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…

Over time, state testing has been the central focus of schools and school districts regarding accountability and the pressures to improve student achievement (Dufour, 2004). Under those circumstances, professional learning communities have been discovered to improve teacher effectiveness which in turn improves overall student achievement (Kuh,…

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…

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…

The purpose of this study was to understand the dynamics of how teaching culturally responsive strategies to teachers can help eliminate the opportunity gap between students of color and their White counterparts. The action research method involved first collecting quantitative data through several surveys and then explaining the quantitative…

Head Start (HS) is a nationally known program for young children and continues to serve the most vulnerable children and families. HS teachers are required to have a minimum degree status and a certain number of Professional Development (PD) hours. However, teachers continue to struggle with preparedness and effectiveness. The problem is that HS…

Many students enter college with inadequate reading, writing, and critical thinking skills to successfully navigate discipline-specific college-level coursework (Duff, 2010; Hyland, 2006; Lea & Street, 1998; Tsui, 2002). As such, college faculty, and specifically community college faculty, are challenged to meet the multiple literacy needs of…

The purpose of this study was to explore secondary English teachers' perceptions of the benefits and challenges of professional learning communities (PLCs), with particular focus on what they considered to be characteristics of effective PLCs. Through a qualitative study in grounded theory using individual interviews among a subgroup of ten…

In Professional Learning Communities, educators collaborated and focused on ways to improve student learning. Teacher practice was one key component for improving student learning and was the focus of this study. Through the use of a collective case study, the researcher examined how teacher practice was affected through the implementation of…

The ultimate goal of teacher professional development is to improve student achievement by improving teacher practices. To that end, the literature and research supports the development of professional learning communities as one of the most effective ways to accomplish that goal. Therefore, the research questions addressed in this study were: (a)…

Professional learning communities and teacher efficacy are at the core of many of the current educational reform models. The intention of this dissertation was to identify the correlation between professional learning communities and collective teacher efficacy for math data teams in the six Kaua'i Complex Area secondary schools, as measured by…

Teachers working in schools where the majority of the population is underserved students often feel a sense of helplessness. The purpose of the study is to uncover the lived experience of a small group of English Language Arts teachers working in such an environment. Specifically, the purpose is to determine if working within an effective…

The dissertation was designed to describe the relationship of collective teacher efficacy to the phases of professional learning communities (PLC) in a rural school district in the southern piedmont region of North Carolina. Limited research exists in the area of collective teacher efficacy and its relationship to professional learning…

A substantial amount of research shows that teacher collaboration and a collaborative school culture can significantly increase student achievement. However, long-standing norms of teacher isolation create a significant barrier to this endeavor. The increased popularity of Professional Learning Communities has helped education move away from these…

Systematic studies on effectiveness of in-service teacher professional development (PD) are important for science education research and practice. Previous studies mostly focus on one certain aspect of the entire program, for example, effectiveness of PD on improvement of teachers' knowledge or students' learning outcomes. This study, however,…