Abstracts
Abstract
In this discussion of professional learning communities (PLCs) in North American public schools, we examine three theoretical frames – leadership, organization, and culture. Issues related to learning are infused throughout our presentation of the frames. Based on our analysis of the current literature on this topic, PLCs offer a promising tool for system-wide change and collaborative mentorship in public schools. Implications for collaborative mentorship within PLCs are uncovered in relation to the professional learning of teachers and leaders and their community development. We dovetail the literature on learning, learning communities, and mentoring in order to identify such expanded possibilities for school teams that are supported by practical examples of change.
Résumé
Au sein de cette discussion sur les communautés d’apprentissages professionnelles (CAPs) dans les écoles publiques nord-américaines, nous faisons l’examen du phénomène via trois cadres théoriques – le leadership, l’organisation et la culture. Les problématiques reliées à l’apprentissage sont également introduites à travers les mêmes cadres. Suite à notre analyse de la littérature courante sur le sujet, les CAPs semblent un outil prometteur pour faciliter des changements systémiques étendus et des initiatives de mentorats collaboratifs dans les écoles publiques. Les tenants et aboutissants du mentorat collaboratifs sont dévoilés en mettant en évidence leurs liens avec les apprentissages professionnels des enseignants et des leaders en regard du développement de leur communauté. Ce faisant, nous combinons la littérature sur l’apprentissage, les communautés d’apprentissages et le mentorat afin d’identifier de nouvelles possibilités pour les équipes-écoles qui sont appuyées par des expériences pratiques de changement.
Download the article in PDF to read it.
Download
Appendices
Remerciements
We thank the reviewers for their helpful reviews of the earlier version of this article.
Notes biographiques
CAROL A. MULLEN is Chair and Professor in the School of Education, University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
DALE H. SCHUNK is Dean and Professor in the School of Education, University of North Carolina at Greensboro.
CAROL A. MULLEN est présidente et professeur à l’École des sciences de l’éducation de l’Université de la Caroline du Nord à Greensboro.
DALE H. SCHUNK est recteur et professeur à l’École des sciences de l’éducation de l’Université de la Caroline du Nord à Greensboro.
Bibliographie
- Allen, T. D., & Eby, L. T. (Eds.). (2007). TheBlackwell handbook of mentoring: A multiple perspectives approach. Malden, MA: Blackwell.
- Allen, T. D., & Poteet, M. L. (1999). Developing effective mentoring relationships: Strategies from the mentor’s viewpoint. Career Development Quarterly, 48, 59–73.
- Aubusson, P., Steele, F., Dinham, S., & Brady, L. (2007). Action learning in teacher learning community formation: Informative or transformative? Teacher Development, 11(2), 133–148.
- Bullough, R. V., Jr., & Baugh, S. C. (2008). Building professional learning communities within a university–public school partnership. Theory Into Practice, 47(4), 286–293.
- Cooper, C. W., Allen, R. M., & Bettez, S. C. (2009). Forming culturally responsive learning communities in demographically changing schools. In C. A. Mullen (Ed.), The handbook of leadership and professional learning communities (pp. 103–114). New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
- Darling-Hammond, L. (2006). Constructing 21st-century teacher education. Journal of Teacher Education, 57(3), 300–314.
- Deal, T. E., & Peterson, K. D. (2009). Shaping school culture: Pitfalls, paradoxes, & promises (2nd ed.). San Francisco: John Wiley & Sons.
- Dewey, J. (1956/1991). The school and society & the child and the curriculum. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
- Donahoo, S., & Hunter, R. C. (Eds.). (2007). Teaching leaders to lead teachers: Educational administration in the era of constant crisis, 10. Oxford, UK: Elsevier Science.
- Drago-Severson, E. (2004). Helping teachers learn: Principal leadership for adult growth and development. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.
- DuFour, R. (2004). Schools as learning communities. Educational Leadership, 61(8), 6–11.
- DuFour, R., DuFour, R., & Eaker, R. (2008). Revisiting professional learning communities at work: New insights for improving schools. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree.
- DuFour, R., Eaker, R., & DuFour, R. (Eds.). (2005). On common ground: The power of professional learning communities. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree.
- Ellinger, A. D. (2002). Mentoring in contexts: The workplace and educational institutions. In C. A. Hansman (Ed.), Critical perspectives on mentoring: Trends and issues (pp. 15–26). ERIC Clearinghouse on Adult, Career, and Vocational Education. (ED99CO0013).
- Fullan, M. (2005). Leadership and sustainability: Systems thinkers in action. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.
- Fullan, M., & Hargreaves, A. (1991). What’s worth fighting for in your school? New York: Teachers College Press.
- Glickman, C. D. (1998). Revolutionizing America’s schools. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
- Goodlad, J. I. (2004). Romances with schools: A life of education. New York: McGraw-Hill.
- Greeno, J. G., Collins, A., M., & Resnick, L. B. (1996). Cognition and learning. In D. C. Berliner, R. C. Calfee, & G. Phye (Eds.), Handbook of educational psychology (pp. 15–46). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
- Gupton, S. L. (2003). The instructional toolbox. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.
- Hansman, C. A. (2003). Power and learning in mentoring relationships. In R. Cervero, B. Courtenay, & M. Hixson (Eds.), Global perspectives, 3 (pp. 102–122). Athens, GA: University of Georgia. Retrieved November 25, 2009, from http://www.coe.uga.edu/hsp/pdf
- Head, F. A., Reiman, A. J., & Thies-Sprinthall, L. (1992). The reality of mentoring: Complexity in its process and function. In T. Bey, & C. T. Holmes (Eds.), Mentoring: Contemporary principles and issues (pp. 5–34). Reston, VA: Association of Teacher Educators.
- Hirsh, S. (2003). Dollars and sense. Journal of Staff Development, 24(3), 8–47.
- Hoffman-Kipp, P. (2003). Model activity systems: Dialogic teacher learning for social justice teaching. Teacher Education Quarterly, 30(2), 27–39.
- Hord, S. M., Roussin, J. L., & Sommers, W. A. (2010). Guiding professional learning communities: inspiration, challenge, surprise, and meaning. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.
- Jandt, F. E. (2010). An introduction to intercultural communication: Identities in a global community (6th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
- Johnson, W. B. (2006). On being a mentor: A guide for higher education faculty. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
- Johnson, B. L., Jr. (2009). Understanding schools as organizations: Implications for realizing professional learning communities. In C. A. Mullen (Ed.), The handbook of leadership and professional learning communities (pp. 17–28). New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
- Khurana, R. (2002). Searching for a corporate savior: The irrational quest for charismatic CEOs. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
- Klein, E. J. (2008). Learning, unlearning, and relearning: Lessons from one school’s approach to creating and sustaining learning communities. Teacher Education Quarterly, 35(1), 79–97.
- Leithwood, K. A., Aitken, R., & Jantzi, D. (2006). Making schools smarter: A system for monitoring school and district progress (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.
- Lowe, K. B., Kroeck, K. G., & Sivasubramaniam, N. (1996). Effectiveness correlates of transformational and transactional leadership: A meta-analytic review. TheLeadership Quarterly, 7(3), 385–425.
- Matthews, J. L., Crow, G. M., Matthews, J. (2009). The principalship: New roles in a professional learning community. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
- McLaughlin, M. W., & Talbert, J. E. (2001). Professional communities and the work of high school teaching. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
- Moyer, P. S., Dockery, K., Jamieson, S., & Ross, J. (2006). Code RED (remediation and enrichment days): The complex journey of a school and university partnership’s process to increase mathematics achievement. Action in Teacher Education,28(4), 75–91.
- Mullen, C. A. (2005). Mentorship primer. New York: Peter Lang.
- Mullen, C. A. (2008). Democratically accountable leader/ship: A social justice perspective of educational quality and practice. Teacher Education Quarterly, 35(4), 137-153.
- Mullen, C. A. (Ed.). (2009). The handbook of leadership and professional learning communities. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
- Mullen, C. A., & Hutinger, J. L. (2008). The principal’s role in fostering collaborative learning communities through faculty study group development. Theory Into Practice, 47(4), 276–285.
- Mullen, B., Migdal, M. J., & Rozell, D. (2003). Self-awareness, deindividuation, and social identity: Unraveling theoretical paradoxes by filling empirical lacunae. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 29, 1071–1081.
- Murphy, C. U., & Lick D. W. (2005). Whole-faculty study groups (3rd. ed). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.
- Nora, A., & Crisp, G. (2008). Mentoring students: Conceptualizing and validating the multi-dimensions of a support system. Journal of College Student Retention, 9, 337-356.
- Ontario Ministry of Education, The. (2005). Education for all: The report of the expert panel on literacy and numeracy instruction for students with special education needs, kindergarten to grade 6. Retrieved November 25, 2009, from http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/document
- Richardson, J. (2007). Dynamic groups: Teachers harness the power of professional learning communities. The Learning Principal, 2(6), 1, 6–7.
- Rix, M., & Gold, J. (2000). ‘With a little help from my academic friend’: Mentoring change agents. Mentoring & Tutoring: Partnership in Learning, 8(1), 47–62.
- Saphier, J. (2005). Masters of motivation. In R. DuFour, R. Eaker, & R. DuFour (Eds.), On common ground: The power of professional learning communities (pp. 85–113). Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree.
- Schunk, D. H. (2008). Learning theories: An educational perspective (5th ed.). Columbus, OH: Pearson.
- Schunk, D. H., & Pajares, F. (2009). Self-efficacy theory. In K. R. Wentzel & A. Wigfield (Eds.), Handbook of motivation at school (pp. 35–53). New York: Routledge.
- Shields, C. M, & Mohan, E. J. (2008). High-quality education for all students: Putting social justice at its heart. Teacher Development, 12(4), 289–300.
- Shroyer, G., Yahnke, S., Bennett, A., & Dunn, C. (2007). Simultaneous renewal through professional development school partnerships. Journal of Educational Research, 100(4), 211–224.
- Smylie, M. (1997). Research on teacher leadership: Assessing the state of the art. In B. J. Biddle (Ed.), International handbook of teachers and teaching (pp. 521–592). Netherlands: Kluwer.
- Stewart, J. (2006). Transformational leadership: An evolving concept examined through the works of Burns, Bass, Avolio, and Leithwood. Canadian Journal of Educational Administration and Policy, 54, 1–29. Retrieved November 23, 2009, from http://www.umanitoba.ca/publications/cjeap/pdf_files/stewart.pdf
- Stoll, L., Bolman, R., McMahon, A., Wallace, M., & Thomas, S. (2006). Professional learning communities: A review of the literature. Journal of Educational Change, 7(4), 221–258.
- Sudeck, M., Doolittle, V., & Rattigan, P. (2009). Professional development schools: Learning communities for leaders and teachers as change agents. In C. A. Mullen (Ed.), The handbook of leadership and professional learning communities (pp. 51–58). New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
- Tillman, L. (2006). Parental involvement. In F. M. English (Ed.), Encyclopedia of educational leadership and administration (pp. 727–729). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
- US Department of Education. (2010). Improving basic programs operated by local educational agencies. Retrieved February 18, 2010, from http://www2.ed.gov/programs/titleiparta/index.html
- Westat, R., & Policy Studies Associates. (2001). The longitudinal evaluation of school change and performance (LESCP) in Title I schools. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Office of the Deputy Secretary, Planning and Evaluation Service. Retrieved December 1, 2009, from http://www.ed.gov/offices/OUS/PES/esed/lescp_vol1.doc