Communal deliberation: the art of learning schools

Abstract

Purpose

To illuminate the importance of the communal deliberative process, as a form of collective thinking, in overcoming the growing complexities of schoolwork in uncertain and turbulent environments.

Design/methodology/approach

Introduces the notion of deliberation as evolved from Dewey's moral theory, the essential phases and elements of deliberative activities and the principal's role in facilitating this communal process.

Findings

Provides information on the stepping‐stones towards communal deliberation, while recognizing its major impediments.

Originality/value

In light of structural restructuring efforts that have not yielded significant effects in issues of teaching and learning, this paper offers the rhetorical process of communal deliberation as a means for developing schools that learn.

Citation

Schechter, C. (2005), "Communal deliberation: the art of learning schools", International Journal of Educational Management, Vol. 19 No. 3, pp. 197-206. https://doi.org/10.1108/09513540510590986