Abstract

Much has been written about the need for both schools and leadership to be different from what they are today if we are to meet the challenges of the knowledge society. The impact of globalization, new technologies, and the need for a well-educated society has put pressure on educators to improve opportunities for student learning. Various restructuring attempts have met with minimal success. The traditional worldview of schooling, based on a mechanistic model, has not been able to meet the needs for this transformation. An ecological view of the natural, social, and educator orders; a turn toward community; the social aspects of learning; a concern for professional learning; an understanding of social innovation, self-organization and complexity; sustainable innovation; social networks; and an awareness of learning in the face of mystery—each hold the promise of creating a better understanding of what works and what should be given attention to in schools of the 21st Century. <p> In this paper we argue for an ecological and complexity worldview of the natural, social, and education orders. During the past four years we have studied learning community models and leadership and now present some of our findings. In particular, we focus on how exceptional learning community schools get their work done, how they transfer knowledge, how they evolve, the nature of leadership, and how effective communities of practice have been sustained.</p>