Professional learning communities of teachers: Israeli principals’ perceptions

2019 ◽  
Vol 57 (6) ◽  
pp. 658-674
Author(s):  
Orit Avidov-Ungar
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Professional Learning Communities ◽  
Learning Communities ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Teaching Staff ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Teachers And Students ◽  
Teachers Professional Development ◽  
Principals Perceptions

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to focus on professional learning communities (PLCs) run for and by teachers to achieve their ongoing professional development and greater pupil attainment. The paper examined principals’ perceptions of how such PLCs influence teachers, teacher learning and school processes, and their own involvement in PLCs operating in their schools.Design/methodology/approachIn-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with 17 of 97 principals from three of the four educational districts participating in a pilot programme to achieve in-service teacher professional development through supported PLCs.FindingsMost of the participating principals considered PLCs to influence not only the teacher-leader, but also PLC members and other teaching staff and processes. Principals perceived PLCs as influencing pedagogical processes for both teachers and students, as well as staff leadership processes. Principals reported facilitating the operation of PLCs in their schools by providing the necessary conditions or participating in PLC meetings.Research limitations/implicationsAlthough nearly 20 per cent of principals involved in the pilot agreed to participate, it was not possible to ensure a representative sample. Self-selection bias cannot be ruled out. Most participants were interviewed individually, with a minority later interviewed as a group to obtain a deeper understanding. Thus, the research should be regarded as exploratory.Originality/valueThe study provides a detailed description of how principals perceive and engage with PLCs. Its findings are relevant to international efforts to understand and leverage teacher PLCs for the purposes of teachers’ professional development and pupil attainment.

Identifying coaching approaches that enable teachers' moral learning in professional learning communities

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 375-392
Author(s):  
Helma De Keijzer ◽  
Gaby Jacobs ◽  
Jacqueline Van Swet ◽  
Wiel Veugelers
Keyword(s):  
Professional Learning Communities ◽  
Learning Communities ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Safe Environment ◽  
Moral Learning ◽  
The Impact

PurposeThis study sought to identify those approaches used by coaches that enable teachers' moral learning in professional learning communities (PLCs). Coaches who support moral learning focus on questioning values, beliefs and bias, which is in contrast with learning only (new) knowledge or skills.Design/methodology/approachThis was an exploratory case study. Eleven meetings of three PLCs were observed; each PLC consisted of four teachers and one teacher–coach. Semi-structured interviews with the coaches were conducted to gain information about their approaches. Data were analysed using supportive coaching approaches derived from educational literature.FindingsIn total, 14 specific approaches regarding the support given by coaches for teachers' moral learning were identified. Four characteristics of coaches' attitudes that guided their approaches and seemed valuable in supporting moral learning were also identified. The findings showed the tensions the coaches encountered – for example, when balancing between offering a safe environment and encouraging critical reflection.Practical implicationsWith coaches' support, teachers can develop a more thoughtful understanding of the meaning of values, beliefs and bias for their actions in teaching practice.Social implicationsMaking explicit, and exploring precisely, what coaches do to support teachers' moral learning are useful for designing and improving professional development programmes that promote moral learning.Originality/valueThe research reported in this paper outlines how coaches can encourage teachers' awareness of the impact of their actions on pupils, which, in turn, helps teachers to meet the complex moral challenges of their practice.

Teachers’ perceptions of their schools changing toward professional learning communities

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Loes de Jong ◽  
Tom Wilderjans ◽  
Jacobiene Meirink ◽  
Wouter Schenke ◽  
Henk Sligte ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Professional Learning Communities ◽  
Learning Communities ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Multilevel Regression ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Teachers Perceptions ◽  
School Conditions ◽  
Teachers Professional Development

PurposeIn professional learning communities (PLCs), teachers collaborate and learn with the aim of improving students' learning. The aim of this study is to gain insight into teachers' perceptions of their schools' changing toward PLCs and conditions which support or hamper this change.Design/methodology/approachQuestionnaires were completed by a total of 2.111 teachers from 15 Dutch secondary schools for three years. With the use of multilevel regression analyses, the research questions were answered.FindingsAlthough the development of a school toward a PLC seems to be a slow process, the findings demonstrate the influence of school conditions on this development. Human resource management (HRM) stands out, as this school condition has a direct and longitudinal effect on the change.Practical implicationsThe main recommendation is to embed PLC elements in HRM policies such as facilitating teachers to collaboratively work and learn and aligning teachers' professional development with schools' vision and ambitions.Originality/valuePLCs have been studied occasionally in longitudinal in-depth case studies or in large-scale, cross-sectional research. This large-scale longitudinal study provides insights into the sustainability of schools as PLCs and the school conditions that are associated with sustainability.

scholarly journals Professional Learning Communities Approach: Implications for Policy and Practice

2020 ◽  
pp. 181-200
Author(s):  
Osama Al Mahdi ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Professional Learning Communities ◽  
Learning Communities ◽  
Learning Community ◽  
Professional Learning Community ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Study Groups ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
New Approaches ◽  
Teachers Professional Development

Over the last decades researching and developing teachers‖ professional development frameworks and practices had underwent a paradigm shift. This shift was driven by the complexities of teaching and learning requirements, an increased necessity for reforming educational systems, and more need for accountability and quality outcomes (Vescio, Ross & Adams, 2007). The main feature of these new approaches is that they shift professional development beyond merely focusing on a teacher‖s simple attainment of knowledge and skills to a framework that requires teachers to deeply reflect on their own practices, to innovate new classroom pedagogy, and authentic understanding and expectations of student outcomes (Darling-Hammond & McLaughlin, 1995).These new approaches of teacher professional development include a variety of practitioner-based activities such as: peer observation and assessment, working cooperatively on shared projects such as curriculum development or strategy planning, engaging in lesson study groups, conducting action research, and participating in individually guided activities such as online distant learning or academic higher educational programs. When teachers engage in professional development activities that entail sharing questions, finding answers, experimenting practical actions and engaging in a productive dialogue, this may promote their sense of belonging as knowledge workers in their professional learning communities, and this would support them in achieving their learning and teaching goals which would reflect at the end on their students‖ knowledge, skills and values (Al-Mahdi, 2019a, Al-Mahdi, 2019b, Al-Mahdi & Al-Wadi, 2015). This chapter aims to explore professional learning community as an innovate approach in teachers‖ professional development and discuss possible ways for implementing it in Bahrain Teachers College, University of Bahrain. The following sections will focus on: defining professional learning community, characteristics of a professional learning community, leading professional learning community, international research on professional learning communities, professional learning communities research in GCC countries, and reflections on the educational context in Bahrain and implications for policy and practice.

Can a professional learning community deliver career development learning?

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle Gander ◽  
Margot McInnes
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Career Development ◽  
Adult Learning ◽  
Professional Learning Communities ◽  
Learning Communities ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Workplace Learning ◽  
Professional Staff ◽  
Formal Learning ◽  
Content Type

Purpose The professional development needs of university professional staff are an under-researched area. More data were needed to understand their needs to ensure that employers invest their resources appropriately. A conceptual framework is developed for the workplace learning of career development activities using concepts of professional learning communities, adult learning and non-formal learning. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the success of a professional development network in meeting the needs of university professional staff after a re-structure. Design/methodology/approach A case study of the development of a staff career network at an Australian university after a restructure is presented. An online survey was sent to 75 staff who had attended at least one professional development event. Quantitative and qualitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics and thematic analysis. Findings This study has shown that a university professional staff career network has been a positive influence for its participants after an organisational restructure. The value of this network was to increase confidence and provide opportunities for self-improvement, career planning and networking. Originality/value A conceptual model integrating the concepts of professional learning communities, adult learning and non-formal learning has resulted in a model of social non-formalised workplace learning that may be of use in other contexts to improve staff motivation, outside of more formal learning opportunities.

Collaborative inquiry and the shared workspace of professional learning communities

2017 ◽  
Vol 31 (7) ◽  
pp. 1069-1091 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Carpenter
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
School Improvement ◽  
Professional Learning Communities ◽  
Learning Communities ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Collaborative Inquiry ◽  
Shared Workspace ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Inquiry Process

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore educator collaborative inquiry in the shared workspace in professional learning communities (PLCs). Specifically, this investigation was part of an ongoing investigation of well-established PLC collaborative interactions and self-directed learning of educators as part of the shared workspace as a component of school improvement. Design/methodology/approach A qualitative design was used for this investigation. Participants were purposefully selected to provide qualitative data on existent, well-established PLCs and their practice as educators in the shared workspace. Qualitative data were collected about participant perception. Data were collected from each participant by conducting semi-structured interviews, observations, and the collection of document and artifacts. Findings Findings from this ongoing investigation point to positive collaborative physical interactions and intellectual discourse that lead to educator learning through the collaborative inquiry process. Originality/value Theories on PLCs and educator job-embedded professional learning are unique in this paper. The concepts of PLCs and the collaborative inquiry process have been well developed but not in the context of the shared workspace. Recent literature on effective collaborative inquiry educators undergo in PLCs as a continuing professional development model provides a foundation for the work done in this ongoing case study. Sustained collaboration and continued professional development of teaching innovations as a product of the collaborative inquiry process in the shared workspace are underdeveloped as yet but further developed in this paper.

scholarly journals Contradictions and their manifestations in professional learning communities in mathematics

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frida Harvey ◽  
Per Nilsson
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Professional Learning Communities ◽  
Learning Communities ◽  
Activity Theory ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Teacher Leader ◽  
Extensive Experience ◽  
Sources Of Support ◽  
Cultural Historical Activity ◽  
Teachers Professional Development

AbstractProfessional learning communities (PLC) have increasingly attracted attention in research on teachers’ professional development. The aim of this study is to identify contradictions that can occur and be manifested in PLCs in mathematics. Identifying contradictions in PLCs are important, as the identification and resolution of contradictions are crucial to developing PLCs. We have conceptualized PLCs and contradictions within the Cultural Historical Activity Theory. Our data consist of two iterations of interviews with four teacher leader coaches with extensive experience of coaching teacher leaders of PLCs in mathematics. The study distinguishes 26 manifestations of contradictions, taking the overall forms of dilemmas and conflicts. Our results can be used in designing PLCs in mathematics: they can be used to make visible and increase participants’ awareness of contradictions involved in PLCs and thereby increase the possibility that the contradictions serve as sources of support rather than obstacles in the development of PLCs in mathematics.

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