Thesis advisor: Martin M. Scanlan / Problem and Purpose: Professional learning has the potential for significant impact within the realm of teaching and learning. District and school-based leaders spend valuable time mapping professional development calendars and planning learning opportunities for staff. In addition to the time spent, professional learning has a significant impact on the budget. Planning and implementing professional learning is a timely and expensive endeavor. However, professional learning often falls short in delivery. Impacts are limited and sometimes even negative when staff have a bad experience. During a time of crisis, professional learning is paramount as all stakeholders respond and adjust. Time is of the essence during a crisis. As a result, effective delivery of professional learning is critical for managing and maintaining the instructional core. The purpose of this study is to further explore and understand what influences teacher professional learning and instructional practices. Additionally, this study will seek to identify the ways in which principals create the conditions to support teachers’ professional learning. Understanding teacher learning and leadership support for learning will help practitioners to design for learning that has an impact. Methods: To answer these questions, a qualitative case-study of one medium sized urban district in Massachusetts was studied. The district reflects a diverse student body that includes English Language Learners, students with disabilities, and students identified as high needs. Interviews, observations, and document review were utilized for data collection. Analysis of the data was informed by Communities of Practice. Implications: In order for professional learning opportunities to be meaningful and to have an impact, district and school based leaders should remain mindful that learning is a social endeavor. Balancing vertical and horizontal power with creating space for partnership will contribute to professional learning plans that are productive for teachers and that engage principals in creating the conditions to support teacher learning. / Thesis (EdD) — Boston College, 2022. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Leadership and Higher Education.

This research aims to examine current practices in gifted and talented educator professional learning, as well as teacher attitudes, beliefs, and experiences towards gifted education in order to explore opportunities to further develop and improve professional learning structures. Through a qualitative methodology following the constructivist-interpretivist paradigm, this research utilizes a phenomenological interview design in which data from educator interviews are examined through thematic analysis. To support and further extrapolate on the feedback from the interviews, this research also includes a document analysis of the published descriptions of 30-hour educator training required for those providing GT services in the state of Texas. The thematic analysis of interviews identified three major themes and two minor themes after engaging in a deep analysis of the interview transcriptions. These major themes are the (1) utility of professional learning, (2) shared control of learning, and (3) understanding the whole student. Minor themes are (i) long-term career growth and (ii) role of professional support networks and connections. Results of the document analysis illustrate that the most frequent descriptions are associated with the abilities participants will take from the learning. Within this descriptive code, most of the language focused on learner competence, while few of the descriptions included references to self-efficacy, which is integral to adult learning and motivation. Implications and further areas for study provide guidance on future work in developing effective professional learning coursework.

The retention of special education (SPED) teachers is problematic throughout the United States. Many SPED teachers are leaving education due to burnout which can be caused by feeling isolated and having a lack of collegial support. Studies suggest that collegial support is a main contributor to the retention of SPED teachers. Induction programs, mentoring, and professional learning communities (PLC) have been widely used; however, there is not much research showing how professional learning communities impact the retention of special education teachers. The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify novice elementary school SPED teachers' perceptions regarding PLCs. Specifically, this study examined how elementary school SPED teachers' perceptions of PLCs affect the retention of this group of teachers. Themes from this study may indicate what schools can do to make their PLCs more meaningful for the SPED teachers participating in them. The study was guided by the following research question: What are the perceptions of novice SPED teachers regarding professional learning communities and their impact on teacher retention? Twenty SPED teachers with between 0 – 5 years of experience participated in online focus groups. Data from the focus groups were analyzed and themes were developed. The results of this study indicated that SPED teachers stay at their current schools due to support provided by colleagues such as SPED teachers, general education teachers, and reading and mathematics specialists. In addition, SPED teachers are more likely to stay at their current schools if the PLCs they attend are relevant and are more likely to leave when they miss instructional time with their students due to attending mandatory PLCs. The results from this study may help school and division leaders implement PLC support for SPED teachers that will positively impact the retention of SPED teachers. / Doctor of Education / The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify novice elementary school special education (SPED) teachers' perceptions regarding PLCs. Specifically, this study examined how elementary school SPED teachers' perceptions of PLCs affect the retention of this group of teachers. Themes from this study may indicate what schools can do to make their PLCs more meaningful for the SPED teachers participating in them. The study was guided by the following research question: What are the perceptions of novice SPED teachers regarding professional learning communities and their impact on teacher retention? Twenty SPED teachers with between 0 – 5 years of experience participated in online focus groups. Data from the focus groups were analyzed and themes were developed. The results of this study indicated that SPED teachers stay at their current schools due to support provided by colleagues such as SPED teachers, general education teachers, and reading and mathematics specialists. In addition, SPED teachers are more likely to stay at their current schools if the PLCs they attend are relevant and are more likely to leave when they miss instructional time with their students due to attending mandatory PLCs. The results from this study may help school and division leaders implement PLC support for SPED teachers that will positively impact the retention of SPED teachers.

This case study examined the principles of a professional learning community (PLC) in an elementary school setting and their impact on instructional practices and effect on the reading achievement of English Language Learner (ELL) students. The cohort of students in this study was followed from grades three through five. The data sources included a principal interview, a focus group discussion with teachers, classroom observations and the Standards of Learning reading scores for ELL students. The data from transcripts were analyzed using triangulation and coding techniques. The results of this study are a narrative description of a professional learning community used to impact instructional practices and reading achievement, the perceptions of a principal and teachers, and classroom observations. The data from interviews and the focus group suggest that teacher and principal perceptions of the professional learning community and its principles support their instructional practice. There appeared to be no consistent pattern of performance of individual scores during the study period. The PLC principles of collaboration, collective inquiry and continuous improvement were identified most often to be perceived as effective in the delivery of instruction. Staff development and providing adequate planning time for teachers are recommended as essential practices to a professional learning community. / Ph. D.

This study presents a qualitative analysis of principals' perceptions of the relationship among principal preparation programs, professional development and instructional leadership confidence in one urban school division in Virginia. Levine (2005) argued that the principal has a salient effect on the instructional programs within schools, and the preparation and professional development of the principal affects the degree to which they maintain and improve instruction. To examine principal perceptions on feelings of confidence toward instructional leadership, four research questions were investigated: What are principals' perceptions concerning the instructional confidence needed to lead schools in one school division? What are principals' perceptions regarding the coursework undertaken in their preparation program and the associated confidence developed for instructional leadership in one school division? What are principal perceptions concerning post-graduate professional development and the associated confidence developed for instructional leadership in one school division? What type of additional training do principals believe would enhance their confidence toward instructional leadership in one school division? The researcher sought to ascertain principal perceptions concerning the construct, instructional leadership efficacy, based on their academic training and professional development. The findings were as follows: a) interviewed principals in one urban school division described instructional leadership efficacy in terms of one's capacity to provide instructional leadership and one's know how to foster home-school relations; b) interviewed principals in one urban school division believe that the principal must act as an instructional leader to facilitate learning in the building; c) interviewed principals from one urban school division reported that the course of greatest significance to instructional leadership was school law; d) interviewed principals from one urban school division were unable to identify the most beneficial professional development in terms of that which is needed to be the instructional leader; e) there was no recommendation for specific coursework in the principal preparation program that was supported by the majority of the interviewed principals. / Ed. D.

No description available.

There is a wealth of literature on the induction and support of provisionally registered teachers (Boreen, 2009; Bubb, 2007; Cameron, Lovett, & Garvey Berger, 2007) and the key skills of mentoring (Achinstein & Athanases, 2006; Glickman, 2002). However literature on how to meet the professional learning needs of curriculum leaders developing their mentoring skill set has largely been ignored in leadership literature. This study, informed by MacBeath and Dempster’s (2009)concept of ‘leadership for learning’, upholds the need for leadership work to focus on the improvement of student outcomes (Barber & Fullan, 2005) rather than traditional approaches to education which focussed on making resources available to students. In an outcomes-focussed model of education, the needs of the students are at the forefront of all learning. By focussing on teachers’ professional learning through mentoring and the use of a teacher inquiry model, the students’ learning needs are prioritised. The focus for my study is the skillset of curriculum leaders for their work with teachers within their learning areas. The participants for this study were five curriculum leaders, all from the same secondary school. This intervention study investigated the factors which contributed to the professional learning of the mentors, their views of their leadership role and the kinds of learning about mentoring which were beneficial to understandings about mentoring. By focussing on key adult learning principles, structures that support learning, and attention to a mentoring skill set, the participants were supported to develop their mentoring skills. The mentors participated in a professional learning experience, referred to as a Quality Learning Circle (QLC), over one and a half school terms, to co-construct their understanding of mentoring practice. In a QLC the focus is on the learners seeking and making changes to their practice in a collaborative, supportive environment (Lovett & Verstappen, 2003). The mentors collaboratively developed new understandings through deliberate talk in the QLC about their shared interest in mentoring. They also had opportunities for immediate and practical application of their new knowledge. While they participated in the QLC they co-currently developed their mentoring skills by working with a mentee who taught in the same subject area as themselves. This study features a qualitative methodology with an interpretive case study of experienced curriculum leaders. Data collection tools included a gap analysis survey which explored their understandings of their school’s current professional learning opportunities. A second data source was a career questionnaire which explored their teaching history and experiences of professional learning. This was followed by initial interviews which focussed on how they interpreted their role of a curriculum leader and the extent they could connect leadership with students’ learning. I also analysed transcripts of QLC meetings, and the teachers’ reflective journals. Four of the mentors worked with a provisionally registered teacher (PRT), while one mentor chose to work with a more experienced colleague. This study offered a new type of collegial interaction for the teachers. The mentors chose their own goals, a mentee to work alongside and the direction of their learning about mentoring. The QLC met five times during the study and the mentors and participant researcher (PR) also kept a reflective journal. In between the QLC sessions the mentors met with their mentees to practise their mentoring skills, such as questioning skills, and the use of observational tools for classroom observations. A typical QLC session focussed on each of the mentors talking about the mentoring practice they had undertaken. The group provided support and guidance on possible next steps of practice. Readings and practical resources were also discussed and there was an expectation that the mentors would practice an aspect of mentoring and report back to the group at the next meeting. At the close of the study the mentors were re-interviewed to compare their views of their leadership role and learning from their initial interviews. An iterative process was used so that emerging understandings of the data could arise. The data is presented according to the three broad themes of ‘effective professional learning’, ‘leadership role’ and ‘professional learning about mentoring’. The findings of this study highlight the importance of collaborative learning opportunities for teachers where they can state and resolve practical issues in a supportive group (Cochran-Smith, Feiman-Nemser, McIntyre, & Association of Teacher Educators., 2008). Among all of the findings there were four major findings about the development of curriculum leaders’ mentoring skills: the value of opportunities for deliberate talk, the importance of teacher agency, the need for specific tools in developing mentoring practice, and the necessity of understanding the curriculum leaders’ leadership role. My detailed account of the experiences of the five curriculum leaders offers a practical example of what the development of curriculum leaders’ understandings of mentoring might look like. This study serves to highlight the challenges for schools to provide support for teachers wanting to take responsibility for their own professional learning. In the absence of any formalised leadership professional learning about mentoring for curriculum leaders, this study proved to be a useful study to demonstrate the potential of the QLC approach to support curriculum leaders in their understandings and practice of mentoring. The key findings of this study validate the need for further research on what is needed for effective mentoring to be an integral part of every school.

Leadership capacity may be enhanced when school staff members work together as a professional learning community (PLC). Leadership style may impact how well a school staff work as a professional learning community. The purpose of this study was to assess the relationship between principal leadership style and the level of PLC on 18 campuses across the US that were working on becoming PLCs. Staff members answered questions from two surveys which measured the level of leadership capacity, leadership style of the principal, and level of professional learning community within the schools. Questions regarding leadership capacity and leadership style were taken from the Leadership Capacity School Survey. Questions designed to measure the level of PLC on a campus were taken from the Professional Learning Community Assessment. The product-moment correlation coefficient or Pearson r was calculated between the answers from the questions from both surveys. The results indicated that when a capacity building principal is working with staff members to create a PLC, a higher level of PLC development is evidenced. When principals used collaboration with their staff, their schools operated at a lower level as a PLC. These results encourage principals to consider building capacity among their staff members if they want to create professional learning communities on their campus.

自上世纪80年代以来，全球范围内掀起了一系列的教育改革浪潮。学校变革能力的不足，成为各国教育改革面临的最大挑战。专业学习社群的出现，为整体提升学校改革能力带来了希望。而专业学习社群概念产生于西方，已有关于专业学习社群的研究也大多基于西方的教育情境，对于具有丰富教师合作实践的中国学校的研究很少。 / 本研究采用混合研究取向，探讨课程改革背景下中国大陆上海学校教师专业学习社群的特点及对教师发展的影响。首先对10所学校的教师进行个案研究，初步探索专业学习社群的特点与影响。在此基础上提出适用于上海情境的专业学习社群及其影响的概念框架，并据此形成专业学习社群特点及效果问卷，对31所学校进行调查，以验证和修订概念框架，并考察专业学习社群对教师发展的影响。研究进一步选取4所有代表性的学校进行深入的个案研究，探究专业学习社群影响教师发展的过程，并分析影响专业学习社群效果及发展水平的因素。问卷调查、深度访谈、非参与式观察和文件收集是获取资料的主要手段。 / 研究发现上海学校教师专业学习社群在个体层面表现出集体探究与分享、共享目标与责任两个特点，在组织层面表现出支持性领导、文化支持、组织结构、文化障碍、制度障碍五个特点，从而揭示出上海学校专业学习社群的独特特点。上海学校专业学习社群在整体上具有良好的发展水平，对教师发展产生了显著的促进作用，包括增强教师的教学效能，提高其对学生学习的承诺水平，并提升工作满意度。发展水平高和发展水平低的专业学习社群对教师发展的影响存在一定的差异，前者更能促进全体教师的发展与变革，并对教学与学生学习产生积极影响。这是因为高发展水平的专业学习社群与教师的日常教学实践紧密相关，并强调平等对话和民主交流，为教师提供了探究性的学习环境。 / 本研究通过上海学校教师专业学习社群实践回应了专业学习社群的情境依赖性，揭示出专业学习社群与教育改革之间的关系，并丰富了专业学习社群对教师发展影响过程与机制的研究。研究还阐述了不同于合作文化和硬造合作的系统、协调的专业学习社群发展取向，从而为理解专业学习社群提供了新的理论视角。基于研究所见，为进一步促进上海学校教师专业学习社群的发展，不仅要加强学校层面在领导、文化和结构上的支持，也要强化地区教育部门在政策制度、领导和资源上对专业学习社群的支持。 / Since the 1980s, a wave of educational reform has shown up on a global scale. One of the biggest challenges faced by various countries is the lack of schools’ reform capacity. The concept of professional learning community (PLC) seems promising for the improvement of schools’ comprehensive change capacity. While the idea of PLC originates in the western world and the majority of existing research has been based on western contexts, the concept and practice of PLCs in Chinese schools where there are rich experiences in terms of teacher collaboration have largely been ignored. / The present study is located within the context of curriculum reform in Mainland China. Adopting a mixed-method approach, this study examines the characteristics of teachers’ PLCs in schools in Shanghai and their impacts on teacher development. First, semi-structural interviews with teachers in ten schools were conducted to preliminarily explore the characteristics and influences of PLCs in Shanghai schools. Based on this, a conceptualization of PLC was initiated, and a questionnaire was developed accordingly. The author conducted a questionnaire survey of teachers in thirty-one schools to verify and modify the conceptualization of PLC and examine its impact on teacher development. After that, four representative schools were selected and in-depth case studies were implemented, to further investigate how PLCs impacted teacher development and what the key factors were in this process. Questionnaire survey, in-depth interview, non-participatory observation, and document collection were the main methods to collect data. / Results show that teachers’ PLCs in Shanghai schools could be conceptualized in individual level in terms of collective inquiry and sharing and shared goals and responsibility, and organizational level in terms of supportive leadership, cultural support, organizational structures, cultural barriers and institutional barriers, which indicates the unique characteristics of PLCs in Shanghai schools. Teachers’ PLCs in the schools in Shanghai performed well in general, and significantly improved teacher development, including their teaching effectiveness, commitment to student leaning, and job satisfaction. There were differences between high-level PLCs and low-level PLCs in terms of their influences on teacher development, i.e. the former had a greater role in promoting the whole teachers’ development and reform, and also their teaching practices and student learning. This is because high-level PLCs focused on teachers’ teaching practices and emphasized equal dialogue and democratic exchanges, which provided favorable environment for teachers’ inquiry and learning. / This study, by presenting the practices of PLCs in the schools in Shanghai, responded to the context specificity of PLCs, disclosed the relationship between PLCs and education reform, and enriched existing research on the influence process and mechanism of PLCs on teacher development. The study also identified a systematic and coordinated approach to develop PLCs, which was different from collaborative culture and contrived collegiaty and thus provided a new theoretical perspective for us to understand the concept of PLC. To further promote the practices of PLCs in the schools in Shanghai, support at both the school level such as leadership, culture and structure, and the district level such as policy, leadership and resources need to be strengthened. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / 張佳. / Parallel title from added title page. / Thesis (Ph.D.) Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2015. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 305-339). / Abstracts also in English. / Zhang Jia.

This thesis investigates the experiences of generalist primary teachers, in Scotland, as they instigated curriculum and pedagogical change in physical education. Five primary teachers with an additional qualification in physical education, the Postgraduate Certificate in 3-14 physical education (PGCert), were followed within their school contexts over an academic year. In contrast to much of the preceding literature this research provides empirical work at the micro level on educational change from the perspective of the individual teacher: illuminating the reciprocal relationship between professional learning and educational change. A qualitative, interpretivist approach underpinned the gathering and analysis of data. This approach reflected the focus of the study which was to understand and make sense of the multiple realities, experiences and views of participant teachers evolving from their social, cultural and historical contexts. Data were gathered using semi-structured interviews, unstructured interviews about teachers’ planning and observations of physical education lessons. The theoretical framework that was used to interrogate the data incorporated situated learning theory (Lave and Wenger, 1991), professional learning and educational change literature; in particular the work of Fullan was utilised to explore his concept of ‘change agentry’. The first line of analysis establishes how the participant teachers approached teaching and learning in physical education prior to engaging with the PGCert. Thereafter the PGCert is examined to ascertain how the format and structure of this professional development opportunity came to influence the participant teachers. In the final analysis, an over-view of each teacher’s narrative in regards to their role in the change process is presented, outlining the curricular and pedagogical changes they initiated within their school contexts. Taken together, these findings contribute to research on educational change providing detailed analysis over an extended period of time of the motivating factors, constraints and complex character of change from the perspective of teachers within their individual school contexts. In the present educational climate where teachers are expected to be leaders of curricular and pedagogical change this study provides empirical evidence of teachers exercising their autonomy and integrating professional learning within their practice as they initiate and implement change.