| In this thesis, I discuss how teachers' professional relationships in four small learning communities (SLCs) serve as a primary mechanism for creating successful SLCs for students and teachers alike. I used a case study approach to consider through teacher interviews, observations of SLC meetings, and document analyses how smallness is not a panacea for problems that affect schools today; rather, creating small school models can only produce desired results through teachers in their respective small schools having a shared vision, high levels of collaboration, and participation in SLC-oriented professional development.; The findings indicate that professional relationships are one of the primary determinants of creating successful small school structures. Before these professional relationships can thrive, the mechanisms of SLC-oriented leadership within the school, geographical placement of the small schools, and mechanisms to measure students' results in SLCs must be in place. When those mechanisms are in place, it becomes possible for teachers to have a shared vision, engage in SLC-oriented professional development, and collaborate with one another on instructional issues and students' problems. Teachers are then able to have closer relationships among colleagues, but even closer relationships with students. At the conclusion of the thesis, I consider the alignment of my findings with Sergiovanni's (1994a) framework and propose my own framework for considering teachers' professional relationships. |
