| Researchers have identified teaching quality as a significant factor in increasing student academic achievement (Berry & Wieder, 2009; Hord, 2009; Schmoker, 2005; Waters, 2011). Educational leaders have therefore sought ways to improve teachers' pedagogy. One popular method for doing so has been to implement Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) in schools (DuFour, 2004). Researchers have described ways school-level administrators and teachers work to sustain improvement efforts associated with PLC implementation, such as sharing responsibility for decision-making at all times; continuously setting new, more rigorous goals for teacher and student learning; and by challenging all teachers to continually implement new learning in the classroom (Pankake, Abrego, & Moller, 2010).;The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which teachers and school-level administrators in a school district in South Louisiana implemented each of the domains associated with PLCs and to determine differences that existed between a school experienced in PLC implementation and other schools in that district. These domains included Shared and Supportive Leadership, Shared Values and Vision, Collective Learning and Application, Shared Personal Practice, Supportive Conditions -- Relationships, and Supportive Conditions -- Structures (Hipp & Huffman, 2010; Olivier & Hipp, 2010).;A modified version of the Professional Learning Communities Assessment - Revised (PLCA-R) (Olivier & Hipp, 2010) was administered to teachers and school-level administrators at all schools in this district. The PLCA-R was modified to reflect only the frequency with which behaviors associated with the domains of PLCs existed in the schools. Based on the survey results, schools were categorized as being in the Not Initiating, Somewhat Initiating, Initiating, Somewhat Implementing, Implementing, or Sustaining phase of PLC development.;The results indicated that in all but one domain (i.e., Shared and Supportive Leadership), schools were in the Implementing phase of PLC development. In the domain of Shared and Supportive Leadership, schools were in the Somewhat Implementing phase of development. Total mean scores indicated that groups of schools that differed based on years of experience in developing PLCs were in the Implementing phase. Differences in mean scores were non-significant for all but two subscales (i.e., Shared Values and Vision and Collective Learning and Application). |
