Implementation Of Professional Learning Community Research Articles

The validity and reliability of professional learning community instruments in small schools peninsular Malaysia

A professional learning community (PLC) instrument was developed to determine the level of PLC practice in small schools in Peninsular Malaysia. This study was conducted in Perak and Negeri Sembilan to determine the instrument's reliability and validity. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and item reliability analysis were used to determine the questionnaire’s reliability and validity. Next, the average congruence percentage (ACP) is used to determine the reliability test between expert assessors. Experts approved the validity and reliability of the instrument before the EFA test was conducted. All five constructs have high-reliability index values between 0.86–0.95. Next, the EFA analysis shows five dimensions in the PLC instrument with factor loadings ranging from 0.61–0.84. The findings also show that the variance explained in the data is 68.99% with an Eigenvalue greater than 1. This result indicates that all items are received with high approval. In addition, a very high-reliability coefficient value, α=0.96. The results prove that this PLC instrument has high validity and reliability and can measure the level of PLC implementation practices in small schools in Peninsular Malaysia.

Creating Cohesion and Collaboration in Mathematics Classrooms: Implementing Interdepartmental Professional Learning Communities to Support Students with Disabilities

Professional learning communities (PLCs) support the growth of educators to improve learning outcomes for all students. Guided by social constructivist and social cognitive theories, this longitudinal participatory action research study explored the implementation of an interdepartmental PLC across Hord’s five dimensions of a successful PLC—supportive and shared leadership, shared beliefs values and vision, collective learning and its application, shared personal practice, and supportive conditions. Additionally, this study explored how engaging with an interdepartmental PLC influenced participants’ collective efficacy. During the PLC, the collective expertise of mathematics teachers, administrators, and additional educational specialists (such as occupational therapists and speech and language pathologists) (n = 13) were leveraged to develop strategies for the improvement of mathematical problem solving among elementary and middle school students with disabilities. Our findings indicate statistically significant increases in the five dimensions of the PLC over time, with qualitative evidence supporting the PLC’s effectiveness. However, our findings revealed no significant increase in participants’ overall collective efficacy, a group’s shared belief that together they can achieve a desired result. Implications for practice and research are discussed.

Creating a Collaborative Teaching Culture: The Case Study of the Value of a Professional Learning Community

In sport management higher education, doctoral students and early-career faculty are often tasked with teaching university courses, yet the training and support rarely match the demands of the job. This paper explores the utility of a professional learning community (PLC) within a sport management department at an American university using a case study methodology. A PLC creates space for colleague collaboration among faculty with similar objectives and goals. The PLC examined in this manuscript includes a mix of experienced (i.e., associate and full professors) and inexperienced professors (i.e., assistant professors and doctoral students) sharing their classroom/instructional experience at the undergraduate and master’s levels. PLCs represent a viable solution to help ease the classroom transition for early-career instructors and provide a platform for faculty to seek advice related to challenges. Findings suggest that the proper implementation of PLCs can lead to perceived increases in teaching effectiveness, self-efficacy, and collaboration amongst experienced and inexperienced faculty. Other benefits of PLCs include allowing faculty members to remain attuned to current classroom trends and maintaining a common philosophical mission/vision for the degree program.

District Office Leadership Supporting Site-Level Teacher Collaborative Teams

Previous researchers examining professional learning communities (PLCs) claim that effective building-level PLCs improve teacher collaboration and student achievement. However, the role of district office leadership in supporting the success of site-level PLC teams is presently underexplored. Using an online survey, we investigated the claim that district office support enhances the success of site-level PLCs. Quantitative data were collected from 596 participants employed at 21 schools within 16 school districts in the north Texas region. Findings derived from correlation and structural equation modeling analyses revealed a significant direct effect of district office leadership support on successful PLC team implementation, suggesting that district leaders play an active role in the districtwide implementation of PLCs.

Professional Learning Communities in Chinese Preschools: Challenging Western Frameworks

In the education field, professional learning communities (PLCs) are regarded as an effective method for fostering professional development for teachers, enhancing student learning and achievement, and promoting school reform. Quality leadership and management are understood to be essential for schools to become effective PLCs. Mainly proposed by Western scholars, existing PLC frameworks explicitly or implicitly assume that PLCs should be initiated and led by teachers themselves, following a bottom-up approach. The goal of this conceptual overview paper is to challenge certain taken-for-granted core principles of Western PLC frameworks by analyzing the current approach to PLCs adopted by preschools in mainland China, which follow a top-down leadership and management approach. We review multiple research streams, including policy frameworks and regulations, as well as the most relevant conceptual, theoretical, and empirical studies published in recent years. After reviewing China’s core socio-cultural traditional values, we describe the recent policies that have mandated the establishment and implementation of PLCs in Chinese preschools. We then review several recent studies that demonstrate that, despite profound differences to Western frameworks, PLCs in Chinese preschools are effective in benefitting teachers and highly regarded by the relevant stakeholders. The literature shows that Chinese preschools enact culturally situated versions of PLCs, characterized by some standard PLC principles (e.g., shared vision, collaboration, and collective responsibility) alongside features that resonate with Confucian values (e.g., strong hierarchical structure, guidance of external experts, internal leadership support, and greater emphasis on ecological support rather than personal agency and autonomy). We conclude that Chinese preschools merit international attention, as their approach to leadership and management allow us to reconsider certain core principles of Western PLC frameworks. Future directions for PLC policy and practice are suggested.

A Conceptual Framework for Understanding Effective Professional Learning Community (PLC) Operation in Schools

This paper focuses on the development of professional learning communities (PLCs) in schools, which are communities of educators tasked with improving student learning outcomes. The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, the paper explores the central tenets of an effective PLC and contributes a definition of the concept to address much of contextual ambiguity found within the literature. Secondly, the paper employs this definition to inform the development of a conceptual framework for understanding effective PLC operation in schools, which can be used as a guide for PLC implementation at both the school and system levels.

Practice Level in the Implementation of Professional Learning Communities in Improving the Quality of Teaching among Mathematics Teachers.

This concept paper was conducted with the aim of identifying the extent to which the level of implementation practice of the Professional Learning Community can improve the quality of teaching among Mathematics teachers. This study will be conducted using quantitative methods that is through data collection involving questionnaires. The dimensions in the concept of Professional Learning Community, namely the sharing of mission and vision values, leadership sharing and support, collective learning and application, sharing of individual practices and supportive environment methods are among the focus of the study. It is hoped that this study will help teachers realize that the quality of their teaching can be improved and enhanced through the Professional Learning Community and further maintain a culture of continuous learning in each educator.

Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) for the Zimbabwean Design and Technology High School Contexts: Ensuring Quality Teaching through Effective Professional Development.

This qualitative study analysed the implementation of Professional Learning Communities (PLCS) for quality teaching of Design Technology (DT) in the Zimbabwean high schools. The study was triggered by low uptake of the Design Technology curriculum since its inception in 2015 by public schools. The study included seven Design Technology secondary school teachers that were randomly selected from the secondary schools in the country’s selected district cluster. Data was collected from the respondents through face to face interviews, critiquing, comparing and contrasting related literature. The social cognitive theory, Bandura’s social learning theory and Vygotsky’s social constructivism theory guides and informs the analysis of findings of this study. Findings shows that the Design Technology syllabus is comprehensive, teachers lack the relevant training to handle the comprehensive syllabus, low investment in staff development programs and low engagement in staff professional groups. The study recommends that regular staff development workshops be administered for Design Technology Schools, equip workshops with tools, teacher training in the comprehensive syllabus and engage in collaborative activities with other DT teachers in country and far wide to guarantee quality teaching of the learning area in the secondary schools.

Relationship between professional learning community and teacher attitudes toward change

The main objective of the survey was to investigate the relationship between Professional Learning Community (PLC) and Teacher Attitudes Toward Change (TATC). By employing disproportionate stratified sampling, a total of 1004 school teachers from 64 Day Secondary Schools completed the questionnaires with valid data. The results demonstrated that, (i) there was a significant, positive and mediocre relationship between PLC and TATC; (ii) Principals' Commitment and Support, Collegial Understanding and Trust, External Support System, Structural Support and Shared Norms and Vision of PLC were correlated significantly to TATC and (iii) Collaborative Learning, Collective Inquiry and Reflective Dialogue were not associated significantly with TATC. As a whole, the development of PLC in schools has significant relationship with TATC that influences teachers' behavioural intention and ultimately determine their attitudes to embrace school change. The study not only provides empirical evidence that deepen our understanding about the relationship between PLC and TATC, but it also provides valuable insights for schools in those countries with the similar background as Malaysia in crafting pragmatic directions for the implementation of PLC in enhancing positive TATC in schools.

Development of Teacher Innovation in Teaching Accounting Subject Through Implementation of Professional Learning Community

Critical thinking is important because critical thinking is a generic skill required by employers to produce students who can compete in today's global economic market. Teacher quality is the main focus in education management because the relationship between student achievement is closely related to the teacher's ability to manage student-based learning. Among the methods for teachers to be involved in professional development that leads to increased student learning is the Professional Learning Community (PLC). The purpose of this article is to examine how the implementation of PLC leads to the development of innovation among Accounting teachers. A total of seven Accounting teachers who teach Forms 4 and 5 in seven schools in southern Malaysia were selected as study participants using the purposive sampling. Three data collection techniques were used to obtain rich data, namely semi-structured interview, document analysis, and audio and visual material analysis. The validity and reliability of the findings of this study is ensured through triangulation, member checking, peer review, audit trail, and a prolonged and adequate engagement in the study. The findings of the study are categorized into 3 themes, namely Sharing Best Practices, Collective Focus on Student Learning, and Collaborative.

Professional Learning Communities and Democratic Ideals: The Influence of John Dewey

This paper conceptualizes as well as theorizes how Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) demonstrate democratic principles using John Dewey’s philosophy of education and democracy. The study reviewed the meaning of democracy and its characteristics and highlighted PLCs as social spaces for building democracy in schools. Also, the study explored whether a relationship existed between PLCs and democracy as ideally conceived. The reason behind this exploration was to ascertain whether the environment created in schools and the activities of teachers in their PLC groups serve as core components of establishing PLCs. The study revealed that the formation and implementation of PLCs truly illuminate democratic principles because all teachers take an active part in discussions and deliberations in matters affecting them; members remain committed to the course of the group and the school system because they feel as part; respect and tolerate the views of others, especially minority views and; take part in the decision-making process of the group. The nurturing of these ideals develops informed democratic citizens who would be capable of influencing local, state, and national level decisions and policies. These principles could also be passed on to their students.

Competency Development through the Implementation of Professional Learning Community among Accounting Teachers

The selection of Professional Learning Community (PLC) as one of the mediums to improve practice is based on the trend and development of practice in developing countries. In PLC, teachers work with a sense of openness, share their experiences, ideas and expertise, and engage in a continuous assessment process that can foster deep team learning and critical reflection. The aim of this study is to investigate the implementation of PLC in improving the competencies of Accounting teachers. A total of seven Accounting teachers teaching Grades 4 and 5 in seven schools in southern Malaysia were selected as participants using purposive sampling. The aim of this study is to investigate the competencies building through the implementation of PLC among Accounting teachers. To achieve this purpose, a qualitative design was used as the guiding framework. Therefore, three data collection techniques were used to obtain rich data, namely semi-structured interview techniques, document analysis and also audio and visual materials analysis. The validity and reliability of the findings of this study were ensured through triangulation, member checks, peer review, audit trail and prolonged engagement. The findings of the study are categorised into 9 themes, namely mastering subject matter, instructional planning, instructional delivery, instructional evaluation, technology application, classroom management, facilitate student, motivate student, and student career development.

A Systematic Literature Review on Professional Learning Community Models

Professional learning communities (PLC) is one of the strategies to enhance teacher learning which have gained attention in educational institutions all over the world. Professional learning community research has contributed various types of models to explain the ways PLC practiced in detail. We, hence, performed a systematic literature review on professional learning community models’ dimensions in this paper using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). Databases such as Scopus and Web of Science, as well as Google Scholar were used to identify the papers for this study. These findings can guide teachers and assist stakeholders towards the implementation of Professional Learning Communities.

Developing a professional learning community through teacher leadership: A case in one Estonian school

In this case study, we identified how teacher leaders developed a professional learning community (PLC) to support their colleagues’ learning to enhance the fifth-grade students' learning goals setting. Pre- and post-interview data from three teacher leaders and three participating teachers were analyzed. The findings revealed that in the first year of the PLC, all the conditions for a successful PLC implementation were fulfilled – the participants were encouraged by the school leadership team, and shared common vision and goals. Teachers put a lot of effort in learning the theory and based on their common understanding, developed a model to help their students goal-setting. Taking on an inquiry approach, they also monitored the effect of their learning on students. Although the teacher leaders admitted that leading the PLC was sometimes complicated, they found it inevitable to continue in the following year. However, teachers’ self-initiation was not enough to assure the successful functioning of the PLC. The lack of support (e.g. previously set time for collaboration was withdrawn) and interest from the school leadership team impeded the sustainability of the PLC.

Implementation of Professional Learning Community among Teachers in Schools: A Systematic Literature Review

The emergence of the Professional Learning Community (PLC) concept has pioneered the existence and strengthened of the teaching community. PLC formally serves as a professional learning team and through this team, teachers work with a spirit of openness, reflect critically, share their experiences, ideas, expertise, and engage in an ongoing assessment process that fosters deep team learning. So, it is important to look at past studies related to PLC as PLC is among the factors of teacher effectiveness and schools as well. This paper aims to produce a literature review that answers questions such as: i) What are the challenges in the implementation of PLC among teachers; ii) How PLC can develop the innovation of teachers; and iii) How can the Professional Learning Community develop teacher competencies? The systematic literature review method is used as the methodology in this paper. Articles from 2018 to 2022 related to PLC were searched from three main databases, namely, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar. The finding show a total of 384 articles were identified; however, after screening based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria, only 76 articles were used as final articles for review related to PLC challenges and the impact of PLC implementation on innovation development and teacher competencies. The results of this literature review are beneficial for future studies on PLC and can be a guideline for higher authorities in the field of education, especially the Ministry of Education, to design quality PLC programs that can enhance teacher professionalism and, in turn, improve student learning. It is recommended that a more detailed implementation of PLC be considered in further studies, as its strategy and effectiveness still have not been sufficiently examined.

Defining and operationalizing professional learning communities: what does the literature say?

ABSTRACT Implementation of Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) has become common place in schools across the globe. Perhaps, the prevailing definitions and operationalization of PLCs could explain the disparities in how they are executed in various contexts. By investigating a selection of recent studies, this review of literature aims to analyse how PLCs have been defined and operationalized in contemporary research. A total of 70 quantitative and mixed-methods research studies that were conducted between 2013 and 2018 were chosen to be inspected in this review to identify the definitions and tools employed in those studies. The definitions and tools were identified and analysed qualitatively to examine the underlying concepts. Findings of the investigation revealed that the definitions of PLCs were composed of three major components; process, outcome and critical conditions. Moreover, it has also been found that Professional Learning Community Assessment (PLCA) and its revised version PLCA-R were the predominant operationalization of PLCs in the recent years. The findings advocate the need for ensuring critical conditions for sustained implementation of PLCs. It is also claimed that inclusion of “result orientation” as a new dimension might demonstrate a better operationalization of PLCs.

IMPROVING TEACHING AND LEARNING OUTCOMES THROUGH PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITIES - A CASE OF BUSINESS EDUCATION SUBJECTS IN BOTSWANA

The aim of this study was to investigate how Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) could help to improve the teaching and learning outcomes of business education subjects in Botswana secondary schools. A qualitative methodology was adopted and data were collected online through WhatsApp chats and calls. Through analysing interviews and reviewing of documents related to PLCs in schools, we were able to code data into categories that emerged from themes and that assisted in understanding the perceptions and practices of teachers. The findings of this study indicate that through the implementation of PLCs in school there is a likelihood of improved learning outcomes amongst students due to collaborative efforts amongst teachers in lesson preparations and classroom instruction.

Implementation of Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) (Differences Between Saudi Arabia and the USA)

Professional Learning Community (PLC) for teachers is one of the trending ways on improving students’ achievement. This article aims at investigating the implementation level of Professional Learning Community (PLC) in the schools of the United States of America and Saudi Arabia, as perceived by teachers. Also, the article evaluates whether there are significant differences on the implementation level based on country, gender, and years of experience. Participants of the study were public school teachers from both countries. To attain the purpose of the study, the descriptive approach was used. Using Means and Standard Deviation (SD), the findings reveal that the level of implementation of PLC in Saudi Arabia was higher compared to the USA. However, by using the T-test and ANOVA, it was revealed that there were no statistically significant differences in the implementation level based on country, gender, and years of experience. Recommendations and suggestions were provided for implementation improvement and future studies.
 Keywords: Professional Learning Community (PLC), teachers’ professional development, school improvement

District Leadership in Redefining Roles of Instructional Coaches to Guide Professional Learning Communities through Systemic Change

ABSTRACT While research suggests that effective implementation of professional learning communities (PLCs) increases student achievement and that effective utilization of instructional coaches (ICs) supports teachers’ capacity, there is limited research regarding the role of ICs in supporting the system-wide change effort of PLC implementation and sustainability. This qualitative study addressed the perceptions of six ICs, six principals, and six district leaders within one large, fast-growth school district working to redefine the role of ICs to support the implementation of PLCs. Findings highlighted that district support was essential for reshaping the role of ICs from individual teacher coaches to supporting PLCs and that principals recognized how this new role was essential to developing the effectiveness of PLCs.

Readiness for Organizational Change as a Mediator of Distributed Leadership Relationships and the Implementation of Professional Learning Community

Readiness for Organizational Change as a Mediator of Distributed Leadership Relationships and the Implementation of Professional Learning Community