Developing and sustaining school partnerships in a networked improvement community: the TAMAM project

Purpose Networked improvement communities (NICs) support sustained educational improvement through collaborative learning and iterative problem-solving. This study examines how the TAMAM initiative, spanning schools across multiple Arab countries, has been sustained over time through a partnership between the university hub and its member schools. Using learning organization theory as a lens, we highlight the structures, practices and conditions that enable the initiative to adapt, evolve and maintain long-term sustainability. Design/methodology/approach Through a case study design, we examine the experiences of the TAMAM leadership team in designing, developing and sustaining a NIC through school partnerships in the Arab region. Findings Our findings reveal five themes that are instrumental in developing and sustaining a NIC partnership: (a) a laser-like focus on the improvement process; (b) shared leadership focused on common mission and goals; (c) human development, growth and empowerment; (d) leading and learning across varying contexts and (e) relational trust as the glue of the network. Originality/value TAMAM builds partnerships with schools to address the needs of practitioners and to support them in finding solutions to their problems. At the basis of this partnership is a collaborative iterative process of research-based design, where both K-12 educators and university researchers join efforts to design improvement interventions that are informed by research and grounded in the sociocultural context of the schools.