ERIC Number: EJ1247917
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020-Feb
Pages: 8
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0256-0100
EISSN: N/A
The Role of Professional Learning Communities to Support Teacher Development: A Social Practice Theory Perspective
South African Journal of Education, v40 n1 Article 1668 Feb 2020
In this article I discuss the potential of professional learning communities (PLCs) within the South African education context using a practice theory lens. PLCs are presented by the Department of Basic Education (DBE) as collaborative learning communities that are fundamentally social and should be established in all schools (DBE, Republic of South Africa, 2015). In order to consider how PLCs could be used within the current South African schooling context to support teacher development, the article provides an exposition of practice theory that is exemplified by a discussion on how PLCs can support teachers' pedagogical practice. Drawing on practice theory that states that the world is constructed and ordered by social practices rather than individuals and their attitudes, behaviour, or choices, the article suggests that the conceptual framework of social practice theory provides a productive way forward in conceptualising the social nature of teachers' pedagogical practices and consequently ways in which sustained improvement in teaching and learning can be analysed and understood as a social and individual phenomenon.
Descriptors: Communities of Practice, Professional Development, Foreign Countries, Educational Improvement, Teacher Collaboration, Interprofessional Relationship, Social Environment, Educational Environment, Educational Practices
Education Association of South Africa. University of Pretoria, Centre for the Study of Resilience, Level 3, Groenkloof Student Centre, Department of Educational Psychology, Faculty of Education, George Storrar Road and Lleyds Street, Pretoria 0001, South Africa. Web site: http://www.sajournalofeducation.co.za/index.php/saje/index
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: South Africa
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A