facilitate and sustain Lesson Study, but also brings a new research dimension, KM, to the research area.

Principal's leadership and teacher-to-teacher knowledge-sharing in Iranian schools: Developing and validating a multi-dimensional scale

“…Trust has been claimed by most knowledge theorists as the essential precondition for knowledge exchange (Putrika and Syahrizal, 2021). Knowledge-sharing leaders lay the foundation for trust in knowledge-sharing (Cheng, 2012(Cheng, , 2020. They employ the strategies necessary for building this trust.…”

“…Setting expectations. If teachers know that sharing their knowledge is an expected part of their job that they are being evaluated on, they will be more likely to share (Cheng, 2020;Collinson, 2004). Therefore, expectations are clearly spelt out by knowledge-sharing leaders.…”

“…The second dimension, trust-building, points to the trust that its absence impedes knowledgesharing (Cheng, 2012(Cheng, , 2020Zeinabadi, 2020). It is not easy for teachers who do not have trust to share their knowledge (Zeinabadi, 2020).…”

A Model of School Improvement Specialist Coaches (SISC+) in Development Teaching Professionalism: A Conceptual Review

“…On SISC +, deep and collaborative cooperation between parents and school leaders will improve student excellence and growth, as well as teacher professionalism. Teachers can promote a culture of information sharing from mentors and leadership, as well as diversity, knowledge, and skills sharing among teachers, by working with school leaders [Cheng, 2019].…”

The path of teachers' learning through lesson and learning studies

“…Eric Cheng's study (Cheng, 2020) explored the effectiveness of Hong Kong school principals' use of knowledge management (KM) strategies (both people and IT based) to facilitate and sustain the lesson study. The results of a survey completed by 184 principals showed thatcultivating communities of practice, professional learning communities and mentoring schemes in schools can nurture a knowledge-sharing culture to facilitate and sustain Lesson Study for teacher learning.…”