Professional learning communities (PLCs) are a group of educators working collaboratively to improve student achievement and expand the pedagogy of the individual as well as the group. Studies on PLCs, grounded by the social constructivism theory of Vygotsky, Bandura, and Wenger, have found that collaboration and collegiality foster a positive school climate. This case study explored the perspectives of PLC participants at a suburban high school on the impact of their PLC on the school's culture. Ten teacher participants with at least 2 years of experience at the research site were individually interviewed, and 5 observations of content PLC meetings were conducted. Data were open coded to determine emergent trends. The analysis resulted in thick, rich descriptions of the experiences of the teacher participants. The findings suggested that the school's ineffective use of PLCs negatively affected its culture due to a lack of established norms, collaboration, communication, and accountability. A professional learning opportunity was developed focusing on effective PLC usage and the impact on school culture. The study supports positive social change by providing school leaders and PLC participants at the study site with information to sustain PLCs in a manner that promotes a positive school climate that could lead to a more efficient, consistent learning environment that benefits students.

This capstone project was part of a group project completed by two principals in elementary schools and a principal coach in Hillsborough County, Florida. Each of the team members has a passion for the work of administrator and lead learner in a turnaround school. Through creating a culture of teacher leadership, especially in high poverty schools, we believe students will succeed. We were looking for what a high performing school culture would look like if teachers were leading the work through ongoing inquiry and personalized support. My individual focus was, how can district and school leaders support a culture where teachers are leading teachers? As a principal coach, I am responsible for supporting principals at all levels in the schools within my area. I am also responsible for creating professional learning experiences that will permeate into the schools where leaders will take action and where teachers are empowered to make decisions to address the needs of their students. Selected literature was reviewed that considers how to create a system of support for leaders (teachers, administrators) who are increasingly expected to lead more autonomously when they have traditionally been provided directives through district initiatives that emphasize accountability. Themes in the literature reviewed included: community re-norming, teaching/learning symbiosis, and leadership that is proactive and reflective (inquiring). Key findings in my area of focus included valuing professional community and supporting it; moving control of professional development from the district to schools; developing models to allocate time for professional development at the school level; clarifying school and district leaders’ roles in supporting teacher leadership; and assessing and prioritizing district initiatives to determine what is really needed at school sites ̶ particularly in turnaround schools.

Culture integrates more than ideology and tradition. These cultural elements are supplementary factors that unite under certain conditions to assist in the development and understanding of what is right, wrong and/or expected within a group. Ideology specifically has been found to influence and construct societal norms, and play a vital role in the conscious and subconscious interactions of individuals. These ideologies (superficial and non-superficial) have implications for the interpersonal interactions between individuals within and between the same cultural groups, as well as implications for organizational and professional development within academic and professional settings. This study will examine culture and ideology through an investigation of environment and its relationship to ethnic identity development. In addition, the study will investigate the possible relationship between ethnic identity and perceptions of credibility. Findings suggest that culturally related materials in an academic setting are not related to strength of ethnic identification with regard to ethnic identity- behavior; yet ethnic identity- achievement may be slightly related to school environment. Further, ethnic identity and school environment are not influential in the perception on credibility of people of divergent skin-tones. The research explores practical and theoretical implications, discusses the limitations of evaluating skin-tone of African Americans, and suggests proposals for future research. / text

Om en skola lyckas väl eller mindre väl i sitt uppdrag beror på många faktorer. En del avdessa kan skolan inte påverka. Till dessa faktorer hör till exempel vårdnadshavaresbakgrund. Vad skolan däremot kan påverka är lärares skicklighet i att undervisa, vilket harvisat sig vara den enskilt största skillnaden mellan skolor och skolsystem av olika kvalitet.För att utveckla lärarnas yrkesskicklighet behövs ett levande samarbetsklimat. Studiens syfteär att undersöka i hur hög utsträckning högstadielärare samarbetar kring undervisning,bedömning samt hur elever lär sig. Trettiofyra lärare fördelade på två högstadieskolor deltogi enkätstudien. Skolorna delar skolledare och har en identisk organisation med avseende påtid för formellt samarbete.Resultatet visar att det finns ett mycket starkt samband mellan det schemalagda och detspontana samarbetet lärare emellan. Det som behandlas på schemalagd konferenstid(ämneskonferenser och andra möten med styrt innehåll) är också det som det spontana samarbetet kretsar kring. / How successful a school is depends on many factors. Some of these factors schools cannotaffect, for example, parents’ backgrounds. What the schools can affect however is how wellteachers teach, which has proven to be the single biggest difference between schools andschool systems of varying quality.In order to develop teachers' professional skills, teamwork is essential. This study aims toinvestigate the extent to which high school teachers collaborate on teaching, assessmentand how students learn. Thirty‐four teachers at two secondary schools filled in thequestionnaire. The schools share principals and have an identical organization regardingtime for formal collaboration.The results show that there is a very strong correlation between within scheduled andspontaneous teacher cooperation. What is being discussed at scheduled meetings (such assubject specific conferences and other meetings with given content) is also being discussedwhen teachers collaborate spontaneously.

Research on the development of management strategies for the establishment of an effective organizational culture in schools was conducted in the following phases. In the first place, an. attempt is made to determine the nature of organizational culture, the context in which organizational culture functions, and the transformation and establishment of an effective organizational culture. as well as to describe the characteristics and advantages of an effective organizational culture. Secondly the aspects of organizational culture are discussed on the basis of a theoretical model that has been developed from literature. In so doing, every aspect of organizational culture is spell out, the role and place of each aspect of the culture is explained, as is the contribution of every aspect of organizational culture to the efficacy of such a culture. In the third place, the degree to which aspects of the organizational culture are emphasized in schools has been empirically determined by means of quantitative and qualitative research methods. Fourthly, research results have indicated that the intangible fundamentals and the concrete manifestations of organizational culture are emphasized at good schools while this happens to a lesser degree at average and poor schools. It becomes clear that certain basic aspects are present in the intangible fundamentals and the concrete manifestations of the organizational culture of schools. The successful functioning of these aspects Is essential for the establishment of an efficient organizational culture In schools. Finally these primary aspects of organizational culture form the basis for the development of management strategies which can be used to establish an effective culture of organization in schools. Special mention is made of general points of departure and guidelines for developing action plans and putting them to effect. The actual plans of action are not addressed, as schools should develop their own plans according to their unique composition, requirements and environment. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Education))--Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education, 2003

Research on the development of management strategies for the establishment of an effective organizational culture in schools was conducted in the following phases. In the first place, an. attempt is made to determine the nature of organizational culture, the context in which organizational culture functions, and the transformation and establishment of an effective organizational culture. as well as to describe the characteristics and advantages of an effective organizational culture. Secondly the aspects of organizational culture are discussed on the basis of a theoretical model that has been developed from literature. In so doing, every aspect of organizational culture is spell out, the role and place of each aspect of the culture is explained, as is the contribution of every aspect of organizational culture to the efficacy of such a culture. In the third place, the degree to which aspects of the organizational culture are emphasized in schools has been empirically determined by means of quantitative and qualitative research methods. Fourthly, research results have indicated that the intangible fundamentals and the concrete manifestations of organizational culture are emphasized at good schools while this happens to a lesser degree at average and poor schools. It becomes clear that certain basic aspects are present in the intangible fundamentals and the concrete manifestations of the organizational culture of schools. The successful functioning of these aspects Is essential for the establishment of an efficient organizational culture In schools. Finally these primary aspects of organizational culture form the basis for the development of management strategies which can be used to establish an effective culture of organization in schools. Special mention is made of general points of departure and guidelines for developing action plans and putting them to effect. The actual plans of action are not addressed, as schools should develop their own plans according to their unique composition, requirements and environment. / Thesis (Ph.D. (Education))--Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education, 2003

This study reports research employing a three-phase methodology to investigate the nature and communication of the school culture of the Anglican Church Grammar School Brisbane. A preliminary survey with open-ended questions was used to obtain general opinion on the nature of the school's culture, how it is communicated and the role of the school's organisation structure in communicating the school's culture. From the results of this preliminary survey, a set of ratings was developed and given to randomly selected samples of ex-students, parents, staff and senior students. A descriptive statistical analysis of this main survey was used in providing answers to the research questions concerning the nature of the school's culture, the influence of the school's organisational structure on it, and how the culture is communicated within the school and to the general public. Data from the main survey were used to develop a set of scales, the Communication of School Culture Instrument, which was used to give comparisons of the perceptions of school culture by the four population sub-groups (viz. ex-students, parents, staff & students) of the school. Statistical findings from the surveys and the CSCI were complemented by a series of in-depth interviews of representatives of the school population sub-groups. Analysis of data suggested that, whilst the school's sub-groups generally shared perceptions about the nature of the school's culture, there were significant differences of opinion about how this culture was communicated and influenced by the school's organisational structure. There was also a significant difference of perspective between the adult males and females of the total school population. An analysis of perspective of ex-students from different time periods of attending the school from the 1920s to present, did not show any significant differences in perspective, suggesting a constancy of the school's culture over time. Several other areas of investigation which would be worthy of further attention are the role of mothers and female members of staff in a boys' school, and the impact of boarding students as a sub-culture would be worthy of further study in this school.

Contribution The main contribution offered by my research is an increased understanding of medical students’ perceptions of empathy and the factors that influence this. By using an innovative method in medical education research, the study contributes to research methodology. Background Empathy is accepted as a fundamental part of the patient-doctor relationship and essential for effective clinical care. Current societal opinions are that some healthcare professionals lack empathy and that medical students become less empathetic during their training, although the reasons for this are not understood. If this perceived decline is to be addressed, medical educators need to understand students’ perspectives of the factors that influence their empathy. Aims of the research The study sought to gain a deeper understanding of the development of medical students’ empathy and the factors influencing this during their undergraduate training. It is hoped that this understanding may lead to improvements in medical education and patient care. Methods Ethical approval for the study was granted by the University. A phenomenological approach was adopted, which involved listening to the students’ views and experiences of their course. Serial, semi-structured, indepth, interviews were conducted with sixteen medical students. Each year the student completed an hour-long interview over three years. One group of eight students were followed during the preclinical years of the course (years 1-3) and the other group, during the clinical years (years 4-6). The interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, coded using qualitative data analysis software (N Vivo), and analysed using an interpretative phenomenological approach. Findings The students in the preclinical years described empathy as a personal attribute, emphasising its emotional dimension. In the clinical years, students viewed empathy differently: as a complex relational process with the patient, which varied in depth and quality according to the clinical context. They described the tensions between connecting with and detachment from a patient. Students indicated influences which enhanced their empathy, including patient contact and positive role models. They also identified barriers to empathy, including: the medical school culture, a biomedical bias in the curriculum, a lack of patient contact, negative role models and teaching of professionalism as distancing from patients. The preclinical group of students reported gaining in self-confidence during their course. The clinical group described how their empathy with patients had increased but they detected a conflict between empathy and efficiency. Conclusions The use of an innovative longitudinal, phenomenological approach in medical education research generated new understanding of a complex interpersonal view of empathy and highlighted aspects of a ‘hidden curriculum’. The students maintained that their contact with patients was the most useful way of developing empathy. They expressed a desire to connect emotionally with patients but were uncertain how to balance this connection with professional detachment. They described a marked biomedical emphasis in their course and perceived that teaching on professionalism encouraged a distancing from patients. In contrast to the widely-reported opinion that there has been a decline in medical students’ empathy, this study suggested that students perceived that their empathy increased during their training. However, some students had learned distancing behaviours to hide their empathetic feelings. In the light of this research, it is hoped that medical educators will develop ways of supporting students to deal appropriately with their own emotions and those of patients.

Esta dissertação, a partir das lentes teórico-metodológicas de Michel Foucault, lança um olhar sobre aspectos da cultura escolar, suas regras, modos de organização, currículo, avaliações que movimentam o processo de escolarização, problematizando as relações de poder envolvidas na produção de subjetividades dos diferentes sujeitos e permeadas por diferentes verdades sobre esses sujeitos. Nessa perspectiva relacional, o poder é entendido como dinâmico, flexível, estratégico, difícil de ser capturado: o sujeito e suas ações são seus efeitos e agentes. Pretendo entender como algumas forças provenientes de diferentes direções vão construindo os cenários nos quais os sujeitos do cotidiano escolar atuam, produzindo relações de poder muito complexas. Nesse exercício, não cabe descrever os efeitos do poder em termos negativos. O poder produz realidades e rituais de verdade. Assim, busco, neste estudo, olhar para essa articulação de forças, de estratégias, de movimentos que, atravessando as relações de poder, produzem o currículo e as subjetividades num determinado espaço educativo. Esses saberes/verdades, extraídos das práticas de objetivação, possibilitam o investimento em ações e intervenções. É nesse sentido que busco olhar as práticas escolares como espaços de objetivação/subjetivação. Ao analisar essas práticas, destaco que os efeitos, no que diz respeito à produção de subjetividades, não se encontram em uma ou outra forma de agir. Percebi que as práticas escolares articulam-se numa rede disciplinar formada por diferentes dispositivos que se relacionam na produção de sujeitos, agindo sobre seus corpos. Relatórios, registros, observações, classificações, controle das atividades, organização do tempo e do espaço formam uma rede de significações e de normalização dos sujeitos no espaço escolar. E aqueles/as que não se enquadram, que se desviam do caminho, são apanhados mais facilmente pelas redes do poder e objetivados são produzidos em sua subjetividade que tenta fazer com que ele/a se perceba e se compreenda de certo jeito para se autogovernar, para melhor aprender e normalizar-se. Nesse processo de normalização dos sujeitos, não descarto a necessidade de se ter determinadas regras de convivência, de se ter a preocupação com que as crianças aprendam os conhecimentos escolares. O que ressalto é que se reflita sobre que tipo de normas estabelece o que é normal e anormal, que tipo de saberes é valorizado, com que propósito se investe sobre os corpos das crianças, que subjetividades estão sendo produzidas no espaço da escola. / This dissertation, seen through the theoretical-methodological eyes of Michel Foucault, looks at aspects of school culture, its rules, methods of organization, curriculum, evaluations that impel the process of schooling, problematizing the power relations involved in the production of subjectivities of the different subjects and permeated by different knowledges seeking to pronounce truths about those subjects. In that relational perspective, power is considered dynamic, flexible, strategic and hard to be captured: the subject and his actions are its effects and agents. I want to understand how some forces coming from different directions build scenarios in which the subjects of everyday school life act, producing very complex power relations. In that exercise, we should not describe the effects of power in negative terms, Power produces realities and rituals of truth. Therefore, I am seeking in this study to look for that articulation of forces, of strategies and of movements which, passing through the power relationships, produce the curriculum and the subjectivities in a certain educative space. These knowledges/truths extracted from objectivation practices, make it possible to invest in actions and interventions. It is in that sense that I am looking at school practices as objectivation/subjectivation spaces. When analyzing these practices I note that the effects, with regard to the production of subjectivities, are not found in one or another way of acting. I noticed that the school practices are articulated in a disciplinary network formed by different dispositions that are in the production of subjects, acting on their bodies. Reports, records, observations, classifications, control of activities, organization of time and of space form a network of significations and of normalization of the subjects in the school space. And those that do not fit in, who stray from the path, are caught more easily by the networks of power and objectivated persons are produced in their subjectivity which tries to make him or her perceive himself/herself and understand in a certain way to self-govern, to better learn and become normal. In that process of normalization of subjects, I do not rule out the need to have certain rules of cohabitation, to be preoccupied with children learning school knowledges. What I emphasize is that we should reflect on which type of rules establishes what is normal and abnormal, which type of knowledges is valorized, with which purpose the bodies of the children are invested in, and which subjectivities are being produced in the school space.

Esta dissertação, a partir das lentes teórico-metodológicas de Michel Foucault, lança um olhar sobre aspectos da cultura escolar, suas regras, modos de organização, currículo, avaliações que movimentam o processo de escolarização, problematizando as relações de poder envolvidas na produção de subjetividades dos diferentes sujeitos e permeadas por diferentes verdades sobre esses sujeitos. Nessa perspectiva relacional, o poder é entendido como dinâmico, flexível, estratégico, difícil de ser capturado: o sujeito e suas ações são seus efeitos e agentes. Pretendo entender como algumas forças provenientes de diferentes direções vão construindo os cenários nos quais os sujeitos do cotidiano escolar atuam, produzindo relações de poder muito complexas. Nesse exercício, não cabe descrever os efeitos do poder em termos negativos. O poder produz realidades e rituais de verdade. Assim, busco, neste estudo, olhar para essa articulação de forças, de estratégias, de movimentos que, atravessando as relações de poder, produzem o currículo e as subjetividades num determinado espaço educativo. Esses saberes/verdades, extraídos das práticas de objetivação, possibilitam o investimento em ações e intervenções. É nesse sentido que busco olhar as práticas escolares como espaços de objetivação/subjetivação. Ao analisar essas práticas, destaco que os efeitos, no que diz respeito à produção de subjetividades, não se encontram em uma ou outra forma de agir. Percebi que as práticas escolares articulam-se numa rede disciplinar formada por diferentes dispositivos que se relacionam na produção de sujeitos, agindo sobre seus corpos. Relatórios, registros, observações, classificações, controle das atividades, organização do tempo e do espaço formam uma rede de significações e de normalização dos sujeitos no espaço escolar. E aqueles/as que não se enquadram, que se desviam do caminho, são apanhados mais facilmente pelas redes do poder e objetivados são produzidos em sua subjetividade que tenta fazer com que ele/a se perceba e se compreenda de certo jeito para se autogovernar, para melhor aprender e normalizar-se. Nesse processo de normalização dos sujeitos, não descarto a necessidade de se ter determinadas regras de convivência, de se ter a preocupação com que as crianças aprendam os conhecimentos escolares. O que ressalto é que se reflita sobre que tipo de normas estabelece o que é normal e anormal, que tipo de saberes é valorizado, com que propósito se investe sobre os corpos das crianças, que subjetividades estão sendo produzidas no espaço da escola. / This dissertation, seen through the theoretical-methodological eyes of Michel Foucault, looks at aspects of school culture, its rules, methods of organization, curriculum, evaluations that impel the process of schooling, problematizing the power relations involved in the production of subjectivities of the different subjects and permeated by different knowledges seeking to pronounce truths about those subjects. In that relational perspective, power is considered dynamic, flexible, strategic and hard to be captured: the subject and his actions are its effects and agents. I want to understand how some forces coming from different directions build scenarios in which the subjects of everyday school life act, producing very complex power relations. In that exercise, we should not describe the effects of power in negative terms, Power produces realities and rituals of truth. Therefore, I am seeking in this study to look for that articulation of forces, of strategies and of movements which, passing through the power relationships, produce the curriculum and the subjectivities in a certain educative space. These knowledges/truths extracted from objectivation practices, make it possible to invest in actions and interventions. It is in that sense that I am looking at school practices as objectivation/subjectivation spaces. When analyzing these practices I note that the effects, with regard to the production of subjectivities, are not found in one or another way of acting. I noticed that the school practices are articulated in a disciplinary network formed by different dispositions that are in the production of subjects, acting on their bodies. Reports, records, observations, classifications, control of activities, organization of time and of space form a network of significations and of normalization of the subjects in the school space. And those that do not fit in, who stray from the path, are caught more easily by the networks of power and objectivated persons are produced in their subjectivity which tries to make him or her perceive himself/herself and understand in a certain way to self-govern, to better learn and become normal. In that process of normalization of subjects, I do not rule out the need to have certain rules of cohabitation, to be preoccupied with children learning school knowledges. What I emphasize is that we should reflect on which type of rules establishes what is normal and abnormal, which type of knowledges is valorized, with which purpose the bodies of the children are invested in, and which subjectivities are being produced in the school space.