Developing teachers’ collective learning: Collective learning from success as perceived by three echelons in the school system

As both researchers and school faculty members explore ways to develop collective learning in schools, this qualitative, topic-oriented study examines teacher leaders’, principals’, and superintendents’ perceptions about the notion of teachers’ collective learning from their successful practices. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with 65 teacher leaders and their respective principals (65) and superintendents (61). Generating themes was an inductive process, grounded in the various perspectives articulated by participants. Participants argued that in contrast to collective learning processes to solve problems and overcome failures, collective learning from teachers’ successful practices requires a deliberate and conscious shift in mental models with regard to collaborative learning in schools. This study sheds light as to whether this collective learning process can nurture teachers’ interactive professionalism.

► Examines teacher leaders’, principals’, and superintendents’ perceptions of collective learning from success.
► Learning from success requires a conscious shift regarding collaborative learning in schools.
► Learning from success may nurture teachers’ interactive professionalism.