Teacher Perceptions of Leadership Practices and the Development of Professional Learning Communities PDF Download

Author: Joanne Pitman
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Author: Julie English
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
Districts have long faced the challenge of creating and sustaining effective leadership. Today’s school leaders are expected to perform at a higher level than ever before with increased accountability for student achievement. They need to create and maintain a challenging learning environment, focus on excellence, and serve as a positive agent for change (Hipp & Huffman, 2010). Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) provide an opportunity for leaders to improve school performance by improving student achievement (Hipp & Huffman, 2010). School culture can be changed to a culture of hope by using the principles of PLCs that are at the heart of successful education reform (DuFour & Fullan, 2013). The purpose of this study was to describe the teachers’ beliefs of five leadership practices as defined by the Leadership Practices Inventory [LPI] (Kouzes & Posner, 2013). Moreover, this study described the teachers’ beliefs of the implementation of the six dimensions of their PLC, defined by the Professional Learning Community Assessment-Revised [PLCA-R] (Oliver et al., 2014), in elementary and intermediate This is a quantitative study where the results of two survey instruments will be analyzed with a descriptive statistical analysis to describe the teachers’ beliefs of their principals’ leadership practices in addition to their beliefs of the six dimensions of their professional learning community. The goal was to determine the beliefs of leadership practices that could have the greatest positive impact on the implementation of the six dimensions of a PLC. The results of the LPI found evidence that all five leadership practices were perceived by teachers to be occurring in the schools studied. Two ix practices, Model the Way and Inspire a Shared Vision emerged most often. The results of the PLCA-R revealed that teachers in all the schools studied were focused on student learning, collaboration and results orientation. Additionally, teachers on these campuses understand and are committed to the vision of the school, to its goals for instruction, and its priorities (DuFour et al., 2008).

Author: Kristine Kiefer Hipp
Publisher: R&L Education
ISBN: 1607090511
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 176

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The purpose of this book is to clearly define an approach to school improvement that uses professional learning community (PLC) practices to achieve school improvement and success for every student. This book offers information, examples and case studies to clarify the concept of a PLC, to respond to critical issues in schools, and to support educational leaders in addressing the important mandates of accountability and school improvement. As school leaders proactively lead efforts to create learning communities, their schools, districts, and staff will incorporate knowledge, skills, and practices that focus on teaching and learning for all. The authors' findings will assist leaders, change agents, policy makers, and university faculty in guiding schools toward creating and maintaining PLCs as they sustain school improvement for student learning.

Author: Louise Stoll
Publisher: McGraw-Hill Education (UK)
ISBN: 0335230253
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 232

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“All who are interested and concerned about educational reform and the improvement of schools will find this book a must read. It stimulates, it challenges, and it informs, such that the reader is most surely enriched by its plenitude.” Dr Shirley Hord, Scholar Emerita “At last we have a book of international cases to add to the literature on networks! Policymakers and practitioners alike will find the reasons why networks are fast becoming the reform organizations of choice. The book elevates network understanding to a new level.” Ann Lieberman, Senior Scholar at the Carnegie Foundationfor the Advancement of Teaching What is a professional learning community? What are the key challenges facing these communities and how might they be resolved? Is it time to extend our thinking about professional learning communities? There is great interest internationally in the potential of professional learning communities for enhancing educational reform efforts and sustaining improvement. This international collection expands perceptions and understanding of professional learning communities, as well as highlighting frequently neglected complexities and challenges. Drawing on research, each chapter offers a deeper understanding of topics such as distributed leadership, dialogue, organisational memory, trust, self-assessment and inquiry, and purpose linked to learning. The last section of the book focuses upon three of the most challenging dilemmas that face developing professional learning communities - developing professional learning communities in secondary school, building social capital, and sustaining professional learning communities. The authors provide pointers on why these challenges exist, offering rays of hope for ways forward. Professional Learning Communities is key international reading for education professionals, school practitioners, policymakers, academics and research students. It is a must-read for anyone interested in building capacity for sustainable learning and the ability to harness your community as a resource for change.

Author: Jennifer Metz Hollingsworth
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Professional learning communities
Languages : en
Pages : 117

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Book Description
The purpose of this study was to compare the influence of school level to schools' perceptions of school leadership, instructional practice and support, and professional development, components of professional learning communities. Participants included traditional public schools serving students in kindergarten through twelfth grade in North Carolina. Instrumentation for the study included select questions from the North Carolina Teacher Working Conditions survey and the Active LEA (School District) School Report from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. Designed as an ex-post facto causal comparative study, a two-sample t-test between percents was used to analyze the data. No significant differences in teacher perceptions in any of the studied components of professional learning communities when comparing elementary school to middle school, elementary school to high school, or middle school to high school. The researcher failed to reject all nine hypotheses for the study indicating that while the methods teachers use to meet the needs of the learners and the learners vary, the practices involving professional learning communities are perceived to be the same among North Carolina public school teachers. This study aims to add quantitative support to the existing literature for implementation of improving upon professional learning communities in schools. Recommendations for further study include widening study participants to include private schools, charter schools, and those that do not serve traditional students, examining locality as a factor, including results from prior survey administrations and survey administrations since 2016 to look for trend data, and using teacher demographics as a variable to examine teacher perceptions.

Author: C. Mullen
Publisher: Springer
ISBN: 0230101038
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 253

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Book Description
Contributors offer ideas, applications, and resources for helping leaders and educators tackle the challenges of building successful professional learning communities. This wide-ranging text will prove indispensable for any democratically accountable leader committed to organizational change through communities of practice.

Author: Lisa C. Yamagata-Lynch
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1441963219
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 162

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Book Description
In the last two decades, there has been growing interest in pursuing theoretical paradigms that capture complex learning situations. Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) is one of several theoretical frameworks that became very popular among educational researchers because it conceptualizes individuals and their environment as a holistic unit of analysis. It assumes a non-dualistic ontology and acknowledges the complexities involved in human activity in natural settings. Recently, reputable journals such as the American Psychologist, Educational Psychologist, and Educational Researcher that are targeted for a wide-range of audience have included articles on CHAT. In many of such articles, CHAT has been referred to as social constructivism, sociocultural theory, or activity theory. Activity systems analysis is one of the popular methods among CHAT researchers for mapping complex human interactions from qualitative data. However, understanding the methods involved in activity systems analysis is a challenging task for many researchers. This difficulty derives from several reasons. First the original texts of CHAT are in Russian and there have been numerous authors who report on the difficulties of reconciling translation problems of the works of original authors’ such as Vygotsky and Leontiev. Second, in North America activity systems analysis has deviated from the Russian scholars’ intentions and Engeström’s original work using the triangle model to identify tensions to overcome and bring about sociopolitical change in participant practices. Third, to this date there are numerous publications on the theoretical background of activity theory and studies reporting the results of using activity systems analysis for unpacking qualitative data sets, but there have been no methodological publications on how researchers engage in activity systems analysis. Thus, there is a dearth of literature in both book and journal publications that guide researchers on the methodological issues involving activity systems analysis.

Author: Jeremy S. Ricken
Publisher: LAP Lambert Academic Publishing
ISBN: 9783659297816
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 188

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The purpose of this study was to determine how the leadership practices and guiding values of a professional learning community affect the nature of the professional relationships among teachers. Three major findings are discussed related to the implementation of PLCs as a means to improve student achievement in low-performing schools. First, implementing PLCs in a low-performing, economically disadvantaged school requires non-traditional leadership. Second, PLCs in economically disadvantaged schools differ markedly from the textbook ideal. And finally, PLCs alone do not affect social mobility for students. Results from this study should prove useful to principals who wish to lead the development of professional learning communities in their districts.

Author: Ann Lieberman
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1118113349
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 117

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Book Description
In Teacher Leadership, Lieberman and Miller discuss current changes in the teacher's role, and make sense of the research on teacher leadership. They offer case studies of innovative programs - such as the National Writing Project - that provide teachers with opportunities to lead within a professional community. In addition, they tell stories of individual teachers - from Maine to California - who are able to lead in a variety of contexts. Teacher Leadership offers a new standard of teaching and community that recognizes all teachers as leaders. It shows how to develop learning communities that include rather than exclude, create knowledge rather than merely apply it, and that offer challenge and support to both new and experienced teachers. This book is a volume in the Jossey-Bass Leadership Library in Education - a series designed to meet the demand for new ideas and insights about leadership in schools.

Author: Jan Robertson
Publisher: SAGE Publications
ISBN: 1849201749
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 265

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Book Description
Bringing together internationally recognised scholars this book focuses on the relationship between leadership and learning for the education community. It draws together a wealth of knowledge and research in the field across a variety of contexts, such as system leadership, professional learning communities and leading different cultures. Themes covered include: - exploring models for leadership and improvement - challenges in developing learning-focused leadership - broadening ideas of learning and knowledge work. This book will be of interest to educational leaders at all levels and in all sectors, as well as consultants, academics and those who wish to extend their knowledge in educational leadership whether engaging in further academic study or in reflective practice around the ideas presented. This book is essential for anyone taking advanced programmes in educational leadership and management.