In the past, the role of a school leader was hierarchical, primarily focused on managing individuals. However, in a learning educational organization, the emphasis is on promoting distributed leadership, fostering a research culture, and collective learning among teachers. The Education Council (2018) indicated that a quality boost is needed for the role of school leaders in the Netherlands if we are to develop these learning organizations.
To contribute to this quality boost, researchers in the Netherlands and Flanders have joined forces in the *Platform for Leadership in Education*, with our lecturer Patrick van Schaik serving as project leader. Six key objectives guide the platform's contribution to a broad knowledge base on leadership in education, the role of school leaders in a learning organization, and the professional development of (school) leaders within schools.
The first three objectives focus on connecting research efforts among the platform's partners:
- Connecting research assignments related to leadership and creating a joint knowledge and research agenda on leadership in education.
- Collaboratively applying for and conducting practice-based research, focusing on the role and development of leaders in foundational and vocational education, in partnership with practitioners.
- Jointly presenting at conferences and organizing meetings for researchers to share knowledge and experiences from ongoing and completed leadership research projects in education.
The last three objectives focus on bridging the gap between research and practice:
- Organizing workshops with school leaders (and staff) to co-create practical tools in the context of knowledge valorization.
- Disseminating knowledge on leadership in education through articles, practical guides, and webinars.
- Sharing knowledge via presentations and workshops at conferences and in networks of school leaders and administrators.
Learning Organization
The starting point for working on these objectives is our Learning Organization model.
The collaboration between platform partners originated from an earlier "pooling of expertise" in the open-access book *The School Leader in Change: Theory and Practice*. In this publication, various leadership practices were elaborated by linking scientific insights with practical tools and examples. The online edition can be downloaded for free from *The School Leader in Development: The Leadership Agenda*.
The insights, tools, and resources developed are intended for school leaders themselves, their supervisors (boards), and leadership training programs. In July 2024, a special issue (no. 5) of *BSM Magazine for Effective School Leadership* will be published, entirely created by members of the Platform, with each member discussing one of the dimensions of the Learning Organization model. Patrick co-authored two articles that can be read here: *The Role of the School Leader in Utilizing Knowledge* and *Learning Organization: Creating Conditions in Organizational Structure and Policy*.
The *Platform for Leadership in Education* is made possible by the Platform Regulation of the SIA Directorate.
