Resumo

MELLADO HERNANDEZ, María Elena; RINCON-GALLARDO, Santiago; ARAVENA KENIGS, Omar Andrés  e  VILLAGRA BRAVO, Carolina Pilar. Accompaniment of networks of school leaders for their transformation into professional learning communities. Perfiles educativos [online]. 2020, vol.42, n.169, pp.52-69.  Epub 15-Fev-2021. ISSN 0185-2698.  https://doi.org/10.22201/iisue.24486167e.2020.169.59363.

We describe a strategy of accompaniment of ten networks of school leaders and its impact on the development of management skills, leadership practices, and the culture of learning, based on an assessment of their members. It is a mixed study of descriptive scope. The participants are 139 managers pertaining to ten networks in La Araucania, Chile, accompanied for two and a half years by “critical friends” from an Educational Leadership Center. Data gathering techniques were a Likert questionnaire (pre and post) and semistructured interviews. The results indicate that school managers have a significantly higher opinion of networking, and recognize it as a strategy which helps them reflect on their leadership practices and learn collaboratively in environments of trust and professional symmetry. Also, they appreciate the “critical friend” as an educational actor who orients the transformation of networks into professional learning communities.

Palavras-chave : Educational networks; Collaboration; School leadership; Critical friend; Professional learning communities.