College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Term of Award

Spring 2026

Degree Name

Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership (Ed.D.)

Document Type and Release Option

Dissertation (open access)

Copyright Statement / License for Reuse

Digital Commons@Georgia Southern License

Department

College of Education

Committee Chair

Juliann Sergi McBrayer

Committee Member 1

Kitty Crawford

Committee Member 2

Richard Cleveland

Abstract

As school leaders strive to achieve educational success at all levels in schools, this research provided educational professionals with feedback on how the implementation of professional learning communities (PLCs) is perceived as influencing school culture. The purpose of this non-experimental quantitative survey design was to examine how educators perceived that school culture is influenced by the practice of PLCs. Descriptive statistics were calculated for 57 survey items. This research design provided the perceptions of school leaders, teachers, and support staff at the elementary, middle, and high school levels based on five identified dimensions of the Professional Learning Community Assessment – Revised (PLCA-R) instrument. The dimensions were (1) Shared and Supportive Leadership, (2) Shared Values and Vision, (3) Collective Learning and Application, (4) Shared Personal Practice, and (5) Supportive Conditions – Relationships and Structures. A one-way univariate analysis of variance (ANOVA) test for the five PLC dimensions was conducted, and the analysis utilized demographic survey items as the independent variable and varied demographic qualifiers as the dependent variable. The findings of the study indicated that the educators perceived that the implementation of PLCs influences school culture. This study allows future educators to examine the fidelity of PLCs in elementary, middle, and high schools in their own districts.

INDEX WORDS: Professional Learning Community Assessment-Revised (PLCA-R), professional learning communities, school climate, educational leadership

OCLC Number

1588665102

Research Data and Supplementary Material

No

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