Organizational learning is the core concept of organizational education research. If organizations are understood from an organizational education perspective as "human social structures" (Göhlich 2014) by people for people, organizational learning can be defined as a process of practices, in which organizations engage in further developing their content, structures, and cultures. They do so immanently as well as in contrast to their surroundings (Göhlich et al. 2016, p. 310). Taking this understanding of organizational learning as a starting point, the research project presented in this paper seeks to analyze and conceptualize school development as a process of organizational learning through networking and school development consulting.

Studies in German-speaking countries identify a complicated set of diverse conditions for the success of educational reform projects in schools. Networks are thus moving to the center of development theory and educational practice as a central perspective of sustainable school development (Berkemeyer & Järvinen, 2011; Brühlmann & Rolff, 2015). They are considered to have great potential for school development (Brühlmann & Rolff, 2015; Junker & Berkemeyer, 2019; Pfänder, 2021), by initiating development and learning processes at the level of the individual school and creating added value through impulses and reflection (Berkemeyer et al., 2009; Dedering, 2007; Haenisch, 2003). It is based on learning in, from and between organizations and on the fact that organizations as social entities continue to develop in terms of their content and processes, their structures and culture as they interact with other organizations and their environment (Göhlich et al., 2014).

School development consulting is seen as an important support measure for the success of school development in networks (Fahrenwald & Müller, 2022; Huber & Krey, 2012) and against this background are often used to initiate and implement school development processes (Berkemeyer, 2021; Dedering, 2014; Dedering et al., 2013).  Zech (2010, p. 15) does not see school development consulting in this context as a process of passing on good advice, but rather as a process of reflection with the aim of subsequently being able to make decisions and take action to a greater extent.

In previous research on the conditions and effects of effective support for school development (Webs & Manitius, 2021), however, there are no studies on how different support instruments interact and can be linked with each other in school development processes. The same applies to the questions of what the interaction between school networks and school development advice looks like and what role school development consulting can play in the establishment and development of sustainable school networks.

As part of a project to establish regional democratic educational landscapes that has been running since 2020, an innovative school network is currently being set up in Upper Austria in cooperation with partner organizations from civil society (Fahrenwald, 2024). From the very beginning, the pilot schools were accompanied and supported by school development consulting. The aim of this contribution is to analyze school development consulting in the context of school networks, whereby typical conditions for the success of development work are presented on the basis of existing empirical findings. Subsequently, an example of school development through the networking of schools in Upper Austria is presented.

Relevant results of a conceptual literature (Snyder 2019) review are provided for this discussion in relation to the question “How do the two support systems of school networks and school development consulting work together in school development processes?” The literature was initially screened for projects in German-speaking countries that focus on networking between schools and with various extracurricular partners as well as with additional support from school development consultants. However, the systematic search in databases etc. did not lead to any usable results, as studies of advisory processes in school development in the context of school networks are apparently lacking. For this reason, the conceptual literature review will deal generally with the conditions for success in school development and, in doing so, formulate hypotheses as to how school network work could specifically strengthen these and thereby increase its effectiveness in the long term. These will especially be discussed with regard to the role of school development consulting. The resulting conceptual and empirical inventory will then be used to present an example of school development through networking of schools in Upper Austria with special regard to the school development consulting processes. The micro-level of concrete school development processes is analyzed through qualitative expert interviews with school administrators and teachers who are in charge of school development at their schools as well as with school consultants. The aim is to reveal the perceptions, attitudes and experiences of the actors in the field of school development in emerging networks. In order to remain open for emerging properties, the content-analytical evaluation allows for both inductive and deductive category formation (Creswell 2014, p.186). Preliminary results show diverging ideas about the role of networking and school development consulting as well as the intended goals and desirable content of learning.

Networks are regarded as a specific form of coordination in the education system that is considered to have great potential for the quality development of individual schools: On the one hand, they are able to involve differently structured stakeholders in joint development efforts in order to strengthen the collective capacity for reform. On the other hand, the trust-based exchange and cooperation processes in the network should stimulate and enrich school development in terms of content and process. In addition, external support for the networks in the form of school development consulting should promote and secure the success of the development work. Research on school development consulting in the context of school networks is still in its infancy. This presentation aims to create an initial conceptual basis for school development consulting within emerging school networks from an organizational education perspective. Regarding the subject of the conference, the question arises in which way and at which organizational levels school development consulting can support emerging networks between schools and other partners from civil society in charting the way forward towards the opening of schools as educational organizations towards future democratic educational landscapes.

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