Developmental education schools as learning organisations

Hans Bakker

pp. 271-287

in: Bert van Oers (ed), Developmental education for young children, Berlin, Springer, 2012

Abstract

Promoting meaningful learning among pupils and optimising the conditions for the realisation of young pupils' developmental potential requires continuous reflection on the prerequisite conditions for development of pupils from an early age, of teachers, and other educators. Developmental Education requires ongoing reflection on the 'social situation of development". This has implications for the way in which schools for Developmental Education are organised, how they organise the interactions between teachers and the outside world. This chapter provides an interpretation of Developmental Education schools as activity systems that have taken up the objective of constantly optimising the learning conditions of all the stakeholders involved, but which may consequently also develop learning disorders as well. The chapter addresses questions regarding the conditions that are necessary prerequisites for Developmental Education schools to develop into learning organisations and to avoid or repair "organisational learning disorders".