Knowledge management strategies for capitalising on school knowledge
| Published date | 13 February 2017 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/VJIKMS-08-2016-0045 |
| Pages | 94-109 |
| Date | 13 February 2017 |
| Author | Eric C.K. Cheng |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Knowledge management,Knowledge management systems |
Knowledge management
strategies for capitalising on
school knowledge
Eric C.K. Cheng
The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong
Abstract
Purpose –This paper aims to explore the extent to which knowledge management practices, that is the
process of developing and sharing organisational knowledge, can enhance intellectual capital (IC) in the
context of school education.
Design/methodology/approach –A mixed-method approach was adopted as the research strategy. A
cross-sectional quantitative survey was conducted to collect data from 445 teachers at 13 primary schools in
Hong Kong. A structural equation model (SEM) was applied to conrm the predictive effective of knowledge
strategies on school IC. Interviews were conducted in a case school to explore the process for capitalising the
knowledge by Lesson Study.
Findings –The result of the SEM shows that personalisation and codication strategies are predictors of
human capital and structural capital at schools. The ndings from interviews with the principals and teachers
show that personalisation and codication strategies could be put into operation as a Lesson Study to leverage
knowledge for school development.
Originality/value –This paper contributes to the management practices of school organisation for
enhancing their IC by conducting Lesson Study for the development of their schools effectively.
Keywords Knowledge management, Lesson Study, Knowledge strategies,
School intellectual capital
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Hong Kong schools have, for a number of years, been faced by challenges in terms of how
they will move forward – these can include the city’s very competitive education
environment and changing education policies for schools. These issues include the decline in
the number of students at schools, the increased involvement of parents in school choices and
improving the quality of education at schools to be accountable to all stakeholders. Schools
are required to formulate teaching development plans, and teachers have to plan education
activities that take place inside and outside the classroom. They also manage information
and knowledge to strengthen their teaching. Schools must enhance the achievements of their
students to maintain the school’s name in the eyes of their stakeholders and the parents of
prospective students. In a similar way to many public organisations, schools have to
demonstrate appropriate knowledge assets and accountability in supporting an evidently
dened teaching development plan. Most school assets and resources are intangible, which
means they can neither be easily measured nor managed. These assets and resources include
staff competencies, organisation policies, structure and culture. For a school to be able to
This work was supported in part by a grant from General Research Fund (GRF) Hong Kong, project
entitled Knowledge Management for Enhancing School Strategic Planning Capacity: Examining the
SECI Knowledge Creation Model in School Context (project no. 18610915).
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
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VJIKMS
47,1
94
Received 25 August 2016
Revised 13 November 2016
Accepted 13 December 2016
VINEJournal of Information and
KnowledgeManagement Systems
Vol.47 No. 1, 2017
pp.94-109
©Emerald Publishing Limited
2059-5891
DOI 10.1108/VJIKMS-08-2016-0045
improve, it is critical to develop a new approach for managing these intangible assets so that
they can cope with a competitive environment.
Literature reveals that intellectual capital (IC) plays an important role in facilitating the
sustainable development of schools by making the most of knowledge resources by having
them as knowledge assets for capacity building (Kelly, 2004b;Basile, 2009;Paletta and
Alimehmeti, 2014). IC is a knowledge asset that can generate competitive sustainable
advantages (Paletta, 2011). Schools are able to make the most of IC, which comes from the
knowledge, experience and transferable skills of staff members; from the school’s
infrastructure policy and practices that innovate and manage change; and from the
relationship between the school and its stakeholders. As the IC largely comes from within the
organisation, the management of that IC can create maximum leverage when looking to
improve the school and the effectiveness of its teaching (Basile, 2009) and student learning
(Paletta, 2011). IC is at the core of what society considers the purpose and denition of
successful schooling. It must be put to best use if schools are to operate at their fullest
potential (Kelly, 2004a). The issue of managing and creating the knowledge resources of the
school organisation has become a signicant research agenda in school effectiveness and
improvement, which must be addressed.
Knowledge management (KM) in schools can be conceptualised as strategic management
activities that support school leaders and teachers to leverage and capitalise on the
organisation’s knowledge resources to plan and carry out teaching tasks effectively (Hansen
et al., 1999;Zack, 1999;Nonaka et al., 2006;Cheng, 2015). Formulating effective strategies for
implementing KM activities could be a promising management approach to create IC in
schools. The study also aims to determine the extent to which Lesson Study, one of the
typical KM practices in school, enhances school IC in the context of Hong Kong school
education. Lesson Study is a KM approach that creates pedagogical knowledge through
sharing, codifying and teaching knowledge for addressing students’ learning difculties
(Cheng, 2015). The primary goal of Lesson Study is to effectively improve the overall quality
of teaching through demonstrating and sharing of teaching knowledge with other teachers.
Specically, it examines the effects of Hansen et al.’s (1999) personalisation and codication
knowledge strategies on Kelly’s thinking capital (human capital) and non-thinking capital
(structural capital). A mixed-method approach was adopted in the research strategy.
Questionnaire surveys and qualitative interviews of a case study were conducted to collect
data. A structural equation model (SEM) was applied to examine the predictive effects of KM
strategies on school IC. The researcher identied effective KM practices for developing
school IC by analysing the interview scripts of a case study.
Literature review
IC has been described as the knowledge and knowing capability of organisations (Nahapiet
and Ghoshal, 1998). IC has appeared in the business sector to reect the non-accounting value
that will not appear in any nancial reports of a company (Edvinsson and Malone, 1997;
Stewart, 1997). IC management plays an important role in facilitating innovative processes
and creating value in social enterprises. IC management takes the resource-based view on
organisations which should incorporate specic resources, capabilities and endowments to
offer a source of competitive advantage (Al-Ali, 2003;Curado and Bontis, 2006). IC has been
widely adopted in public organisations including higher education institutions for
organisation development (Dumay et al., 2015). The core mission of school education as a
public good is to create intangible assets to the public society (Secundo et al., 2016). Schools
have to prioritise scarce resources and systematically monitor intangible assets with a view
95
Capitalising on
school
knowledge
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