Networked Improvement Community as an associative design between research and educational practice: building a collaborative work ethos among kindergarten education directors

The article examines the implementation of a Networked Improvement Community (NIC) in a group of 15 kindergarten and nursery school principals from a Local Public Education Service- SLEP, in the Metropolitan Region of Santiago. The research focuses on exploring how this collaborative approach between research and educational practice facilitates the construction and fostering of a collaborative ethos among kindergarten directors. In line with the principles of action research, the article shows how adopting a collaborative research-practice approach can not only address relevant research questions but also offer solutions to priority problems faced by educational leaders. In addition, evidence is presented on how the development of a Networked Improvement Community contributes to the establishment of a collective identity and a shared group narrative that positively impacts the work of K-12 school principals. Finally, the findings of this research indicate that the strengthening of values and attitudes towards networking begin to transform the professional relationships among the directors, enabling the emergence of a collaborative ethos linked to the new Local Public Education Service.