This study to investigate how teachers develop their skills and knowledge to construct enthusiastic student learning and what part school principals play in that development was carried out in four primary schools serving disadvantaged communities in Beirut. In the absence of rich research in Lebanon on this topic, western literature was used to construct a conceptual framework on professional learning and teachers' identities; collaborative cultures and learning communities; leadership, power and school cultures. Drawing on a social interactionist epistemology, in each case study school, the views of about 10 teachers and the school principal and some students were collected through semi-structured interviews. The qualitative data were analysed thematically. Emergent findings suggest that collaborative cultures, predicated on helping students to engage enthusiastically with learning, sponsored by assertive school principals led to teachers developing a strong sense of community and positive identities through professional development.