Learning from success as leverage for school learning: lessons from a national programme in Israel

Abstract

Collective learning from past school experiences (retrospective learning) has traditionally focused on failures and difficulties, depriving school personnel of learning opportunities embedded in their own past professional successes. In this article we present a national programme in Israel that aimed at fostering collective learning, stimulated by learning from successful practises in school life. Learning from success was systematized into both learning and documentation formats that structured the work and language of school personnel participating in the programme. Participants’ assessments with regard to the programme’s effects, as well as the impediments to this collective learning process, are presented. The article concludes with suggestions for further exploration regarding collective learning from successful practises and implications for school leaders.