Term of Award
Winter 2023
Degree Name
Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)
Document Type and Release Option
Dissertation (open access)
Copyright Statement / License for Reuse
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Department
College of Education
Committee Chair
Juliann Sergi McBrayer
Committee Member 1
Cordelia Zinskie
Committee Member 2
Kitty Crawford
Abstract
ABSTRACT
As schools face increasing accountability, many have turned to professional learning communities (PLCs) as a possible solution. The challenge is that many schools are not implementing PLCs with fidelity. It is imperative that school leaders assess PLC practices to ensure that critical components are being implemented effectively. This research provides a framework for school leaders to assess school leader, teacher, and support staff perceptions of various PLC dimensions. Descriptive statistics were used to determine levels of agreement with statements related to six PLC dimensions. A one-way univariate analysis of variance tests (ANOVA) was used to analyze differences in mean responses by participants to determine if and how perceptions of PLC practices varied. Additionally, open-ended responses were analyzed to determine themes and patterns regarding the influence of PLCs on teacher retention and collective teacher efficacy. The results indicated that while PLCs were being implemented with fidelity, there were differences in perceptions based on participants’ role and grade cluster. Additionally, findings indicated that teacher retention and collective teacher efficacy are both strongly influenced by effective PLC implementation. Future research is needed to determine if the findings hold true among suburban and urban schools across other parts of the United States and why perceptions vary among participants.
Recommended Citation
Thigpen, William W. II, "Assessing the Fidelity of School-Level Professional Learning Community Implementation" (2023). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 2668.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd/2668
Research Data and Supplementary Material
No
Revised Based on ETD feedback
Included in
Early Childhood Education Commons, Educational Leadership Commons, Elementary Education Commons
