Theses and Dissertations

Date of Award

2012

Document Type

Dissertation - NSU Access Only

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Abraham S. Fischler College of Education and School of Criminal Justice

Advisor

Patrick Chambers

Committee Member

Allen Eury

Committee Member

Ronald P. Kern

Keywords

Professional Development, Sustainability, Collaboration, Communities of Practice, Teacher Isolation

Abstract

This purpose of this applied dissertation was to provide school leaders with information to guide decisions about professional learning communities (PLCs) in elementary and middle schools. A sample group of secondary and elementary teachers and principals provided their perceptions of the implementation and subsequent sustainability of PLCs in an urban school district challenged with teacher and principal mobility. Sixteen of 45 schools in the large, southern school district gained new principals within 3 years of learning community implementation. In addition, the teacher mobility rate of 13.7% exceeded the state average of 11.8% (Texas Education Agency, 2010). Although it had been 6 years since the school district implemented teachers‘ learning communities, the school district had not measured the implementation and subsequent sustainability of PLCs. Because establishing PLCs entailed transforming the traditional culture of schools to a collaborative culture, changes in campus leadership and in teacher membership of learning communities might have influenced sustainability. Results of the study provided information to implement, support, and sustain learning communities in the target school district and similar school settings

The researcher utilized nonexperimental, mixed-methods research. Instruments included a 52-item Likert-type survey for quantitative data and, simultaneously, provided 9 open ended probes for qualitative data. Participants were a probalistic sample of veteran and novice teachers and administrators from 30 elementary and 10 middle schools. Dissemination of the survey instrument occurred through the U.S. mail, and return of completed surveys packets in self-addressed, stamped envelopes occurred through a 3rd party administrator to ensure anonymity. Quantitative comparative analysis of teachers‘ and administrators‘ perceptions included descriptive statistics such as mean, standard deviation, frequency, one-way analysis of variance, and post hoc Tukey honestly significance difference tests of multiple comparisons. Multiple analyses of the qualitative responses to the open-ended probes included grounded theory strategies with open coding in addition to axial and select coding to determine categories, patterns, and relationships.

Results of the study focused on successful implementation and sustainability of the 5 PLC dimensions. Of the PLC dimensions, quantitative data indicated that the target school district successfully implemented and sustained 1 of 5 dimensions: the teachers‘ collective learning and application of learning. Furthermore, application of grounded theory coding and survey data indicated that principals‘ limited participatory leadership practices may have negatively influenced the implementation and sustainability of PLC dimensions, especially in elementary schools.

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