Demands for increased school accountability created by No Child Left Behind and Every Student Succeeds legislation has resulted in the implementation of professional development programs in which educators are observers rather than collaborative participants. The problem at a secondary independent charter school in Central Ohio was the lack of a collaborative culture in which teachers and administrators were committed to professional development and accepted collective responsibility for the achievement of all learners. The purpose of the study was to investigate the perceptions and experiences of teachers and administrators about the practice of distributed leadership and how it contributed to the functionality of a professional learning community (PLC). The conceptual framework was derived from DuFour's work on PLCs, which provided a strategy for the development of collaborative school cultures. The research questions focused on the experiences of administrators and teachers who utilized distributed leadership in the formation and continued operation of a PLC. A case study design was used to capture the insights of 2 administrators and 7 teachers through interviews and observations; a purposeful sampling process was used to select the participants. Emergent themes were identified through open coding, and the findings were developed and checked for trustworthiness through member checking and triangulation. The findings revealed that distributed leadership requires administrator empowerment of teachers to work collaboratively in an environment of mutual trust. Findings were used to create a professional development workshop designed to increase faculty collaboration and enhance teacher efficacy. This study has implications for positive social change by providing administrators with a structure for developing teacher leaders.

National Board Certification (NBC) offers the highest certification possible to teachers who can meet the rigorous standards of this process. This certification develops reflective practitioners through a series of components designed to be used in authentic settings with students. Previous research shows the value of employing National Board Certified Teachers (NBCTs) for raising student achievement, creating teacher leaders, and developing a reflective culture in schools. Increasing the number of NBCTs could have a profound impact in our schools. This study explored the renewal rates and the perceived value of California NBCTs who certified in 2005 & 2006 using a survey created from two existing instruments. Both qualitative and quantitative data concerning initial motivating factors, renewal decisions and the benefits of holding NBC were collected. The analysis of the results indicated financial incentives were the number one reason for renewing. Conversely, the cost and/or lack of financial incentives ranked highest on the list for not renewing. While financial incentives were identified most frequently as an original motivator, the NBCTs in this study reported professional development as the most powerful effect of being a NBCT. A study of the literature demonstrated that the NBC process contains all of the components of quality professional development programs supporting this benefit and providing a program for structured professional development for districts and schools seeking a positive change in instructional practice.

There is little evidence concerning the impact of professional learning communities (PLCs) at juvenile correctional facilities. This qualitative case study explored the implementation of a PLC at a juvenile correctional facility school that housed students 10 to 19 years of age in southeastern United States. The purpose of this study was to understand the perceptions of teachers and paraprofessionals about how the PLC supported their work as they designed, constructed, and delivered instruction at the correctional facility. The social interactions among engaged educators through collaboration, collective inquiry, reflections, and communication derived from constructivist learning theory. Qualitative methodology included document review and structured face-to-face interviews with 4 teachers and 3 paraprofessionals. Following an inductive model, educators' perceptions were analyzed using an open coding process to derive categories, themes, and meaning. Five themes emerged: professional learning growth and benefits, teacher learning in PLCs, attitude adjustment of the culture, collaboration and sharing, and active engagement of paraprofessionals in PLCs. This study provided 5 recommendations: use allotted time, prioritize concerns, keep an open communication, discuss student-centered questions, and ensure supportive relationships. The findings indicated that the PLC supported teachers and paraprofessionals with strategies and accommodations to promote student achievement. This study has the potential to strengthen teacher collaboration and instruction to empower incarcerated students to succeed academically and become productive citizens.

Attempts to restructure public high schools by establishing separate school-within-a-school (SWS) models have not endured beyond 3 to 5 years. This qualitative case study examined a SWS that has thrived for more than 12 years. The study investigated how teachers at the school explained the success of the SWS, their experience of working at the SWS, and their resilience in addressing the challenges that led to the lack of success of other SWS schools. The theories and models of educational change developed by Fullan, Hargreaves, and Giles and Hord provided a conceptual framework for the study. Data were collected through open-ended questions in individual interviews with 8 teacher participants who each had more than 5 years of experience at the SWS. According to study results, teachers experienced the challenges that led to the closing of other SWS high schools. However, at the inception of the SWS, the leadership established a commitment to the vision of the SWS, a tradition of collaboration among the SWS teachers, and a positive reputation among parents and alumni. The faculty of the SWS maintained its commitment through multiple leadership changes, changes in school/district policies, challenges to the vision, and changes to SWS teachers' workloads and classroom assignments. Sustaining educational change depends on the strength of implementation of the change: strong leadership, stakeholder commitment to the vision, and establishment of a collaborative professional community of teachers. These results provide guidance for educational leaders attempting to implement and sustain educational change, such as the implementation of a SWS.

The problem addressed in the study was the ineffectiveness of professional learning community (PLC) implementation at some secondary campuses in an urban school district despite extensive professional development (PD) provided for principals. The purpose was to investigate perceptions of principals and teachers regarding principal leadership behaviors that contributed to implementing and leading effective PLCs. Researchers have established that effectively managed PLCs positively affect student achievement. The guiding research questions examined the leadership styles, behaviors, and characteristics of principals leading effective PLCs. The conceptual framework was Hord's 5 characteristics of an effective PLC. Using an exploratory case study design, perceptions of 9 teachers and 2 principals were investigated through open-ended surveys and interviews, respectively. Participant inclusion criteria were membership in and presence during the implementation of 2 secondary PLCs which were selected based on evidence of Hord's 5 characteristics. Emergent coding was used to analyze the data and find themes relevant to leading effective PLCs, including participating in and developing PLC expectations and structures, effective 2-way communication with teachers, and teacher empowerment. All themes emerging from the results were components of a transformational leadership style found to be effective in leading PLCs. The resulting project was a PD program for principals to develop implementation plans and intentional behaviors for themselves that will enable them to implement and sustain effective PLCs. This study has the potential to promote positive social change by providing structures for principals to promote teacher growth through PLCs that enhance the quality of education for students which minimizes the effects of cultural and circumstantial differences.

The purpose of this study was to identify general and special education teachers' understanding of professional learning communities (PLCs) at 2 public suburban elementary schools in the western United States. Both schools were in the second year of implementation of PLCs but seemed to be using PLC time to plan lessons. This quantitative descriptive survey sought to to identify the teachers' overall understanding of the 6 dimensions of the Professional Learning Communities Assessment - Revised (PLCA-R) and to determine if there was a difference between general and special education teachers' perceptions of PLCs. This survey was administered to general and special education teachers who had at least 3 years of teaching experience and at least 1 year of participation in a PLC. A total of 23 general education teachers and 10 special education teachers participated. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data from the 6 dimensions and the PLCA-R. The results indicated that both groups understood the PLC process and had favorable perceptions of PLCs. The results of the ANOVA for each of the 7 hypotheses showed that there was no significant difference between general and special education teachers' perceptions of PLCs. The dissemination of results will help administrators focus on the 6 dimensions of a PLC to provide teachers with an in-depth understanding of PLCs, which can help students to achieve their potential.

Critical Friends Groups (CFGs) were established in 1995 as a form of professional development for teachers. The current study employed the use of video as a medium for documenting the effects of CFG participation on teaching practices. This allowed links to be drawn between CFG participation and teaching practice, a critical gap in the literature. This qualitative case study drew upon Knowles’s Adult Learning Theory to help provide a framework for thinking about Critical Friends Groups and analyzing the findings. The 9 participants in this study included 1 third grade Early Intervention Program teacher and 8 CFG members from an urban elementary school. Multiple data sources were analyzed including classroom teaching practice videos, focal teacher's and CFG members’ written reflections, CFG meeting verbatim transcriptions, focal teacher and CFG member interviews, and researcher memos. Data analysis was iterative and axial coding led to a code book depicting the final 6 key themes: change in teacher attitude toward the use of video, shared teaching practice, pedagogical-driven conversations, change in pupil engagement, captured classroom practice and promotion of teacher reflection. Barriers to the use of video in a CFG included logistics and teacher resistance. The researcher used data triangulation, member-checking and an audit trail to assure the trustworthiness of the study. Teachers reported that they learned from watching one another’s practices and from discussing each other’s ideas. The use of video in this study appeared to offer a viable innovation in an already prevalent model of professional development, CFGs. Video appeared to have much potential at the in-service level as it helped to cultivate knowledge, skills, and attitudes among teachers.

Some research suggests that development of professional learning communities might be the organizational strategy that could make school reform more successful. While most schools have not institutionalized the essential components of learning organizations, studies have demonstrated that these attributes must be developed if professional staffs are to realize the full benefit of organizational learning and in the process, create a context of improvement. The primary intent of this study was to learn and understand how principal behaviors influenced the development of shared leadership, shared vision, and supportive conditions; three essential dimensions of professional learning communities. Secondly, this study investigated how these conditions differed among schools which have and have not sustained high levels of student learning. Understanding the influence of principal leadership on conditions for organizational learning can be partially understood through either quantitative or qualitative methods. From this perspective, the mixed methods design utilized in this study allowed both qualitative and quantitative data to be analyzed and interpreted as evidence in understanding the study's problem. Principal and teacher focus-group interviews were used to create a deeper understanding of how principals worked to create conditions for organizational learning. Kouzes and Posner's (2002) Leadership Practices Inventory - Self and Observer Forms were utilized to identify, describe, and measure the perceived leadership practices of principals. The findings of this investigation suggest that principal leadership is a key factor in creating conditions for organizational learning and sustaining high levels of student achievement. Principals in this study who effectively identified and modeled espoused values were perceived to be highly visionary and appeared more effective at sharing leadership, inspiring vision, and creating supportive conditions. Principals who were able to develop a shared vision among staff created strong collaborative cultures characterized by an uncompromised focus on student learning. The findings of this study also indicated that principals who effectively Model the Way, Inspire a Shared Vision, and Enable Others to Act, distributed leadership among staff and demonstrated a systems orientation to leading.

Thesis (Ed.D.)-California State University San Marcos ; University of California, San Diego, 2010. / Abstract: leaves ix-xi. Committee members: Katherine Hayden (chair), Jennifer Jeffries, Alan Daly. Bibliography: leaves 184-190. Also issued online

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Virginia Commonwealth University, 2009. / Prepared for: School of Education. Title from title-page of electronic thesis. Bibliography: leaves 112-123.