This paper presents the advanced stage of empirical research on Leadership in the Processes of Organizational Learning in Schools funded by the Czech Science Foundation (No. P407/10/1197). The aim of this research is to find answers to questions of how organizational learning is pursued in schools, in what ways organizational learning in schools is distinctive, and how organizational learning in schools is led and managed.
In an international context, particular attention has been paid to organizational learning in schools (or to schools as learning organizations or communities) since the 1990s (Leithwood & Louis, 1998, Schratz & Steiner-Löffler, 1998, Senge et al. 2000; Verbiest, 2002; Verbiest et al., 2005, etc.). In Czech academic literature, less attention is paid to organizational learning in the specific context of schools  and there are no complete surveys available. The research focus in the school context is focused here more on phenomena that undoubtedly relate to organizational learning, such as school culture, school climate, school cooperation, forms of peer support, etc. The authors of this paper have made repeated contributions to this discussion (Pol, Hloušková, Novotný & Zounek, 2005; Pol & Lazarová, 1999, and others).
The empirical research is informed by the following set of specific research questions:
What organizational learning processes are observable in the school environment?
Which participants are involved in the processes of organizational learning, and how?
How close are the processes of organizational learning to the key processes of operation in schools, i.e. learning and teaching?
To what extent is the school culture supportive in relation to organizational learning?
What are the factors supporting organizational learning in schools?
What are the factors hindering organizational learning in schools?
What is the real use of specific forms of support of organizational learning and the potential for its use?
These four key themes are the starting point for the quantitative phase of the research and for processing of the research tool for this phase. The research tool will be used in the first half of 2012, and initial outcomes of the quantitative survey are included in the present paper. The paper will go on to reflect the methodological procedure from the qualitative to quantitative survey as a crucial stage of the research, its logic and also to indicate some pitfalls.

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