21st Century leadership skills for learning networks at school

Ultimate goal: to prepare pupils for a life in a society that requires 21st century skills and actions Immediate focus: teachers and principals develop 21st century skills in the practice of their work → together with researchers principals co-create tools to support teacher learning.

In a three-year project, 4 researchers, 13 elementary school principals and 2 board chairmen are investigating how learning networks of teachers can be supported by 21st century leadership skills. The research question was: How do principals conceptualize and frame their experiences in learning 21st century skills in developing practices with learning networks? Analysis of interviews showed that four principals were in general more outspoken than their colleagues. They had in common more statements about internal collective dialogue, 21st century learning, and well-being, but also differed in a meaningful way: 1) Two framed their school as a collective, mentioned single loop learning most often, and used more managerial terms; 2)Two framed their teachers as individuals, mentioned double and triple loop learning most often, and used more learning terms. Also, most principals said they desired support in how to 1) communicate about learning with their teachers and 2) ask questions that provoke critical thinking, in-depth learning and an inquiring attitude. In our presentation we provide the context of our project, elucidate the aforementioned analysis, share an update of how the project has evolved since, and invite our audience to a discussion about scope and limitations for future research and project development.