Building high-performing schools: validating a school organizational capability framework in a Dutch multi-school foundation

Purpose This study aims to investigate how a school organizational capability framework can serve both as a reliable and valid diagnostic instrument and as a holistic system for sustainable school development at the foundation level. This study examines whether higher framework scores are associated with stronger perceived school results in a Dutch multi-school primary education foundation. Design/methodology/approach This study uses cross-sectional survey data from 165 staff members across 13 schools in the STEV Foundation. Organizational capability is measured with an education-specific high-performing schools (HPS) framework and supplemented with high-performance organization (HPO) factors; perceived school results are captured by a separate scale. This study assesses reliability and factor structure, examines correlations between HPS, HPO and results and analyzes which capability factors are most strongly associated with perceived performance. Findings All HPS and HPO scales show high internal consistency and a clear factor structure. Within the HPS framework, internal organization, staff quality and educational approach have the strongest associations with perceived school results, while leadership quality operates mainly through these factors. Convergent validity with HPO is strong, with conceptually aligned subscales mapping closely. The framework, therefore, provides STEV with a statistically sound and practically useful basis for steering improvement. Originality/value This study extends prior work on HPS by validating an organizational-capability framework at the foundation level and by showing how HPS, in conjunction with HPO, can connect school-effectiveness insights with PDCA (plan-do-check-act)-based improvement practice in a Dutch multi-school context.