Leading professional networks: different perspectives

Abstract

In education, professional networks and collaborative enquiry among professionals are far from new. Recently, however, the creation of diverse networks between schools and those involved in the wider community have been a central feature of reform and improvement in many countries (Barrero, Mula, and Domingo 2023; Calderón-Almendros et al. 2020; Jones and Harris 2020). The centrality of collaboration and networking within the current educational discourse about school reform and improvement, has raised levels of interest within policy circles interest and research communities alike. In this editorial, therefore, we bring together different examples of professional networks with the aim of considering how these networks are led and function within different contexts (i.e., Wales, Spain, and Chile). There is insufficient scope in this editorial to offer more than just a summary of these extensive networking activities, hence the country-specific commentaries are brief. Through these accounts we underline the centrality of distributed leadership, and the strength of the connections between networks, to maintain and sustain them, even when the conditions are not ideal. We also note that a ‘one-size-fits-all’ model of professional networking, ultimately fits no-one and may even suppress the professional buy-in that is needed to generate meaningful innovation and change. The existing evidence underlines that at the heart of any functioning professional network must be ownership from within, accompanied by a strong sense of collective autonomy and collaborative agency (Rincón-Gallardo 2020). It is also argued that the development of effective networking requires connected autonomy and high levels of reciprocal trust. As Fullan, Spillane, and Fullan (2022) propose: