This explanatory design was used to develop and implement effective Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) at Target Elementary School (TES). The theoretical framework for this study began with the assumption that there was a direct link between PLCs, student data, and self-efficacy of educator collaboration. It should be the goal of every…

Professional learning communities (PLCs) are an essential avenue for high-quality change and work. Maintaining unity among groups with differing opinions is challenging. This mixed-methods study aimed to assess elementary teachers' current perceptions of PLCs to determine their effectiveness by answering four research questions: What are the…

Veteran secondary teachers are becoming complacent and isolating themselves because of changes in teacher professional development; however, continuing to learn and update instructional practices is part of teacher professional development. To better understand veteran secondary teachers, their views and experiences must be understood. The problem…

Black boys often underperform in English Language assessments. Strive for Excellence Academy (SFEA, a pseudonym) was a Title I school serving more than 500 students in Grade 2 and Grade 3 in an urban/suburban city in New York State. The achievement gap for third-grade Black boys was found to originate in their second-grade classrooms. Anecdotal…

The framework of a Professional Learning Community (PLC) was adopted and implemented in Guam schools to foster a system of collaborative practice to improve teaching and learning. The problem addressed in this study was how teacher isolation affected the implementation and effectiveness of PLCs. The purpose of this quantitative study was to…

The purpose of this study is to examine the effectiveness of professional learning communities by comparing practices and strategies of content and grade level teams in middle schools. Utilizing data from student assessment, comparison of teams in this middle school was conducted to determine practices and conversations that have an impact on…

In an effort to increase collaboration and support teachers in a formalized way, schools and districts have put structures in place for teachers and afforded them the time to participate in professional learning communities. This opportunity for teacher collaboration can impact the professional growth that is essential in moving a teacher's…

The COVID-19 pandemic and the murder of George Floyd are recent, powerful reminders of institutional inequities in the United States. Culture consciousness in U.S. classrooms, though not a new concept, remains one that is hotly contested as frameworks like critical race theory and cultural sustaining pedagogies are debated, compared, and…

Formal collaborative structures for teacher teams as professional learning communities (PLC) have long been a supported practice aimed at changing instructional practice and increasing student outcomes in a cycle of continuous improvement. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the implementation of PLC teams at the middle school level in a…

International schools work to serve students from a variety of different cultural and linguistic backgrounds. When a student is developing proficiency in a language, they have difficulty accessing content in that language. In order to support all of their students, including those developing language proficiency, teachers have to implement…

This study utilized a survey research design to examine how school superintendents use concepts found in Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) with district leadership teams to improve professional capital in members of the leadership team. The research sought the correlation between the factors identified through factor analysis, as well as…

This research design was a mixed methods embedded study with a quasi-experimental component in the quantitative portion identifying the teachers and students as independent variables and the Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) that are aligned with teacher effectiveness and student achievement as the dependent variables. The confounding…

School communities are looking for new and innovative ways to educate children. One effective reform strategy that schools are using to better prepare teachers to meet these needs is the development of professional learning communities. Much of the literature presented in this area focuses on teachers and their growth as collaborative working…

In this study, I investigate the impact of teachers' perceptions of professional learning communities on student algebraic achievement. Furthermore, I also investigate whether these relationships manifest differently for males compared to females. Research indicates that teacher quality and professionalism are considered the most critical factors…

This applied dissertation was designed to verify the effectiveness of professional learning communities (PLC), as it relates to the participation of administrators and teachers. Prior studies have emphasized the importance of continuing learning experiences for school administrators while working. Chiptin (2013) pointed out the importance of a…