Introduction 17 1 to a research project focused on the effects of the leerKRACHT program in schools (De Jong et al., 2021).5 Mourshed et al. (2010) conducted an international comparative study on the development of education systems, recommending that we primarily focus on improving the position and professionalism of teachers and allow teachers to learn from each other through school-wide peer exchange. These recommendations formed the basis for a twoyear program that Foundation leerKRACHT developed for Dutch schools to improve the quality of their education. In the 2012-2013 school year, the program was implemented for the first time by 15 schools from primary, secondary, and vocational education. Up to 2022, more than a thousand Dutch schools have implemented this program. The aim of the program is to initiate a transformation to a learning school culture with the aim to improve education. To achieve this, the program uses a team-based approach, including the teachers and school principal(s), to improve processes step by step (see Rigby et al., 2016). The program’s method is based on four practical tools that are all methods of collaboration. Firstly, stand-up sessions of fifteen minutes, where ideas are translated into joint goals and action plans are agreed upon (see Figure 1.1 for examples of white boards that are used during the sessions). Secondly, within-school lesson visits by team members: after the lesson visit, they have a brief conversation and receive feedback from the observer. Thirdly, codesigning lessons with team members, in which teachers share experiences and knowledge and improve their lessons. Fourthly, students’ voice, a structured approach to get the students’ view as a source of inspiration to improve education and specific lessons. We consider this program to stimulate collaborative innovation, since both teachers and school principals are expected to collaborate and share resources, knowledge, and ideas and thus ask for an (other) approach to innovation. The implementation process starts with training of a start team by a coach from the external program. This coach is called an external advisor. These advisors often have a change management and/or organizational background (see Figure 1.2). The guidance from the external advisor is scaled down in the second year of the program so that the school can continue to work independently when the two-year guidance from Foundation leerKRACHT ends. The start team includes two teachers, called coach-teachers since they have a coaching role in this program, and their school principal. Smaller groups of 8-10 teachers are then formed, and within each team a coach-teacher helps the other teachers to work collaboratively with the four tools in a weekly routine. The school principal is expected to be quite actively involved in the teams and in practicing the tools but is also expected not to steer too much. In primary schools, the school principals who are involved are often those with the final responsibility; in secondary schools, it 5 This project was funded by the Netherlands Initiative for Education Research (NRO).
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