Quality of Professional Life for a School-Based Team of Teachers: Collaboration, Leadership, and Trust Impact Teacher and Student Learning

• In Event: Roundtable Session 104
  In Roundtable Session: How Leadership Contributes to the Quality of Professional Life for Teachers: Team, School, and District-Level Perspectives

Abstract

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of this study was to describe how one newly formed collaborative team worked within a professional learning community (PLC) process in a suburban Title I school.
Conceptual Framework

The purpose of this study was to understand the contribution that professional learning communities have on adult and student learning. The conceptual framework for this study was drawn from Vygotsky’s sociocultural theory of human learning. Vygotsky and the researchers that have been influenced by his work believe that learning occurs as individuals participate in social and cultural activities (Rogoff, 1990). As a result, to understand the PLC process, it is important to analyze the culture and social climate of educators’ learning environments, and to what extent they support change in teaching practice.

Research Methodology

A case study design was used describe how a newly formed collaborative team works within PLC processes from October through December of 2010. The researcher selected a case study approach in order to gain an understanding of how a collaborative team works through close examination of a specific example (Rossman & Rallis, 2003). Since case studies are bound by time and activity, the researcher used a variety of data collection procedures over a sustained period of time (Creswell, 2009).
As a result of the research design, both qualitative and quantitative data was collected throughout the study. The survey data was collected to provide “numeric descriptions of trends, attitudes or opinions of a population” (Creswell, 2009, p. 145). The data was examined according to the five themes in the literature reviewed. A sixth theme, collaboration, emerged during the analysis of the data. Each theme was divided into sub themes. Each theme was color coded and each sub theme was numbered. The themes and subthemes were sorted to determine areas of integration among data sets.

Summary of Findings

A key finding was the participants in the study identified teacher collaboration as a contributor to adult and student learning. The researcher found that participants defined the professional learning community as a collaborative process and belief system for increasing student achievement and adult learning. Teachers defined the work of PLCs as a combination of sharing teaching strategies that best prepare students for standardized assessments and a form of job embedded professional development. During the focus group they did not specify a focus on standardized assessment preparation, but in practice the majority of their time and conversations were dedicated to answering the question, “How will we prepare our students to be successful on the upcoming benchmark or state assessment administered in the spring?”

Significance of the Study

The perceptions, beliefs and practices of the educators in the study will help researchers, policy makers, administrators and teachers understand the lived experiences of those working in a PLC process. While the research supports PLCs as a best practice school reform strategy, the implementation is complex and requires educators to change their thinking and practice.

Author

• Andi Fourlis, Scottsdale Unified School District