Abstract:
Research into professional learning communities (PLCs) indicates consistently that when such communities involve in-school educators collaboratively inquiring into the impact of teaching practice on student learning, they have the potential to develop teacher capacity and enhance student outcomes. However, the potential benefits of PLCs are tempered by varied interpretations, mixed outcomes and the many challenges of implementation, including the impact of the people involved, such as school leaders, as well as organisational and procedural factors. Drawing on the international research on PLCs, this study examined PLCs in New Zealand secondary school contexts. It explored in-school educators’ perceptions of the extent to which PLC characteristics were evident in school and/or department professional learning, perceived effectiveness of key characteristics of PLCs identified in the literature and the conditions which participants believed enabled or inhibited PLC implementation. Respondents from four secondary schools, all of which had introduced PLCs, were invited to participate in the case study. The data collected through questionnaires and interviews were mainly qualitative, which allowed for a rich and deep exploration of inschool educators’ beliefs, values and experiences. Some quantitative data analysis was also utilised, to enable an overview of respondents’ perceptions of characteristics of PLCs and conditions for effectiveness. The findings indicated that the seven PLC characteristics identified in the literature and explored in relation to the practice of these schools were perceived to be effective for improving teaching and learning. However, a number of these characteristics did not appear to be consistent with the participants’ descriptions of what was happening in their schools. Despite the high effectiveness ratings, some PLC characteristics drew mixed responses or appeared to be evident only at a surface level in some situations. The study also found that conditions identified most frequently as enablers and inhibitors to PLC functioning were considered to be related to qualities of school leadership, teacher attitudes towards professional learning and organisational factors, such as the allocation of time and workload issues. The findings of the study indicate that for PLCs to be effective in the New Zealand secondary school context, leaders need to be a driving force, actively developing a school environment and culture that is conducive to on-going teacher learning.