In recent times, the study and analysis of schools located in socioeconomically challenging contexts have gained special attention. Improving schools in disadvantaged areas is today one of the most important issues on the agenda of researchers and policymakers, both nationally and internationally (Clarke & O'Donoghue, 2016; Harris & Chapman, 2002a, 2002b; Lupton, 2005; Maden, 2001; Muijs, 2003; Torres, Moncusí and Osvaldo, 2015; Olmo et al., 2021).

Research developed by Maden (2001) in the United Kingdom provided descriptions of good practices in schools with high vulnerability scenarios. With a similar research objective, Harris & Champan (2002a, 2002b) also highlighted the importance of distributed leadership in these contexts. Later, Lupton (2005) investigated the characteristics of these schools and established several characteristic elements. Among them, she highlighted the existence of continuous unpredictability together with the presence of low expectations. In addition, the author revealed that schools in difficult contexts have more problems taking on the same educational challenges than those in more favourable circumstances. On their side, Torres, Moncusí & Osvaldo (2015) showed that living in an unfavourable environment has a direct influence on the lives of the school population. Clarke & O'Donoghue (2016) also delved into the study of vulnerable schools located in the most challenging neighbourhoods.

Although the evidence from research on this subject shows that schools located in vulnerable contexts are characterized by being unstable and having students with low performance, low self-esteem and expectations (Lupton, 2005), there are also studies that reveal the ability of some schools to overcome and cope with adversity (Marujo et al., 2003; Olmo et al., 2021).

The works located within this second approach focus their attention on schools that have led to a transformation towards school improvement. Some of the key issues that have motivated this research field are as follows: how has the change been possible? what/who has brought it about? what does this school improvement materialise? how do they work in these schools? what kind of leadership is needed? How do they overcome adversities? (Day y Gu, 2015; Muijs, 2003; Hargreaves; 2007; Stoll, 2009).

The present study is part of this line of research, which has been developed within the framework of two larger research projects: I+D+i project "Communities of professional practice and learning improvement: intermediate leadership, networks and interrelationships. Schools in complex contexts" (Reference: PID2020-117020GB-I00), funded by the Agencia Estatal de Investigación of the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (MCIN/AEI/10.13039/501100011033/) and I+D+i Project "Communities of professional practice and learning improvement: intermediate leadership, networks and interrelationships" (Reference: P20_00311), funded by the Andalusian Plan for Research, Development and Innovation of Spain.

The purpose of this study is to know, understand and analyse the factors that have allowed a school, located in Spain, to transform its circumstances in order to achieve educational quality and equity.

To understand the school in depth, we opted for the case study methodology (Stake, 2010), from the biographical-narrative approach (Bolívar, 2002). The case was intentionally selected. We were looking for schools which despite having difficult circumstances (e.g. low socioeconomic index or previous low student engagement) were undergoing processes towards educational improvement. Taking these characteristics into account, the Provincial Directorate of the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training in Ceuta (Spain) suggested the school that is the subject of this case study. It is a school run by the government that welcomes children from 3 to 12 years old. It is located in a low socioeconomic area in Ceuta (Spain) and is achieving increasingly better educational results in relation to other schools in similar contexts. Data collection We carried out two group interviews with the principal, the head of studies and three teachers selected as key informants. The interviews revolved around how an educational community is built and developed in a challenging framework, in order to gain more quality and equity. We used the dialogic-communicative approach (Elboj and Gómez, 2015) trying to create a climate where participants could feel free to express and share their perceptions. In this regard, it should be noted that ethical considerations were taken into account. The participants' consent to collaborate in the study was provided and confidentiality was guaranteed. Data analysis A thematic content analysis was carried out (Díaz, 2018), using an inductive procedure, characterized by the construction of emerging categories from the content. This type of analysis allowed for an accurate and in-depth understanding of the interviews.

The content analysis has made it possible to identify a set of ten central axes or thematic categories: "challenging context", "motivation for change", "origin of change", "change process", "leadership characteristics", "work team", "external support and resources", "teacher training", "achievements", "the school today". These emerging categories are the basis for future themes. So far they have allowed us to understand: a) Why this school can be considered to have a challenging context b) What has been the leitmotiv for the school to get involved in a transformation process c) What situations and factors have promoted the transformation process d) What leadership style exists in the school as well as its implication in the transformation process e) What the change process consisted of and what achievements have been made as perceived by the participants f) How the school is moving forward today to be more fair and equitable. The above information allows us to draw a current portrait of the case study which provides an answer to the main question posed for this research proposal.

Bolívar, A. (2002). “¿De nobis ipsis silemus?”: Epistemología de la investigación biográfico-narrativa en educación. Revista Electrónica de Investigación Educativa, 4(1). Recuperado de http://redie.uabc.mx/redie/article/view/49 Clarke, S. & O’Donoghue, T. (2016). Educational Leadership and Context: A Rendering of an Inseparable Relationship. British Journal of Educational Studies, 65(2), 167-182. https://doi.org/10.1080/00071005.2016.1199772 Day, C. y Gu, Q. (2015). Educadores resilientes, escuelas resilientes. Construir y sostener la calidad educativa en tiempos difíciles. Narcea. Díaz, C. (2018). Investigación cualitativa y análisis de contenido temático. Orientación intelectual de revista Universum. Revista General de Información y Documentación, 28(1), 119-142. http://dx.doi.org/10.5209/RGID.60813 Elboj, C. y Gómez, J. (2015). El giro dialógico de las ciencias sociales: hacía la comprensión de una metodología dialógica. Acciones e investigaciones sociales, 12, 77- 94. Recuperado de https://dialnet.unirioja.es/servlet/articulo?codigo=206415 Hargreaves, A. (2007). Sustainable learning communities. In L. Stoll & K. S. Louis (Eds.), Professional learning communities: Divergence, depth and dilemmas (pp. 181-195). McGraw Hill (Open University Press). Harris, A. & Chapman, C. (2002a). Democratic leadership for school improvement in challenging contexts. International Electronic Journal for Leadership in Learning, 6(9). Harris, A. & Chapman, C. (2002b). Leadership in schools facing challenging circumstances. Management in Education, 16(1), 10-13. Lupton, R. (2005). Social justice and school improvement: improving the quality of schooling in the poorest neighbourhoods. British Educational Research Journal, 31(5), 589-604. https://doi.org/10.1080/01411920500240759 Maden, M. (Ed.) (2001). Success Against the Odds: Five Years On. Routledge. Marujo, H. A., Neto, L. M. y Perlorio, M. F. (2003). Pedagogía del optimismo: guía para lograr ambientes positivos y estimulantes. Narcea. Muijs, D. (2003). La mejora y la eficacia de las escuelas en zonas desfavorecidas: resumen de resultados de investigación. REICE. Revista Iberoamericana sobre Calidad, Eficacia y Cambio en Educación, 1(2), 0. Recuperado de: https://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=55110203 Olmo, M., Sabino, I. M. y Domingo, J. (2021). Construir resiliencia en las escuelas desde la acción de liderazgo. DEDiCA. Revista de Educação e Humanidades, 18, 69-90. http://doi.org/10.30827/dreh.vi18.17002 Stake, R. E. (2010). Qualitative research: Studying how things work. The Guilford Press. Stoll, L. (2009). Connecting learning communities: Capacity building for systemic change. En A. Hargreaves, A. Lieberman, M. Fullan, & D. Hopkins (Eds.), Second international handbook of educational change (pp. 469-484). Springer Heidelberg. Torres, F., Moncusí, A. y Osvaldo, E. (2015). Crisis, convivencia multicultural y “efectos de barrio”. El caso de dos barrios de Valencia. Migraciones, 37, 217-238.