This study aims to develop a knowledge management model for a school in order to improve the current state of knowledge management at the primary school in Taiwan. There are four research purposes: (1) to examine the dimensions and contents of knowledge management planning, execution and evaluation; (2) to explore the application of information technology to knowledge management and to establish a school knowledge management system; (3) to develop a knowledge management promotion model for the school; and (4) to evaluate the knowledge management promotion model at the school.
This study uses literature review to analyze the knowledge management promotion model of the case school while action research was conducted during the actual practice at the school. The research subjects are 33 classes and 50 teachers in a newly established elementary school during the period of Year 2009 to 2013. It includes the examination of theories and practices related to the planning and execution of knowledge management work as well as the development of a knowledge management model.
The knowledge management system developed by this study consists of three components: external portal website, internal knowledge management collaborative platform, and internal network file database. The external portal website provides 12 functions including introduction to the school; the internal knowledge management collaborative platform provides four functions such as school administration; and the internal network file database includes shared archives and teachers’ individual archives.
The knowledge management promotion model built in this study includes four aspects: supportive environment to knowledge management including information technology, organizational behavior (leadership, organization culture, learning organization, and reward measures), and organizational structure; the knowledge management process including knowledge creation, acquisition, extraction, storage, transfer, and application; knowledge management implementation including (1) awareness stage (building objectives and consensus), (2) strategic stage, (3) design stage, (4) implementation stage, and (5) performance evaluation and maintenance stage; as well as knowledge management evaluation.
This study uses a self-compiled questionnaire to investigate the effectiveness of knowledge management promotion. It addresses vision and task, organizational culture, intellectual capital, leadership and management, knowledge sharing, team and learning community, information technology, and knowledge management strategies of schools as well as archive digitization, application of information technology, and peer cooperation and sharing by teachers. As indicated in the investigation results, the school is found with items that lie between completely matched and most matched indicating effective knowledge management. For the individual knowledge management of teachers, the application of information technology is rated with the range of most completed; good effectiveness, archive digitization, peer cooperation and sharing are scored between most to half completed which are required for improvement. Teachers taking administrative jobs and participating in learning community outperform others in knowledge management. In terms of knowledge management aspects, leadership and management, information technology, vision and task scored higher while peer cooperation and sharing scored the lowest.
This study examines the experience sharing of knowledge management promotion with the participation of the principal in the knowledge management model and system evaluation. According to the evaluation results, the knowledge management model of the school is appropriate with the contents that meet practical demands and enable the realization of administrative efficacy. It, thus, can be promoted in the reference of knowledge management process development at other schools.