The purpose of this study was to examine the implementation of professional learning communities which are a reform effort currently in middle level education. The researcher used an electronic survey to gather data to examine the extent to which a transformation from the traditional interdisciplinary team to a professional learning community was occurring. The Western Region of the Pennsylvania Middle School Association provided assistance in identifying a sample and accessing participants.
The researcher developed five research questions that guided the study. Research questions were designed to assist in determining what role the principal assumed in guiding and supporting the team within the building and how the principal functioned as a member of the team. Also, the research questions were designed to aid in determining what activities teams were presently engaged in and how those activities related to professional learning and an atmosphere of collegiality.
The results of the study demonstrated that a transformation was occurring as traditional interdisciplinary teams were operating within the context of professional learning communities. Furthermore, the results indicated the principal plays a vital role in supporting and nurturing this transformation and the principals actions correlate with the success or failure of a professional learning community. Principal support is needed in providing time for the community to meet, assisting the community in maintaining a focus on student achievement, remaining dedicated to the professional learning community therefore working to support their needs as the community develops.
These results support the need to further examine the role of professional learning communities in middle level education. Middle schools which currently contain interdisciplinary teams provide a natural setting in which to begin a professional learning community because the staff structure and teaming mentality already exist. However, further research would aid in determining the essential steps required to make the transformation from interdisciplinary team to professional learning community. This study suggests the transformation is possible given the proper support.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:PITT/oai:PITTETD:etd-11212009-153237 |
| Date | 10 December 2009 |
| Creators | Guarino, Joseph A |
| Contributors | Dr. Charlene Trovato, Dr. Otto Graf, Dr. Michael Gunzenhauser, Dr. Sean Hughes |
| Publisher | University of Pittsburgh |
| Source Sets | University of Pittsburgh |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.library.pitt.edu/ETD/available/etd-11212009-153237/ |
| Rights | unrestricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to University of Pittsburgh or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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