Elements affecting the development of professional learning communities in schools
Publication year
2018Source
Learning Environments Research, 21, 1, (2018), pp. 109-134ISSN
Annotation
19 december 2017
Publication type
Article / Letter to editor
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Organization
Radboud Docenten Academie (RDA)
Journal title
Learning Environments Research
Volume
vol. 21
Issue
iss. 1
Languages used
English (eng)
Page start
p. 109
Page end
p. 134
Subject
Onderzoeksprogramma RDA | 2024-2028: Innovative Teaching and Learning | 2016-2023: Cultivating Creativity in EducationAbstract
This article focuses on the development of professional learning communities
(PLCs), which are communities within schools, composed of voluntary participating
teachers facilitated by school principals with a specific task to accomplish as part of a
larger innovation project. Four PLCs were observed during 3 years by using questionnaires
and participatory research. The questionnaires revealed that PLCs differed in their group
characteristics, collective learning processes and outcomes. Through participatory
research, we explored seven elements affecting the development of PLCs, namely, task
perceptions, group composition, tensions between roles, beliefs about alignment, reflective
dialogues, socialisation and ownership. Beliefs about alignment, ownership and socialisation
had sufficient impact on the development of the PLCs. A case study including two
contrasting PLCs indicated interrelations between task perceptions and ownership by
members and between ownership and socialisation activities. Regarding implications, this
research suggests to explicitly create and facilitate reflective dialogues and ownership over
time for PLCs to flourish.
This item appears in the following Collection(s)
- Academic publications [238441]
- Electronic publications [122508]
- Open Access publications [97504]
- Radboud Graduate School of Education [1940]
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