Knowledge Transfer Between School Organizations: Focusing on Personnel Changes among Mid-level School Leaders

2018 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 15K17370
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Education
• Research Institution: Nagasaki University (2016-2018); Tokyo University of Science, Yamaguchi (2015)
• Principal Investigator: HATANAKA Taiji 長崎大学, 教育学部, 准教授 (70734383)
• Project Period (FY): 2015-04-01 – 2019-03-31
• Keywords: アイデア / 学校改善 / プロセス / ミドルリーダー

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This study aims to explain how ideas for school improvement are created, developed, and transferred. To achieve this, I conducted an ethnographic study by examining school improvement processes in public high schools of the country. The results of the study show that the experiences and the human connections created by personnel changes among mid-level school leaders such as senior or head teachers helped them generate school improvement ideas like creating new teaching methods and organizing cultural festivals. These ideas were also transferred between schools.
This leads to the following three conclusions: (i) teaching experience and the human connections developed from such experience have an effect on generating school improvement ideas; (ii) organization building is crucial for creating, developing, and transferring these ideas; and (iii) it is crucial to train mid-level school leaders, who are key players in creating, developing, and transferring these ideas.

Free Research Field

教育経営学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

近年の学校をめぐる環境変化は著しく、「これまで」どおりは通用せず、教育活動に関する新たな知識（アイデア）を生み出し、発展、継承させることは重要な教育課題である。しかしながら、これまでの研究では上記についての蓄積が不十分であった。その点、本研究は「研究成果の概要」に記載したような結果を産出することができ、学術的意義をもつ。また、当該結果は、今後ダウンサイジングが続くであろう学校組織において、学校間を超えた学校教育の充実の方途を探る方途を示すものであるとともに、その具体的な方策としての組織の在り様やミドルリーダー育成方法を示すものといえる。