Research on the Influencing Factors of High School English Teacher Professional Learning Community Evaluation in Changchun, China

Yang Li,Chia-Ching Tu

doi:10.5539/elt.v11n5p104

Abstract

This research shows the development and influencing factors of high school English teachers’ evaluation of professional learning community in Changchun, China. Followed Olivier and Hipp & Huffma’s research, the teacher professional learning community evaluation questionnaire was developed by the researchers. 422 English teachers in Changchun were invited to participate in the online survey. This study found that the organization characteristics of professional learning communities in this city shared similar characteristics with Western countries at some degree. English perceptions of including the “shared personal practice” and “collective learning and application” achieves the average level in this research. Compared to the western professional learning communities, the Chinese professional learning communities in this study lack of the democratic leadership and shared value and vision attributions. According to the analysis, we find that the Confucian cultural context, teacher’ career development stages, the pressures of national college entrance examination and the systematic teaching training have a significant impact on the evaluation of teacher professional learning communities. Aiming at to build a learning organisation rather than a bureaucratic administration, we suggest that the “shared value and vison” and “shared and supportive leadership” needs more reform in the current professional learning communities. Namely, traditional Soviet model of school-based professional learning communities need to reform toward a learning organisation emphasizing the teaching and learning.

Highlights

In this information era, along with the trend of knowledge economy and lifelong learning, aiming at to promote students’ learning with quality teaching, all countries have begun to reform the schools by building the learning communities since the beginning of the 1980s
We find that the Confucian cultural context, teacher’ career development stages, the pressures of national college entrance examination and the systematic teaching training have a significant impact on the evaluation of teacher professional learning communities
The original questionnaire is divided into five dimension “shared and supportive leadership” (11 items), “shared values and vision” (9 items), “collective learning and application” (10 items), “shared personal practice” (7 items) and “supportive conditions” (9 items)

Summary

Introduction

Along with the trend of knowledge economy and lifelong learning, aiming at to promote students’ learning with quality teaching, all countries have begun to reform the schools by building the learning communities since the beginning of the 1980s. Professional learning community can be defined as teachers in school form a cooperative group for the purpose of professional learning. It emphasizes the collaboration learning and professional growth of teachers in the workplace (Hipp & Huffman, 2003). Since 1950s, the Chinese government has required all primary and secondary schools to organise the teaching unit like teaching and research group. This kind of organisation is similar to the western teacher professional learning in terms of organization form, activity content and activity goal (Shan, 2014).

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