Summary Paper – Principals’ Conceptions of Professional Learning Communities

 

Summary Paper – Principals’ Conceptions of Professional Learning Communities

Access the link below and read the article, “

Holding the Reins of the Professional Learning Community: Eight Themes From Research on Principals’ Perceptions of Professional Learning Communities

.”

Holding the Reins of the Professional Learning Community: Eight Themes From Research on Principals’ Perceptions of Professional Learning Communities

Dr. Cranston has done some excellent research about principals’ conceptions of Profession Learning Communities.

Write a one- to two-page summary paper summarizing Dr. Cranston’s research that demonstrates how principals view the concept of Professional Learning Communities and what it will take to sustain this concept.

Canadian

Journal of Educational Administration and Policy, Issue #90, February 9, 2009.

© by CJEAP and the author(s).

HOLDING THE REINS OF THE PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITY:

EIGHT THEMES FROM RESEARCH ON PRINCIPALS’ PERCEPTIONS

OF PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITIES

Jerome Cranston, University of Manitoba

Using a naturalistic inquiry approach and thematic analysis, this paper outlines the

findings of a research study that examined 12 Manitoba principals’ conceptions of

professional learning communities. The study found that these principals consider

the development of professional learning communities to be a normative

imperative within the educational culture of their schools, yet their understandings

of what constitutes a professional learning community, as defined by Toole &

Louis (2002) are varied and partially limited. However, the principals suggested

that there are eight dominant themes that are central in their conceptions of

“professional learning community.” The themes are: professional learning

communities are about process; structural supports enable the development of

professional learning communities; trust as the foundation for adult relationships;

congenial relationships dominate conceptions of community; learning is an

individual activity; professional teaching is derived from attitudinal attributes;

teacher evaluation shapes how principals think about learning in professional

communities; and, teacher evaluation impacts principal and teacher relationships

in professional learning

communities.

Introduction

Numerous researchers (Crow, Hausman & Scribner, 2002; DuFour & Eaker, 1998;

DuFour, Eaker, & DuFour. 2005; Hord, 1997, 2004; Toole & Louis, 2002) argue that nurturing a

culture that supports staff in becoming a professional learning community is the most promising

avenue for sustained, substantial school improvement. Studies demonstrate that schools with

strong professional learning communities produce important outcomes for students and school

professionals (Crow et al., 2002; Toole & Louis, 2002). Toole and Louis (2002) suggest that

mailto:cranstoj@cc.umanitoba.ca

Holding the Reins of the Professional Learning Community

2

cross-cultural research findings indicate that professional learning communities lead to improved

school functioning. A professional learning community is seen as a powerful staff development

approach and potent strategy for school change and improvement (Hord, 1997, 2004). School

improvement efforts require that, at the school level, staff work collaboratively to solve

educational problems through the development of a robust community of learners who will to

take responsibility for, and be committed to, achieving student outcomes (Blase & Blase, 2003).

A problem facing research on professional learning communities has been a conceptual

one, and while some suggest that the term defines itself (Morrissey, 2000), oversimplifications

offer little to a meaningful conceptual understanding. Although perhaps obvious to some, the

human interactions in a professional learning community have proven difficult to capture (Little,

2003). Little (p. 914) writes, “Relatively little research examines the specific interactions by

which professional community constitutes a resource for teacher learning and innovations in

teaching practice.” This study illustrates an example of “theory-in-use” (Argyris, 2000), by

exploring principals’

perceptions of schools as professional learning communities.

The purpose of this study, using a naturalistic inquiry approach (Lincoln & Guba, 1985;

Patton, 1990) and thematic analysis (Boyatzsis, 1999), was to gain a more complete

understanding of principals’ perceptions of schools as professional learning communities

because, as Toole and Louis (2002) argue, an “area ripe for additional research” involves

listening to school leaders’ “voices from the field” on the shape and values of professional

learning communities (p. 274). This study responds to the general research question: What

characteristics are identified by principals in their conceptions of schools as professional learning

communities?

Holding the Reins of the Professional Learning Community

3

Conceptual Framework

Even without a precise definition of a professional learning community, an understanding

of the human relations that exist in schools is significant (Spillane & Louis, 2002). A

professional learning community, however defined, can be viewed as a shorthand term for the

kinds of adult relationships that can support individual change in classrooms across a whole

school (Spillane & Louis).

Crow et al. (2002) illustrate the concept as being comprised of three concentric circles in

which the innermost circle represents the relationships that exist between teachers and children,

while the outermost ring signifies the relationships between staff and the community at large.

The middle ring, the focus of this research study, represents relations among the staff, and

mediates between the outside world and the inner workings of the classroom.

Toole and Louis (2002) claim that the idea of a professional learning community

integrates three mutually influencing concepts: a school culture that emphasizes professionalism,

which is client-oriented and knowledge-based; one that emphasizes learning, placing high value

on teachers’ inquiry and reflection; and, one that is communitarian, emphasizing personal

connections. In addition, this conceptualization identifies the significance of the interactions of

the social relationships within a professional learning community.

The Toole and Louis definition was chosen for this study because it signifies an interest

“not only in discrete acts of teacher sharing, but in the establishment of a school-wide culture

that makes collaboration expected, inclusive, genuine, ongoing, and focused on critically

examining practice to improve student outcomes” (p. 247). This definition, more than others

(DuFour & Eaker, 1998; DuFour, Eaker, & DuFour. 2005; Hord, 1997, 2004; Mitchell &

Sackney, 2001), provides for recognition of the significance of not only the type and quality of

Holding the Reins of the Professional Learning Community

4

relationships between teachers, but also between teachers and principal (Barth, 2006).

Additionally, this definition illustrates the key role a principal plays in making the relationships

among the faculty discussable because faculty demonstrate a capacity to either enhance or

devalue each other’s professional life, and thereby enrich or diminish a school’s ability to

develop as a professional learning community (Barth).

A Role for Principals in

Professional Learning Communities

In cultivating a professional learning community committed to professional inquiry, data-

based decision making, and best practice, as well as helping teachers learn to adapt to new

standards of accountability, principals can either help or hinder their schools in achieving higher

levels of productivity and success (Tschannen-Moran, 2004). The principal’s role in nurturing a

professional learning community will be complex, challenging and problematic because, in

viewing teachers as members of a professional community, it will focus attention on norms of

collegiality and on the ethics of professional practice (Clark & Astuto, 1994).

The professional learning community concept is anchored in the notion that a principal is

responsible to enhance the attitudes, skills and knowledge of staff, create a culture of

expectations around the use of those skills and knowledge, mesh pieces of the school together in

a productive relationship with each other, and additionally hold individuals accountable for their

contributions to the collective result (Elmore, 2000).

New relationships, as found in professional learning communities, and an understanding of these

relationships are crucial for school improvement efforts if staffs are to work at the hard task of

establishing greater program coherence and determining the requisite resources to support

improved student outcomes (Fullan, 2001; Knapp, 2003).

Holding the Reins of the Professional Learning Community

5

Method

Design

A naturalistic inquiry approach was used to examine principals’ perceptions of

professional learning communities (Lincoln & Guba, 1985; Patton, 1990). This approach to

research focuses on naturally occurring activities in natural settings (Hatch, 2002). An extensive

literature review provided a foundation of disciplinary knowledge and research on professional

learning communities (Boote & Beile, 2005). Two focus groups (n = 6 for each) and twelve

individual interviews were held over 6 months to investigate the general research question,

“What characteristics are identified by principals in their conceptions of schools as professional

learning communities?”

The literature review guided the development of the focus group and individual interview

questions (Kruger & Casey, 2000). Three doctoral students in educational administration

reviewed draft versions of the focus group and interview questions, and provided feedback on

the appropriateness and clarity of the questions. Based on their feedback, questions were

modified as necessary to improve clarity. Additionally, practice interviews were conducted with

two principals, not involved in the study, to solicit their feedback and to ensure the suitability of

the questions.

Involvement in this study was voluntary. The focus group and interview questions

received approval from the appropriate university ethics board where the research study was

completed in partial fulfillment of the requirements of a doctoral program in educational

administration.

Holding the Reins of the Professional Learning Community

6

Participants

Following operational definitions established by Statistics Canada (Ertl & Plante, 2004),

the nine female and three male principals who participated in this study worked in seven private

and five public Manitoba schools, which varied in student enrolment so that two principals were

from small, six from medium- and four from large- sized schools. The twelve schools were

geographically located in a mix of urban, suburban and rural communities. Additionally, eight of

the principals worked in elementary schools, three worked in secondary schools, and one worked

in a mixed school; that is a school that offers complete elementary and secondary grades (Ertl &

Plante).

Analysis

The methodological approach used in the data analysis was designed to produce data that

could undergo a form of thematic analysis (Boyatzsis, 1998; Fereday & Muir-Cochrane, 2006).

This approach to thematic analysis allows for themes to be surfaced as pertinent to the

description of the phenomenon being studied (Boyatzsis). The process involves the classification

of themes through “careful reading and re-reading of the data” (Rice & Ezzy, 1999, p. 258). “It is

a form of pattern recognition within the data, where emerging themes become the categories for

analysis” (Fereday & Muir-Cochrane, 2006, pp.3-4).

Unlike a template approach to thematic analysis (Crabtree & Miller, 1999), in which a

template is created from a codebook and then is applied as a means of organizing data in the

form of text, this approach to analysis began with all of the discernable content of the data (i.e.,

the entire transcripts of the two focus groups and the twelve interviews, 320 pages of double-

spaced text). The primary purpose of the analysis was to gain an understanding of principals’

Holding the Reins of the Professional Learning Community

7

perceptions of schools as professional learning communities.

The process was iterative; as analysis progressed themes were clarified, refined and

amended. The thematic analysis followed a customary procedure for conducting such types of

qualitative analysis (Coffey & Atkinson, 1996), which consists of two major stages before

moving on to synthesizing the data with wider theory and literature.

Identifying categories and applying them to the data. The focus group and interview

transcripts were read and re-read carefully to identify emerging codes and potential categories.

This involved a process of reducing the text down to small units, organizing, and re-organizing

according to an initial category, thus creating a large mass of data segments and annotations

(McLeod, 2001). It is acknowledged that the categories identified did not stem just from the data,

but were indisputably influenced by the literature review, and the researcher’s experience and

values (Ryan & Bernard, 2000). Although it is accepted that these factors contribute to the

conceptualizing process, care was taken to ensure that the categories reflected the data and that

the categories fit the data rather than forcing the data to fit the categories.

Refining the categories into broader themes. Comparing and contrasting techniques

(Tesch, 1990) were used to establish category boundaries, systematically assign data segments to

categories, summarize the content of each category, and search for negative cases. The purpose

of these analytical procedures was to detect conceptual similarities, to refine the differences

between categories, and to discover patterns. This process led to the establishment of the broader

themes from the data and was a continuation of an inductive process in which the broader themes

fit the categories. This resulted in a composite account of the principals’ experiences, drawing on

the strong and recurrent themes found across categories (Boyatzsis, 1998).

Holding the Reins of the Professional Learning Community

8

Delimitations

Delimitations were established for this study to limit the scope of the inquiry. This study

is not intended to reflect the perceptions of the more than eight hundred principals employed in

Manitoba schools. Additionally, this study accepted that the concept of a professional learning

community is complex (Little, 2003). When applied to schools, the metaphor of a “learning

community” may extend beyond teachers and a principal to include students, parents, community

members and others (Mitchell & Sackney, 2001). For the purpose of this study, Toole and Louis’

(2002) definition was chosen as the basis of an examination of the professional relationships

between the adults who work in schools. Specifically, it focuses on the kinds of relationships that

exist between, not only teachers, but also between teachers and principal, which can support

individual and collective change in classrooms school-wide.

Findings

The findings revealed some consistency between the perceptions of the study’s

participants and both the preconditions for, and characteristics of, professional learning

communities, as found in the Toole and Louis (2002) definition. The study also revealed

differences between principals’ perceptions and Toole and Louis’ definition, especially in regard

to what preconditions characterize professional learning communities, and what structural

supports enable and sustain their development.

The following eight themes, presented in proposition form, are a synthesis of the findings

of the study based on their significance, not only in terms of how frequently they were

mentioned and articulated by the participants, but also by how they differed or resembled Toole

Holding the Reins of the Professional Learning Community

9

and Louis’ (2002) definition. Owing to space limitations, only brief excerpts, using pseudonyms,

from the data are presented to illustrate the selected themes.

Theme 1: Professional Learning Communities are About Process

The participants expressed a belief that, if schools are to be professional learning

communities, there is a requirement for transformational change, as was explicitly stated by

Principal Orono Munroe, “I believe that the meaning of community, or the real lessons of

community, comes from a transformation process.”

These principals regarded professional learning communities as a continuous

commitment to support the activities of staff as they grow as community, as learners and as

professionals. Steve Rogers explained his belief that a professional learning community is an

elusive ideal when he stated:

I don’t think it’s static. It’s an ideal, like so much of the work that we do. We

never really arrive [at being a professional learning community]. That’s why we

are still at it and it. [What a professional learning community is] changes. We’re

on that journey.

The participants viewed a professional learning community as a process, a journey, or a

continuum. As Orono Munroe commented, “I like the idea that it’s a process and it’s not

something that you actually arrive at.”

Additionally, Kayla Ballantine remarked, “I think if things are in place, and a process has

taken place, you end up with a group of people who feel that they can function at a high level

together.”

In the conception of professional learning communities, the participants focused,

singularly, on the processes of becoming a professional learning community, rather than on the

outcomes or products of such an entity.

Holding the Reins of the Professional Learning Community

10

Theme 2: Structural Supports Enable the Development of Professional Learning

Communities

These principals noted a number of structural preconditions that support the development

of schools as professional learning communities. Among these preconditions were: time, school

plans, interconnected teacher roles, teacher empowerment, and institutional identity.

When speaking about interconnected teacher roles and time, Principal Angel Salvadore

said, “I think you need to provide time for small groups, the grade groups or, the teams to meet

and form; however you configure it.”

In highlighting the importance of school plans in professional learning communities,

Angel Salvadore also stated, “I do feel it’s a matter of focus, which happens if you have a group

of people who have common goals, who have worked on those goals together via strategic

planning.”

With reference to institutional identity, Sally Avril commented, “If you are a community

that has an identity then your identity helps form who you are as a community. Everything else

you do is going to flow from that identity.”

It seems that the participants support a general belief that, as a result of providing

structural supports in the form of formal organizational structures for engaging teachers in their

work and engaging them with others, professional learning communities will grow and mature.

Theme 3: Trust as the Foundation for Adult Relationships

These principals identified trust as the strongest facilitating feature for schools

developing as professional learning communities. When asked about the factors that favour or

limit their involvement in developing their schools as professional learning communities, the

Holding the Reins of the Professional Learning Community

11

principals expressed their beliefs that trust relationships between themselves and their respective

staffs had a profound impact on their abilities to nurture their staffs as professional learning

communities. Sue Richards remarked, “You’ve got to have that trust first.” Principal Patricia

Hellstrom supported this and stated, “You need to build their trust.”

Trust was seen as the social condition that acts as the foundation for the mature adult

relationships necessary in professional learning communities. Principal Ballantine stated, “I

don’t care what the past looks like. I am not looking to blame. What I want for us is to pack our

baggage, pack our defenses, stop worrying about what was happening, and instead start moving

forward.”

Conceptually, while structural support preconditions are like the framing material of a

professional learning community, the participants noted that trust among teachers, and teachers

and principal, could be regarded as the bond required to hold the frame together. Maya Lopez

viewed trust as the foundation for her notion of “professional” in her conception of a

“professional learning community” when she noted, “Teachers need to feel comfortable so that

other teachers can come into their room and perhaps help them to grow and to develop. In my

experience this level of professionalism is, for many teachers, very threatening.”

Participants expressed the belief that trust between the staff and principal is a critical

factor in schools developing as professional learning communities. John Storm

commented:

I’m going to tell you what inhibits us because I’ve been living it for four years.

It’s lack of trust. It’s a huge word. To me that is a roadblock. It continues to be a

barrier because I really believe a lack of trust creates walls and not bridges.

Trust was seen as critical for both the individual development and collective collaboration that

leads to learning in a professional community.

Holding the Reins of the Professional Learning Community

12

Theme 4: Congenial Relationships Dominate Conceptions of Community

While there was variation in the descriptions of how teachers experience interpersonal

relationships within schools, the principals were fairly consistent in their view that teachers’

connections are typically social. An opinion held by a number of the participants was that the

relationships among staff most closely resembled ones that might be described as familial. Sally

Avril reported, “A lot of people have been here a long time and we consider each other like

family.” Additionally, Patricia Hellstrom said, “We’re like family. Because we’re a small school,

it’s very much like family. There are no cliques. There are no subgroups.”

The participants illustrated teacher connections with examples in which collegiality was

seen as a sharing and supporting of individual practice, but one in which very limited

professional advice was offered, and only when specifically requested. Sue Richards

commented:

I don’t know how comfortable teachers are in terms of offering a professional

critique of each other. People don’t have the comfort level in this school to offer

each other a critique of their teaching.

The view of community generally presented by the participants was as places for consensus,

even if that consensus enabled a misguided view of professional practice. Kayla Ballantine

indicated that the “tight” relationships among faculty were, in fact, an impediment to improved

practice because teachers spent considerable time protecting each other from any form of

professional critique. Kayla said,

What connects them is that they believe they’re really great teachers. They say

they’ve been told they are great teachers. I have never encountered a school in

which this kind of belief system exists and where there is absolutely no reason, or

desire, to improve.

Holding the Reins of the Professional Learning Community

13

Theme 5: Learning is an Individual Activity

The principals regarded teacher learning as an individual activity and disposition in

which individuals master new techniques, change behaviours, and display a commitment to learn

throughout her/his career. Participants often referred to this as “life-long learning”. Patricia

Hellstrom articulated the view that learning in the context of a professional learning community

is a continuous, individual activity when she said:

It [a professional learning community] reminds individuals that they are lifelong

learners and that they each still have a responsibility to continue to develop skills

and knowledge in teaching and learning.

Additionally, Steve Rogers observed, “I’m rather frustrated by the lack of collective learning.”

And, finally, Kayla Ballantine noted,

When I look at the practices it is clear they couldn’t have ever had a conversation

about [professional] practice because they wouldn’t still be doing what they’re

doing. What I discovered is they aren’t interested in learning from each other.

While the participants expressed opinions that there may be a conflict between the kind of

collective teacher learning that should occur and what actually does occur in their schools, they

articulated that they were content with this tension, so long as teachers are engaged in some form

of professional growth because, in some way, their teaching will improve.

Theme 6: Professional Teaching is Derived from Attitudinal Attributes

The participants commonly referred to teachers’ diligence, caring, warmth, respect and

dedication to portray them as professionals. Principal Lopez commented, “First of all it’s about

professional dress. Also, do they remember that they are the adults in the situation?”

Steve Rogers commented on his frustration with one teacher’s notion of professionalism:

Holding the Reins of the Professional Learning Community

14

We have a teacher who will show up in shorts and t-shirt that I think he got from

the locals in Jamaica. I’d like to take a run at that guy personally and set him

straight under the guides of professionalism.

The notion of a professional was described by the participants as someone who is personally

dedicated to children and who is committed to meeting the needs of her, or his, individual

students.

Sue Richards added:

I guess it’s everything from their appearance and demeanor, interactions with

parents and students, to their ability to teach effectively, and having an outcomes-

driven program that is effective. We expect them to dress comfortably and

professionally. The expectation around how we interact with children is very

much a part of the professional culture.

The participants noted teachers typically learn to rely on themselves, rather than their

professional colleagues, as the critical point of reference for practice, and to solve any of

fundamental dilemmas of their teaching practice.

Principal Rogers commented:

Every time we seem to move into discussion about academic content, that’s when

the notion of the professional piece gets really tricky. According to them there’s

my style, and my interpretation, of what is rigorous grade ten English, and then

there is yours. Those are tough conversations, so we just never have them.

Teachers were described as professionals in terms of their attitudinal attributes. The participants

identified teachers as professionals based on individual knowledge about curriculum, instruction

and pedagogy, appropriate dress, and respectful language. These attributes were seen as

examples of an individual’s professionalism.

Holding the Reins of the Professional Learning Community

15

Theme 7: Teacher Evaluation Shapes how Principals Think about Learning in

Professional Communities

While the participants suggested teacher evaluation might possibly provide a means to

improve the collective quality of teaching, the examples of how evaluation might be used to

channel the collective energy of the staff that could lead to improved student achievement

school-wide generally focused on whole-school professional development initiatives. Principal

Ben Grimm noted that, collectively, evaluation impacts school-wide professional development

when he stated, “In terms of teachers collectively, evaluation helps us see through areas of

weaknesses. It’s one way of identifying the professional development needs of teachers

collectively.”

Similarly, Principal Hellstrom reported, teacher evaluation allowed for issues of the

“common good” to surface in teachers’ practices when she noted,

There is definitely a connection [between teacher evaluation and the school’s

professional learning community] because professional learning is a staff decision

and it’s done usually after we’ve had the chance to have a dialogue about their

collective need for professional growth.

Classroom visits, as part of the teacher evaluation procedures, were best seen as processes that

provided principals with opportunities to identify common areas of teacher weaknesses for

collective professional growth.

Theme 8: Teacher Evaluation Impacts Principal and Teacher Relationships in

Professional Learning Communities

These principals preferred to emphasize the key outcome of their responsibility of teacher

evaluation as being the establishment of an unruffled atmosphere among staff that would lead to

Holding the Reins of the Professional Learning Community

16

the development of community. As Principal Bruce Bannister stated, “What am I looking to

evaluate? I think I am looking at relationship building in the broad sense.”

Additionally, Angel Salvadore remarked that evaluation primarily provided her with

insight into the relationships among staff,

[In evaluating teachers] I’m looking at their role within their partnership, within

their team, within the whole school staff. I look at how they fit into the whole

school community. It’s not just their role within the classroom, which is

important, but also how do they fit into the picture as a whole staff and a whole

school community?

Finally, Principal Munroe stated, “Through the interaction that occurs during evaluation, I am

able to make connections with teachers.”

Teacher evaluation was regarded as a means to build relationships with, and between,

teachers. The participants focused their comments on the need to use evaluation as a means of

positive interaction to build interpersonal bridges between themselves and their teachers.

Discussion

If Toole and Louis (2002, p. 274) are correct in their conclusion that the research findings

are clear, “professional learning communities can generally lead to improved school functioning

in most settings,” then harnessing their potential utility comes from understanding the

complexity of professional learning communities from principals’ perspectives. A school

developing a professional learning community is influenced by principal leadership. Since a

great deal of legal responsibility, including that of teacher evaluation, can reside with the

principal, principal leadership can be regarded as a critical force in a school’s capacity to

influence educational outcomes for all students.

Holding the Reins of the Professional Learning Community

17

While the participants identified certain supportive structural conditions as being

essential for professional learning communities, research indicates that any list of items is, of

itself, insufficient to foster effective professional learning communities (Toole & Louis). Unlike

Toole and Louis’s conceptualization, the participants did not note that the preconditions should

best be seen as mechanisms for arranging the way people interact with each other in time and

space. Toole and Louis contend that structural supports, and human and social resources, only

sustain professional learning communities as they interact with each other. It appears that

principals may well need to intensify their understandings of the organizational supports, work

structures, and interpersonal processes associated with effective professional learning

communities (Pounder, Reitzug, and Young, 2002). School leaders need to develop robust

understandings of how the preconditions, namely the structural supports, and human and social

resources, interact with each other to enable schools to become professional learning

communities.

The findings of this study appear to demonstrate that these principals are exclusively

focused on the processes of becoming a professional learning community. Yet, creating a

professional learning community that will improve student achievement school-wide can only

materialize if principals translate good intentions and respect for process into specific actions

that can be measured, and used, to build a collective commitment to improve achievement (Toole

& Louis). To improve practice across a school, teachers need to engage with colleagues to

question, unlearn, and discard their current, rooted understandings of teaching, learning, and

subject matter that do not support student achievement (Spillane & Louis, 2002). Principals need

to move beyond conceptions of collaboration as comfortable and focused on non-instructional

matters and begin to regard schools as places of trust – community – and places of risk-taking –

Holding the Reins of the Professional Learning Community

18

learning organizations – where the collective commitment of teachers to improved student

outcomes – professionalism – becomes a tie that binds the adults who work in schools (Toole &

Louis, 2002).

The participants appear to struggle with a perceived tension that exists between a notion

of teacher as individual possessing professional attributes; and the notion of a professional in a

learning community, where to be a professional means that one needs to learn constantly while in

community with others (Nieto, 2003). The kind of community that is required to shape teachers’

beliefs to support students’ opportunities to learn should allow and provide occasions for the

kind of disagreement and disequilibrium that comes with critical questioning and debates of best

practices. The relationships among staff that need to exist should encourage deep collaboration

on matters of instruction, the nature of teaching, and of learning that surfaces and critiques core

assumptions about students, how they learn, and what the role of teachers should be (Toole &

Louis, 2002).

Conclusion

While it has been suggested professional learning communities hold the best promise for

sustaining school improvement efforts (Crow et al., 2002; DuFour & Eaker, 1998; DuFour,

Eaker, & DuFour, 2005; Hord, 1997, 2004; Toole & Louis, 2002), the efforts associated with

nurturing one will lack results if a key figure in developing and nurturing it – the principal –

lacks the clarity of what a school as professional learning community is, and what is required for

a school to become one. There is much to be learned from these principals’ perceptions of

professional learning communities. The eight themes identified in this study provide a tentative

framework to better understand what professional learning communities are perceived to be from

Holding the Reins of the Professional Learning Community

19

practicing administrators’ perspectives, and provide some insight into what may be required to

develop more complete understandings for those who wish to establish them as mechanisms for

improving student outcomes school-wide.

Holding the Reins of the Professional Learning Community

20

References

Argyris, C. (2000). Flawed advice and the management trap: How managers can know

when they’re getting good advice and when they’re not. New York: Oxford University

Press.

Barth, R.S. (2006). Relationships within the schoolhouse. Educational Leadership, 63(6),

9-13.

Blase, J., & Blase, J. (2003). Breaking the silence: Overcoming the problem of principal

mistreatment of teachers. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Boote, D.N., & Beile, P. (2005). Scholars before researchers: On the centrality of the

dissertation literature reviews in research preparation. Educational Researcher, 34(6), 3-

15.

Boyatzsis, R. (1998). Transforming qualitative information: Thematic analysis and code

development. Thousand

Oaks, CA: Sage.

Clark, D.L., & Astuto, T.A. (1994). Redirecting reform: Challenges to popular

assumptions about teachers and students. Phi Delta Kappan, 75, 513 – 520.

Coffey, A., & Atkinson, P. (1996). Making sense of qualitative data: Complementary

research strategies. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Crabtree, B., & Miller, W. (1999). A template approach to text analysis: Developing and

using codebooks. In B. Crabtree & W. Miller (Eds.), Doing qualitative research (pp. 163-

177). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.

Crow, G.M., Hausman, C. S., & Scribner, J. P. (2002). Reshaping the role of the school

principal. In J. Murphy (Ed.), The educational challenge: Redefining leadership for the

21
st
century (pp. 189-210). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Daly, J., Kellehear, A., & Gliksman, M. (1997). The public health researcher: A

methodological approach. Melbourne, Australia: Oxford University Press.

DuFour, R., & Eaker, R. (1998). Professional learning communities at work: Best

practices for enhancing student learning. New York: National Educational Services.

DuFour, R. Eaker, R., & DuFour, R. (2005). Recurring themes of professional learning

communities and the assumptions they challenge. In R. DuFour, R. Eaker & R. DuFour

(Eds.), On common ground: The power of professional learning communities (pp. 7-30).

Bloomington, IN: National Educational Services.

Elmore, R. F. (2000). Building a new structure for school leadership. Washington,

DC: Albert Shanker Institute.

Holding the Reins of the Professional Learning Community

21

Ertl, H., & Plante, J. (2004). Connectivity and learning in Canada’s schools. Statistics

Canada – Science, Innovation and Electronic Information Division. Catalogue No.

56F0004MIE – No. 011. Retrieved March 22, 2006 from

www.statcan.ca/english/research/56F0004MIE/56F0004MIE2004011 .

Fereday, J., & Muir-Cochrane, E. (2006). Demonstrating rigor using thematic analysis: A

hybrid approach of inductive and deductive coding and theme development. International

Journal of Qualitative Methods, 5(1), article xx. Retrieved December 9, 2008 from

http://www.ualberta.ca/~iiqm/backissues/5_1/pdf/fereday

Fullan, M. (2001, August). Implementing change at the building level. A paper prepared

for W. Owings & L. Kaplan (Eds.), Critical and emerging issues for educational

leadership. Retrieved February 4, 2005 from www.michaelfullan.ca.

Hatch, J.A. (2002). Doing qualitative research in education settings. Albany, NY: SUNY

Press.

Hord, S. (1997). Professional learning communities: What are they and why are they

important. Southwest Educational Development Laboratory Issues…about change, 6(1),

1-9. Retrieved September 28, 2005 from www.sedl.org/change/issues/issues61.html

Hord, S. (2004). Professional learning communities: An overview. In S. Hord (Ed.),

Learning together, leading together: Changing schools through professional learning

communities (pp.5-14). New York: Teachers College Press.

Knapp, M.S. (2003). Professional development as a policy pathway. Review of Research

in Education, 27, 109-156.

Kruger, R.A., & Casey, M.A. (2000). Focus groups: A practical guide for applied

research (3
rd

ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Lincoln, Y., & Guba, E. (1985). Naturalistic inquiry. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Little, J. W. (2003). Inside Teacher Community: Representations of Classroom Practice.

Teachers College Record, Retrieved January 28, 2005 from http://www.tcrecord.org.

McLeod, J. (2001). Qualitative research in counselling and psychotherapy. Thousand

Oaks, CA: Sage.

Mitchell, C., & Sackney, L. (2001). Building capacity for a learning community.

Canadian Journal of Educational Administration and Policy, 19.(2001). Retrieved

December 11, 2008 from www.umanitoba.ca/publications/cjeap/articles/

mitchellandsackney.html

Morrissey, M. (2000). Professional learning communities: An ongoing exploration.

Austin, TX: Southwest Educational Development Laboratory.

Holding the Reins of the Professional Learning Community

22

Nieto, S. (2003). What keeps teachers going? New York: Teachers College Press.

Patton, M. (1990). Qualitative evaluation and research methods. Newbury Park, MD:

Sage.

Pounder, D., Reitzug, U., & Young, M. (2002). Preparing school leaders for school

improvement, social justice, and community. In J. Murphy (Ed.), The educational

leadership challenge: Redefining leadership for the 21st century (pp. 261-288), Chicago:

University of Chicago Press.

Rice, P., & Ezzy, D. (1999). Qualitative research methods: A health focus. Melbourne,

Australia: Oxford University Press.

Ryan, G. W., & Bernard, H. R. (2000). Data management and analysis methods. In N. K.

Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research, 2nd edition, (pp. 769-

802). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

Shields, C. (2003, May). Transformative, dialogic and relational leadership: A journey

towards social justice. A paper presented at the annual conference for the Canadian

Association for Studies in Educational Administration in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Spillane, J. P., & Louis, K. S. (2002). School improvement process and practices:

Professional learning for building instructional capacity. In J. Murphy (Ed). The

educational leadership challenge: Redefining leadership for the 21st century (pp. 83-

104). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Tesch, R. (1990) Qualitative research: Analysis types and software tools. New York: Falmer.

Toole, J., & Louis, K.S. (2002). The role of professional learning communities in

international education. In K. Leithwood & P. Hallinger (Eds.), The second international

handbook of educational leadership (pp. 245-279). Dordrecht, Neth.: Kluwer.

Tschannen-Moran, M. (2004). Trust matters: Leadership of successful schools. San

Francisco: Jossey-Bass.