Structures and relationships in organizational learning for change

Abstract

PurposeMuch of the scholarship relating to educator learning in the context of school change centers on promising organizational structures that support educator knowledge-building and sharing. However, recent studies have found that educators' social networks also enhance learning of new practices. This study aims to explore how informal interactions support organizational learning in schools.Design/methodology/approachApplying structuration theory to concepts of organizational learning mechanisms, this paper proposes a framework for examining informal interactions and organizational learning. Employing an exploratory sequential mixed-methods design, this paper utilizes social network analysis of survey data and thematic analysis of interview data of a purposive sample of participants in a rural school district.FindingsWithin this rural district, organizational and social conditions supported recursive interactions where educators developed and shared knowledge of new instructional practices. Organizational resources and routines, and individuals' habits of mind mediated these recursive interactions, resulting in somewhat dependable knowledge-sharing spaces. Through these recursive interactions between individual agents acting within the opportunities and constraints of the normalized organizational expectations of each school, informal knowledge structures emerged.Originality/valueThis article applies structuration theory to examine organizational learning mechanisms in schools. This novel approach provides researchers with a new perspective on the organizational learning process—one that facilitates the exploration of the role of informal knowledge-building in this process.

From climate to community: a new approach to conceptualizing the relational element of organizational learning

“…In this article, we draw attention to the increased recognition among scholars that affective and relational elements of the school organization play an important role in the organizational learning process (Bridwell-Mitchell, 2016; Coburn et al ., 2013; Karnopp, 2022). Thus far, relational aspects of organizational learning have been a “black box” in the scholarship on organizational learning in school contexts.…”

“…the degree to which the environment promotes speaking up or asking for help) among educators facilitates adaptation to shifting student needs in times of crisis. Likewise, research suggests that grade-level, department and classroom placement influence educator information and advice interactions and may enable or constrain the Enactment of organizational learning in schools spread of new ideas across a school or district (Karnopp, 2022;Spillane et al, 2012Spillane et al, , 2017. Sense of belonging, climate of psychological safety and access to new ideas all relate directly to the membership construct of SOCevidence of its salience to the study of organizational learning in schools.…”

“…Despite the absence of these structures, which have historically been at the center of theorizing about organizational learning, schools and districts swiftly engaged in enormous amounts of organizational learning to reopen in a virtual format within a few weeks, and continued to learn and adapt as the shut-down continued. School responses to the disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, in conjunction with increased research inquiry into the role of informal educator interactions for organizational learning and school change (Karnopp, 2022; Spillane et al ., 2017), foreground the importance of relationality in the organizational learning process and how little we know about how, when and why it matters.…”

Hidden Structures: How Knowledge of New Practices Moves Among Educators in One Rural School District

“…Prior research on change implementation and organizational learning focuses on formal organizational structures deliberately designed to facilitate knowledge creation and sharing (e.g., Coburn et al, 2013;Schechter et al, 2021). Few have examined the role of mundane organizational structures (for exceptions, see Bridwell-Mitchell;Karnopp, 2022;Spillane et al, 2017).…”