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How educational leaders can maximise the social capital benefits of inter-school networks: findings from a systematic review

How educational leaders can maximise the social capital benefits of inter-school networks: findings from a systematic review
How educational leaders can maximise the social capital benefits of inter-school networks: findings from a systematic review

Purpose: Educators need to engage in continuous learning to ensure that their knowledge and practice responds to the changing needs of society and students. Collaborative approaches, in which social capital resource is exchanged, can serve as an effective way of facilitating such learning. With this systematic review, the authors identify the opportunities and benefits inter-school social capital networks might bring by exploring: (1) what inter-school networks are available internationally for primary and secondary schools, (2) the features and activities present within inter-school networks and (3) evidence of impact of inter-school network activities. Design/methodology/approach: For this study, the authors employed a systematic review methodology. The review comprised the five stages of the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses: PRISMA, 2021) protocol. The study findings derived from 111 research outputs (from a total of 1,221 originally identified). Findings: The review highlights a number of different inter-school networks and their diverse purposes as well as key network features, such as the actors present in networks and the activities network participants engage with. At the same time, however, the authors only identify limited reliable evidence of the impact of inter-school networks. Originality/value: The study fills a knowledge gap by exploring, for the first time, the presence, features of inter-school social capital networks available to school leaders as well as investigating the impact of these networks.

inter-school networks, professional learning networks, school leadership, social capital, School leadership, Professional learning networks, Inter-school networks, Social capital
0951-354X
213-264
Brown, Chris
42bbe788-54bf-4081-8c18-ead8b554f0fd
Luzmore, Ruth
b898f63b-2b3a-4134-8cdc-6fe0e2bc9af9
O’Donovan, Richard
8158a339-d7e4-4fd0-9b55-f6037255d499
Ji, Grace
af08910b-118a-46e2-a32c-988c398f1dd3
Patnaik, Susmita
0b090711-4719-45c1-98f8-09211866ba7f
Brown, Chris
42bbe788-54bf-4081-8c18-ead8b554f0fd
Luzmore, Ruth
b898f63b-2b3a-4134-8cdc-6fe0e2bc9af9
O’Donovan, Richard
8158a339-d7e4-4fd0-9b55-f6037255d499
Ji, Grace
af08910b-118a-46e2-a32c-988c398f1dd3
Patnaik, Susmita
0b090711-4719-45c1-98f8-09211866ba7f

Brown, Chris, Luzmore, Ruth, O’Donovan, Richard, Ji, Grace and Patnaik, Susmita (2024) How educational leaders can maximise the social capital benefits of inter-school networks: findings from a systematic review. International Journal of Educational Management, 38 (1), 213-264. (doi:10.1108/IJEM-09-2023-0447).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Purpose: Educators need to engage in continuous learning to ensure that their knowledge and practice responds to the changing needs of society and students. Collaborative approaches, in which social capital resource is exchanged, can serve as an effective way of facilitating such learning. With this systematic review, the authors identify the opportunities and benefits inter-school social capital networks might bring by exploring: (1) what inter-school networks are available internationally for primary and secondary schools, (2) the features and activities present within inter-school networks and (3) evidence of impact of inter-school network activities. Design/methodology/approach: For this study, the authors employed a systematic review methodology. The review comprised the five stages of the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses: PRISMA, 2021) protocol. The study findings derived from 111 research outputs (from a total of 1,221 originally identified). Findings: The review highlights a number of different inter-school networks and their diverse purposes as well as key network features, such as the actors present in networks and the activities network participants engage with. At the same time, however, the authors only identify limited reliable evidence of the impact of inter-school networks. Originality/value: The study fills a knowledge gap by exploring, for the first time, the presence, features of inter-school social capital networks available to school leaders as well as investigating the impact of these networks.

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More information

Accepted/In Press date: 17 December 2023
Published date: 5 January 2024
Additional Information: Publisher Copyright: © 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited.
Keywords: inter-school networks, professional learning networks, school leadership, social capital, School leadership, Professional learning networks, Inter-school networks, Social capital

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 485741
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/485741
ISSN: 0951-354X
PURE UUID: 1a25edbc-45e2-4a7a-a1f5-cb7f1ee5f4d0
ORCID for Chris Brown: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-9759-9624
ORCID for Ruth Luzmore: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-2454-9407

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 18 Dec 2023 20:29
Last modified: 19 Dec 2024 03:07

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Contributors

Author: Chris Brown ORCID iD
Author: Ruth Luzmore ORCID iD
Author: Richard O’Donovan
Author: Grace Ji
Author: Susmita Patnaik

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