Abstract
A professional learning community (PLC) facilitates collaborative learning among colleagues at all levels in their common working environment. PLCs are particularly useful in schools, with teachers and principals meeting regularly to solve problems relating to teaching and learning. Being a means of improving student achievement, PLCs have received growing support from researchers and practitioners alike, yet some professionals are still exploring ways to develop learning networks focusing on teaching and learning issues. The purpose of this study was to examine Israeli teachers’, principals’, and superintendents’ perceptions of inhibiting and fostering factors of the PLC. In this qualitative, topic-oriented study, face-to-face interviews were conducted with 15 teachers from elementary, middle and secondary schools and their respective principals (15) and superintendents (15). Generating themes was inductive, grounded in the perspectives articulated by participants. The principals and the teachers indicated that overload, a lack of resources and top-down commands were PLC-inhibiting factors. The superintendents saw the principal’s leadership style as a main PLC-fostering factor. Understanding how these three echelons in the school system perceive the inhibiting and fostering factors of a PLC could indicate whether and how this collaborative learning process can be nurtured and sustained in schools.
Résumé
La perception des cercles d’échange professionnel chez les inspecteurs, directeurs et enseignants israéliens – Les cercles d’échange professionnel facilitent l’apprentissage mutuel entre collègues de tous niveaux sur leur lieu de travail habituel. Ces cercles sont particulièrement efficaces dans les établissements scolaires, car enseignants et directeurs se réunissent régulièrement pour résoudre les difficultés d’enseignement et d’apprentissage. Considérés comme un moyen d’améliorer les performances des élèves, ils bénéficient d’un soutien croissant de la part tant des chercheurs que des praticiens, même si certains professionnels continuent à explorer les moyens de développer les réseaux éducatifs axés sur les questions d’enseignement et d’apprentissage. Cette étude avait pour objectif d’examiner la perception des facteurs entravant ou favorisant ces cercles chez les enseignants, chefs d’établissement et inspecteurs israéliens. Dans le cadre de cette recherche qualitative et thématique, des entretiens en face à face ont été menés avec 15 enseignants d’établissements primaires et secondaires des premiers et seconds cycles, ainsi qu’avec leurs 15 directeurs et 15 inspecteurs respectifs. La production des thèmes était inductive, fondée sur les perspectives exprimées par les participants. Les directeurs et enseignants ont mentionné à titre de facteurs défavorables à ces cercles le surmenage, un manque de ressources et les ordres imposés par la hiérarchie. Les inspecteurs voient le principal facteur positif dans le style de direction du chef d’établissement. Une étude consistant à cerner comment ces trois échelons du système scolaire perçoivent les facteurs favorables et défavorables aux cercles d’échange professionnel pourrait révéler si, et dans l’affirmative par quels moyens, ce processus d’apprentissage mutuel peut être enrichi et soutenu dans les établissements scolaires.
Zusammenfassung
Was bringen professionelle Lerngemeinschaften für israelische Schulinspektor(inn)en, Schulleiter(innen) und Lehrkräfte? – Eine professionelle Lerngemeinschaft (PLG) erleichtert das gemeinsame Lernen von Kolleginnen und Kollegen auf allen Ebenen ihrer gemeinsamen Arbeitsumgebung. Besonders vorteilhaft sind PLGs in Schulen, wo sich Lehrkräfte und Schulleitung regelmäßig treffen, um sich mit der Lösung von Unterrichtsproblemen zu befassen. Als Instrument zur Verbesserung des Schulerfolgs werden PLGs sowohl von Wissenschaftlern als auch von Praktikern zunehmend begrüßt, doch bislang sondieren manche Fachleute noch Wege zur Entwicklung von Bildungsnetzwerken, die sich mit Unterrichtsfragen befassen. Die vorliegende Studie sollte ermitteln, durch welche Faktoren in den Augen israelischer Lehrkräfte, Schulleiter(innen) und Schulinspektor(inn)en PLGs behindert und durch welche sie begünstigt werden. In dieser qualitativen, themenorientierten Untersuchung wurden persönliche Interviews mit 15 Lehrkräften von Grund-, Mittel- und Sekundarschulen und ihren jeweiligen Schulleiter(inne)n (15) und Schulinspektor(inn)en (15) geführt. Die Themen wurden gemäß den von den Teilnehmenden geäußerten Sichtweisen induktiv entwickelt. Die Schulleiter(innen) und die Lehrkräfte nannten Überlastung, Ressourcenmangel und Top-down-Anordnungen als Hemmnisse für PLGs. Für die Schulinspektor(inn)en ist es vor allem der Führungsstil der Schulleiter(innen), der die Entstehung von PLGs begünstigt. Das Wissen darüber, welche Hemmnisse und welche begünstigenden Faktoren diese drei Ebenen des Schulsystems für PLGs erkennen, könnte Aufschluss darüber geben, ob und wie sich dieser gemeinsame Lernprozess in Schulen entwickeln und aufrechterhalten lässt.
Resumen
La comunidad profesional de aprendizaje, tal como la perciben los inspectores de escuela, los directores y los docentes israelíes – Una comunidad profesional de aprendizaje (CPA) facilita el aprendizaje en la cooperación, entre colegas de todos los niveles, en su entorno de trabajo común. Las CPA son particularmente útiles en escuelas, cuando docentes y directores se reúnen a intervalos regulares para resolver problemas relacionados con la enseñanza y el aprendizaje. La CPA, una forma de mejorar el rendimiento de los alumnos, ha recibido un creciente apoyo, tanto por parte de los investigadores como de los que la ponen en práctica, si bien algunos profesionales siguen explorando la manera de desarrollar redes de aprendizaje enfocadas en temas de enseñanza y aprendizaje. La finalidad de este estudio reside en examinar las percepciones de docentes, directores e inspectores de escuela israelíes en cuanto a los factores inhibidores y promovedores del CPA. En este estudio cualitativo, centrado en temas específicos, se realizaron entrevistas personales con 15 docentes de escuelas primarias, medias y secundarias y con sus correspondientes directores (15) e inspectores (15). Los directores y los docentes indicaron que la sobrecarga, la falta de recursos y las órdenes impartidas de arriba hacia abajo son factores que inhiben a la CPA, mientras que los inspectores de escuela consideraron que el estilo de liderazgo de los directores era el principal factor promovedor de la CPA. La comprensión de cómo estos tres niveles profesionales del sistema escolar perciben los factores inhibidores y promotores de un CPA podría indicar si y cómo puede cultivarse y mantenerse en las escuelas este proceso de aprendizaje en cooperación.
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Schechter, C. The professional learning community as perceived by Israeli school superintendents, principals and teachers. Int Rev Educ 58, 717–734 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11159-012-9327-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11159-012-9327-z