Elske Muilenburg, MSc. – Researcher
In 2015, I graduated from the academic teacher programme (ALPO) as a primary school teacher and got my bachelor’s degree in educational sciences. ALPO, a four year programme, introduced be to both the theoretical and practical side of education. Although these sides often seem to be very isolated, I’ve noticed that they can complement each other very well. Therefore, I started my research master Educational Sciences: Learning in Interaction, so I could contribute to bridging the gap between theory and practice.
Directly after obtaining my master’s degree, I started working as a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Twente and the University of Groningen. My research is about the role of school leadership in realizing sustainable school improvement through professional learning communities (PLCs). I am interested in two types of PLCs: lesson study teams and data teams. What factors contribute to realizing sustainable school improvement, that were put forward in the PLCs, and what do these factors look like in practice? I will try answering these questions by means of two-month-internships at different schools. In that way, I want to bridge the before mentioned gap, by creating theory in collaboration with practice. Data teams are a beautiful means to that end!