A large suburban school system in the mid-Atlantic United States identified the Data Wise Improvement Process (DWIP) as a systemic strategy to achieve the district-wide goal of student achievement for college and career readiness. Elementary science teachers marginally participated in school-based instructional team meetings to analyze student…

The research aimed to provide a complete understanding of characteristics, facilitators, and challenges in implementing professional learning communities in multi-age schools. This study utilized a mixed-methods multiple case study design. Participants in this study were teachers from two private K-8 multi-age schools. The characteristics of…

This study explores the impact of professional learning communities on student achievement in a small school setting. Aaron Hansen's book, "How to Develop PLCs for Singletons and Small Schools," offered a guide for arranging vertical, grade-level teams with one teacher per grade level at one private, K-8 school. The faculty engaged in…

This quantitative study explored teacher perceptions of professional learning community dimensions, teacher self-efficacy, and collective efficacy. Professional learning communities (PLCs) have been shown to positively impact teacher self-efficacy and collective efficacy, all supporting student achievement. The overarching question guiding this…

Researchers have shown that effective professional learning communities (PLCs) enhance the ability of educators to improve student outcomes at schools, including schools with a student body of more than 75% students of color. Educators and policy makers need to understand more about how educators in these school settings experience PLC work. The…

The professional learning community (PLC) is considered to be an effective school improvement strategy centered on student achievement. The goal of this study was to introduce the PLC approach in a few public elementary schools in Cameroon to evaluate the causal impact of this organizational model on student learning. A quasi-experimental approach…

Professional Learning Community (PLC) has steadily grown in importance over the last decade. The growing importance of PLCs lies in its potential to act as a lever for school-based curriculum development and innovation so as to provide diverse learning experiences to satisfy broader learning outcomes beyond academic achievements (e.g., the…

This three-article dissertation contains three approaches to the topic of professional learning communities and their impact on student achievement. Article I is a synthesis of the literature related to the purpose of professional learning communities. Implications in educational settings are also presented in this article. The context of the…

The focus of the action research reported here is on how leaders and teachers used teamwork in developing a professional learning community in a new compulsory school in Iceland. Collaboration is a critical issue in schools as it can improve practice that supports student achievement. Results from the TALIS 2008 study show that Icelandic teachers…

Through collaboration between one rural southeastern university and a local rural school system of high-poverty in southeast Georgia (a pseudonym, Justice County School System [JCSS]), a mixed method case study analysis was conducted to examine a system-wide professional learning initiative. The goal of this initiative was to provide professional…

The purpose of this study was to research the perceptions of teachers concerning the implementation of a PLC in a middle Tennessee elementary school district. The study contributes to the existing research on Professional Learning Communities; however, it adds to the limited amount of research on teachers' perceptions of the implementation…

Professional Learning Communities are an important means toward the goal of improving schools so that students can learn at high levels. Professional Learning Communities, when well-implemented, have a laser-focus on learning, work collaboratively, and hold themselves accountable for results. In this article, the central concept of…

Professional learning communities (PLCs), with their attributes of shared values, high expectations, and collaboration, have the potential to change school culture. The 4 elementary schools in this study have been unable to sustain ongoing, effective teamwork, resulting in a failure to attain adequate progress, and in 2 schools, in the placement…

Professional development should be linked to fostering best practice and improving student learning (Darling-Hammond, 2009). By providing ongoing opportunities for professional learning that focus on best practice, teachers are more likely to develop the knowledge and skills associated with high-quality teacher instruction and raising student…

The purpose of this study was to examine one urban elementary school to determine the influence of PLCs on administrator and teacher efficacy in supporting academic success. Using Stewart, Williams, and Matthew's (2009) Learning Community Culture Indicator (LCCI), which is based on the work of Richard DuFour (2006) and Eaker and DuFour (1998), the…