Community of Practice to Improve Support for Struggling Schools

There is great potential in identifying struggling schools at an early stage and providing them with appropriate support. However, relevant knowledge, effective measures, and goal-oriented collaboration are still lacking. Therefore, the Robert Bosch Stiftung initiated the Community of Practice to Improve Support for Struggling Schools. Over time we expanded the network across national borders and finally, to an international network. Representatives from school administrations, school supervisory bodies, state institutions, and pilot projects as well as school leaders are actively participating in the community of practice. Currently, seven German federal states and the state of Austria are part of the community of practice.

In 2015, the Robert Bosch Stiftung initiated the Community of Practice which has developed into a discussion-oriented and interactive space. With this community of practice the Robert Bosch Stiftung is helping to expand practice-oriented knowledge and skills to better identify and support low-performing schools in high-need areas. In this regard, the foundation is able to build on its own practical experience from the pilot project "School Turnaround" and can individually support interventions developed by the community of practice.

Within the community of practice, participants gain insights into the approaches of other states and are able to learn from each other. However, the community of practice encompasses much more than just exchanging good practice. With their high level of commitment, participants from the state support systems develop, enhance new interventions together, and aim for transfer in other contexts.