Thesis (M.S.)--Eastern Michigan University, 2000. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 63-67).

Thesis (M.S.)--Eastern Michigan University, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 63-67).

Doctor of Philosophy / Curriculum and Instruction Programs / Debbie Mercer / The Professional Learning Community (PLC) is a model of collaborative professional development that involves teachers and administrators working together on an ongoing basis to develop shared visions, plans, goals, resources, and ideas in order to increase student learning. Research indicates that students in schools with teacher PLCs are significantly more academically successful than students in schools that do not have PLCs. The teachers in PLCs also report positive benefits. There are six equally important dimensions of an effective PLC: shared and supportive leadership; shared beliefs, values and vision; collective learning and application of learning; supportive conditions (both structural and relational), and shared personal practice (Hord & Sommers, 2008). The purpose of this study was to explore perceptions of kindergarten teachers through the use of a survey and to further explore how two kindergarten teachers in Dammam describe their experiences of the conditions needed for implementing PLCs in their schools through personal interviews. The design of this study was mixed methods research conducted via a survey (questionnaire) and personal interviews. The data analysis suggests that the overall PLC dimensions in kindergartens in Dammam are somewhat supportive of PLCs. In the quantitative analysis, the mean scores ranged from 2.88 for Shared and Supportive Leadership to 3.15 for Shared Personal Practice (on a scale of 0-5). In the qualitative analysis, the participants’ descriptions of their experiences indicated that Shared Values and Vision was the weakest dimension. Keywords: professional learning community, kindergarten, conditions for PLC, Dammam, Saudi Arabia

In response to increasing demands placed on public education, Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) have emerged as a means of providing teachers with opportunities to collaborate together. Collaboration has been shown to improve teaching practices and lead to better student outcomes. Trust has been shown to be an important factor contributing to the success of PLC teams. Adherence to collaborative norms is also an important factor in the ability to collaborate successfully in PLC teams, yet few studies exist that empirically assess the relationship between trust and adherence to norms regarding the collaboration process. Participants in this study are public high school teachers, grades 9–12, who on average have been working together in their current PLC team for over three and a half years. Team trust is measured by established tool developed by Costa and Anderson (2011) based upon 4 dimensions of team trust including both psychological (propensity to trust and perceived trustworthiness) and behavioral (cooperating and monitoring behaviors) dimensions. The tool used to measure adherence to PLC team norms was based upon the Meeting Inventory by Garmston and Wellman (2009) and The Collaborative PLC Norming Tool developed by Jolly (2008). These instruments were used with permission, and some survey items were generated by the author. Multiple regression analyses assessed the strength of the relationship between PLC team trust and team norms. Four dimensions of team trust were examined by confirmatory factor analyses: Propensity to Trust, Perceived Trustworthiness, Cooperating Behaviors, and Monitoring Behaviors. All 4 showed a good fit. Team adherence to 3 different types of collaborative team norms was examined by confirmatory factor analyses: Teacher Dialogue, Decision Making, and Norms of Enforcement. All 3 outcomes showed a good model fit. Findings showed gender within the norms of enforcement regression model to be the only significant demographic variable. All 4 dimensions of team trust were significantly and positively related to adherence to norms of teacher dialogue at the bivariate level. Both significant positive and negative correlations exist between dimensions of team trust. When examined collectively, Perceived Trustworthiness and Cooperating Behaviors are directly related to adherence to Teacher Dialogue norms, whereas Propensity to Trust and Monitoring Behaviors have an indirect impact. This study confirms a positive relationship between the two constructs and presents the value of both direct and indirect relationships amongst the psychological and behavioral dimensions of team trust in impacting adherence to collaborative PLC team norms. Teachers and administrators who are aiming to improve or sustain high quality collaboration within PLC teams would do well to focus on Perceived Trustworthiness and Cooperating Behaviors, as those dimensions of team trust are directly related to adherence to collaborative team norms.

The purpose of this study was to investigate teacher perceptions of Collaborative Inquiry embedded in a Professional Learning Community during departmental collaboration time and to explore the elements deemed most important to creating and/or maintaining this collaboration model at Lennox Charter High School. Teachers at Lennox Charter High School participated in this study. This mixed-methods case study triangulated survey, focus group, interview, and observation data to examine departmental collaboration and to define the elements most important to maintaining and improving Collaborative Inquiry at Lennox Charter High School. These elements were explored through the lens of research on Professional Learning Communities and Collaborative Inquiry. Specifically, data were examined with respect to the five themes of PLC work. These themes included context, challenge, capacity, commitments, and balancing content and process. A close examination of the data with respect to these themes revealed key take-aways for Lennox Charter High School; namely, that the school needed to bolster the data analysis aspect of Collaborative Inquiry, limit the scope of collaborative work, and endeavor to retain effective teachers so that teams had continuity and could more effectively engage veteran teachers in collaborative work. Using these recommendations would allow Lennox Charter High School to improve professional collaboration, engender meaningful teacher learning, and support equitable student achievement.

The role of the principal has become increasingly complex and challenging. Recent emphasis has been placed on the role of principals as leaders who can build a culture of learning in schools to close the student achievement gap. Outside factors such as fast-growth in Texas have caused schools to change and grow quickly, which increases the learning demands placed on principals as they seek to develop the knowledge and skills needed for effective leadership. Developing and sustaining a professional learning community is a powerful strategy that has been found to improve teaching and learning, however developing professional learning communities requires skilled leadership. Limited research exists regarding how principals learn to implement and sustain professional learning communities within fast-growth districts, therefore, with this phenomenological qualitative research, I explored the lived experiences of seven principals within one fast-growth district in Texas to explore how they learned to develop and sustain a professional learning community.

Schools are experiencing many reform initiatives, yet creating positive school climates as a way to promote increased student achievement has been omitted from the policy discussion. Whether the professional learning community (PLC) construct can predict school climate is a gap in the current literature. Using change theory and distributed leadership as a framework, the purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the relationships between the dimensions of a PLC (shared values and vision, intentional learning and application, supportive and shared leadership, supportive conditions and shared personal practice) and school climate variables (academic emphasis, initiating structure, consideration and morale). Four multiple regression models were used to analyze data collected from the Organizational Health Inventory and School Professional Staff as Learning Community (SPSaLC) survey (n = 131). According to the study results, there is a relationship between the dimensions of a PLC and school climate variables. Based on the regression analysis, shared values and vision significantly predicted academic emphasis, intentional learning and application significantly predicted morale, supportive and shared leadership significantly predicted consideration and initiating structure, supportive conditions significantly predicted consideration and morale, and shared personal practice significantly predicted consideration. The result of distributing leadership through the PLC structure can improve school climate. These findings promote positive social change through the analysis of this relationship, a first of its kind. School leaders looking to create PLCs with the intent of improving both student achievement and school climate will directly benefit from this research.

This study explored the phenomenon of first year students who lived in a nursing living learning community and their experiences during their first year. The researcher utilized a qualitative research methodology to investigate the social and academic aspects that influenced these students as they worked to prepare to apply to the nursing program on their way to becoming nurses. Of the 68 students who lived in the community in the first two years, 12 were interviewed in a face-to-face setting. The researcher used Tuckman’s Stages of Group Development as the framework for this study, recognizing that groups go through several stages depending on the length of time that the group is together. The participants’ experiences were examined on a group and individual level, in order to fully understand their experiences in the community, including their persistence through applying to and enrolling in the nursing program. This study brought voice to the experiences of the students, helping to understand why they came together, how the community developed, and what lessons the students took away from living in this community. It was made clear during the interviews that the students chose to live in the community where they would be surrounded by students with the same goals. They also felt very strongly about academics taking a priority over social events, and believed that the community should have a second semester common course to keep the students working together throughout the duration of the first year.

The study was conducted to determine if there were any statistically significant differences in student achievement as measured by the 10th-grade Reading and Mathematics Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) at the school level between the configurations of high schools, controlling for the percentage of minority population and SES. A total of 259 large public high schools within Florida were used in the study; 149 traditional schools and 110 large schools using small learning communities. Because prior researchers have indicated that the number of low SES students and the percentage of minority students can have an effect on student achievement, these covariates were controlled for in this study. There was a significant difference in the FCAT Mathematics scores of students based on school configuration. Those students who attended traditional high schools scored higher than those in the smaller learning communities. There was a similar finding in the FCAT Reading scores, but it was only marginally significant. The interaction between the percentage of the minority population and low SES population was also evaluated, but no significant interaction was found. A qualitative survey was also sent to administrators at schools who were involved in the study. In direct contradiction to the quantitative study results, the vast majority of respondents thought that the use of a small learning community would increase student achievement. With the advent of Common Core in Mathematics and Language Arts, this iv research lends itself to be expanded on a national level to determine if a larger sample size would yield the same or differing results.

Yonkman and Bridgeland (2009) and Nesbit (2011) have each offered studies in recent years in which military veterans reported possessing skills and values that facilitate civic engagement. I investigated these claims by exploring basic training in one branch of the United States (U.S.) military, the Marine Corps. I conducted semi-structured, in-depth interviews with 10 enlisted Marine Corps veterans and 7 drill instructors to ascertain their perceptions regarding the didactic aspirations and pedagogies of their service's basic training related to skills and values development. I utilized a civic capacities model developed by Verba, Schlozman, and Brady (1995) and Kirlin (2003) to examine whether Marines' entry training could be classified as civic in character. According to this study/s participants, Marine Corps Basic Training did teach skills and values that qualify as civic dispositions. I also explored several pedagogical strategies utilized by the Marines, such as learning communities, role modeling, narrative pedagogy and the use of a capstone exercise, which could be applied by civic educators. Topics for future research of the sort undertaken here include both national and international comparative studies of entry-level military training, the effects of combat on veterans' civic dispositions and whether and how community involvement can aid in veterans' transitions to civilian life. / Ph. D.