โมเดลเชิงสาเหตุของปัจจัยที่ส่งผลต่อทัศนคติในการใช้แนวคิดชุมชนแห่งการเรียนรู้วิชาชีพ (Professional Learning Community: PLC) ในการพัฒนาครูของข้าราชการครู ในพื้นที่กรุงเทพมหานคร

Professional learning communities are recognized as one of the most effective approaches for promoting the professional development of teachers. In the current complex and rapidly changing era, to facilitate the implementation of interdisciplinary curricula, Chinese schools have made tremendous efforts to enhance teacher professional development, particularly by establishing professional learning communities. Aiming to understand the operation of professional learning communities in interdisciplinary subjects in Chinese K-12 schools and to examine factors impacting the sustainable development of these professional learning communities, we conducted a case study on professional learning communities in the interdisciplinary subject of Education for International Understanding in Chengdu Horsens Primary School. As part of this study, we interviewed the principal, course director, seed teachers and teachers participating in the selected case. The research results demonstrated that the major factors impacting the sustainable development of professional learning communities in interdisciplinary subjects in Chinese K-12 schools include school structures and policies, school leadership, teachers’ professionalism and learning capacity and their sense of community. In addition, compared to traditional subject-based professional learning communities in China, professional learning communities in interdisciplinary subjects highlight a sense of community, which presents three distinctive features: a conflict-inclusive atmosphere, the coexistence of individual and shared visions and an emotional bonding identity. These three features also have a considerable impact on the sustainable development of professional learning communities in interdisciplinary subjects in Chinese K-12 schools.

Scholars have proposed that ‘the path to change in the classroom lies within and through’ more collaborative professional communities among teachers (McLaughlin and Talbert, 1993: 18). How do different approaches to developing collaborative professional communities impact experienced teachers and their ability to change? This article identifies differences between ‘teacher professional communities’ and ‘professional learning communities’. It then presents two case studies to explore the implications of these differences for experienced teachers engaged in school reform. Interview and observational data from two sites suggest that schools which nurture collaborative ‘teacher professional communities’ over time can create resources that help experienced teachers to change aspects of their work. Such resources include: norms promoting innovation; widely shared objectives; trust; continuity with the past; respect for experienced teachers; and traditions promoting morale. Schools that rapidly engineer a ‘professional learning community’ may lack such resources, reducing experienced teachers’ willingness and ability to change.

The qualitative research study explored Bangladeshi secondary science teacher’s experiences working in a professional learning community (PLC) in terms of enhancing professional knowledge in learning pedagogical content knowledge (PCK). The research questions that guided this study are: (1) What are the learning experiences of the secondary science teachers regarding their involvement in a Professional Learning Community (PLC) as a means of professional learning for enhancing their Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK)? (2) How do Secondary Science teachers apply their learning from Professional Learning Communities (PLC) to their teaching plans and practices through the Content Representation (CoRe) framework? (3) How do secondary science teachers use the knowledge gained from participation in a professional learning community (PLC) to design and implement effective teaching strategies in their classrooms? The study is based on a constructivist approach to learning, which views knowledge construction as a socially mediated process. Therefore, teachers’ experiences were collected as qualitative data through analyzing teachers’ lesson plans and self-reflective journals. As a result, the findings showed teacher’s enhanced professional knowledge working in a PLC in sizing up the topic, identifying the importance of the topic, exploring self-content knowledge relevant to the topic, knowing what learners might think, identifying contextual factors choosing the topic and examples, selecting more appropriate teaching-learning and assessment strategies. The findings of this study are expected to provide insights into how PLCs can be utilized to enhance secondary science teacher’s PCK knowledge. This study is significant as it contributes to the literature on professional development for science teachers and offers practical recommendations for improving science teacher’s professional knowledge in learning PCK. Teacher’s World: Journal of Education and Research, 49 (1), 155-174

In this paper I share some key principles and examples from the Data Informed Practice Improvement Project. The project develops an innovative model of mathematics teacher development, with three main strands: teachers work with data from their classrooms, they use this data to understand and engage with learner errors in mathematics, and they do this collectively in professional learning communities, with facilitation from members of the project team. I describe each of these strands and present three examples that show how the strands work together to support teacher learning in professional communities. These examples illuminate a key achievement of the project: a focus on learner errors in professional learning communities can develop powerful conceptual knowledge of mathematics among teachers at the same time as developing teachers' knowledge for teaching and teaching practices.

This study presents a systematic literature review of Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) in the professional development of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers. By analysing 25 empirical studies published between 2004 and 2024, the review examines the impacts, implementation dynamics, and contextual challenges of PLCs. The analysis identified three primary contributions of PLCs: enhancing instructional practices and pedagogical knowledge, fostering teacher self-efficacy and professional identity, and promoting collaborative cultures to mitigate professional isolation. Nevertheless, significant barriers – including hierarchical dynamics, time constraints, and sociocultural influences – impede meaningful collaboration. The review highlights a gap in understanding how contextual factors shape PLC effectiveness in diverse EFL settings. The findings emphasise the need for supportive institutional leadership, resource allocation, and the integration of digital tools to foster sustainable, inclusive PLC practices and improve educational quality. Recommendations are provided for policymakers, school leaders, and educators to design PLCs that align with local contexts while bridging the gap between innovative pedagogical strategies and the realities of EFL instruction.

The concept of professional learning communities (PLCs) has attracted global attention because of its significant role in facilitating teacher professional learning. While increasing efforts have been invested in building PLCs in many systems, few studies have investigated how teacher leaders lead and sustain PLCs. Drawing on qualitative findings from a Shanghai secondary school, this paper explores the role of teacher leaders in formal positions and their leadership practices in promoting teacher professional learning in PLCs in China. The analysis reveals that formally appointed teacher leaders are recognised based on their professional expertise, and they exercise strong professional-oriented leadership practices facilitating the subject-based PLC process. Further, positional and professional authority in teacher leadership are not mutually exclusive in the Chinese school context. The study argues that teacher leadership development has great potential for sustaining productive PLCs in the school setting.

Recently there has been growth in researching teacher agency. Some research has considered the relationship between teacher agency and professional learning. Similarly, there has been growing interest in professional learning communities as resources for professional learning. Connections have been made between professional learning communities and teacher agency, with professional learning communities seen as an affordance for the exercise of teacher agency. However, it has also been argued that there is little detailed evidence of what happens inside professional learning communities or of teacher agency in action. The research reported here focuses on a form of professional learning community from Scotland: Learning Rounds. It uses data from transcripts of post-classroom observation conversations to consider the extent to which Learning Rounds provide an affordance for teacher agency and the extent to which that affordance is utilised. This research makes a contribution in three ways: adding to an empirical understanding of what happens in professional learning communities; understanding how teacher agency is (or is not) exercised in practice; and considering what factors might affect the utilisation (or otherwise) of affordances for teacher agency. The article concludes with several recommendations for developing effective professional learning communities as an affordance for teacher agency.

This research aimed to investigate the innovative leadership factors and leader characteristics of school administrators in affecting teachers’ involvement in the professional learning community of primary education schools in Bangkok and its vicinity of Thailand. Hence, the researcher would shed light on a linear structural relationship model to examine the impacts of innovative leadership factors and leader characteristics of primary school administrators on teachers’ involvement in the professional learning community. A quantitative approach survey design was employed in this research. A total of 840 respondents responded to questionnaires in a proportional of two teachers to one school administrator from 280 primary schools. The respondents participated in a survey utilizing a multi-stage sampling technique. The researcher planned to test whether the identified innovative leadership factors and leader characteristics are fitting with empirical data as the key research output. The findings indicated that there was a total of five innovative leadership factors and three leader characteristics in a professional learning community model. The linear structural relationship model was supported to the empirical data, with χ2 = 42.321, df = 31, χ2 /df = 1.3652, CFI = 0.998, TLI = 0.997, RMSEA = 0.021, and SRMR = 0.01, p = 0.0845. In conclusion, the linear structural relationship model for primary school administrators has a goodness of fit with the attained data. Finally, the findings of this research have successfully proposed a linear structural relationship model that would be guidelines for a primary school administrator to develop his capabilities to promote a professional learning community.

Background Presently, models of professional development aimed at supporting teachers’ technology integration efforts are often short and decontextualized. With many schools across the country utilizing standards that require students to engage with digital tools, a situative model that supports building teachers’ knowledge within their classrooms is needed. Purpose of Study The purpose of this study was to examine how teachers’ instructional planning and delivery, as well as their perceptions of their proficiency with technology integration, changed when they participated in a model of technology-focused professional development titled the Technology Integration Planning Cycle Model of Professional Development. The researchers also examined the relationship between students’ (N = 1,335) digital literacy skills and teachers’ participation in the Technology Integration Planning Cycle Model of Professional Development. Program The TIPC Model of PD comprised whole-group professional development sessions, long-range planning, access to instructional coaches, professional learning communities, digital tool resources, observations with reflections, and a comprehensive project website. Research Design This mixed-methods study combined numerous quantitative and qualitative data sources and data analysis techniques to answer the research questions. Pre- and posttest comparisons were used to examine changes in students’ digital literacy skills and changes in teachers’ perceptions of their pedagogical expertise for integrating digital technology. Daily diaries, classroom observations, interviews, and field notes were analyzed to understand the role of the professional development in teachers’ instructional planning and their perceptions of their proficiency. Findings Results indicate that students in classrooms with participant teachers performed significantly better on a digital literacy assessment, the Survey of Internet Use and Online Reading, than did control group students. Selective exposure to digital tools, professional learning communities, and opportunities for reflection were the most transformative elements of this model for teachers. Teachers were better prepared to envision their roles in the classroom and the purposes for integrating technology because of the TIPC framework. Conclusions The results of this study provide important implications for professional development, particularly in regard to (1) providing a model in which to ground discussion and application of technology integration; (2) situating digital tools within context-driven instruction; and (3) using multiple modes of teacher engagement.

Professional learning communities are commonly as a viable model for on-going and productive teacher learning. However few studies have investigated how such communities develop to become fully functional and sustainable learning communities. This study investigated features of a developing teacher professional learning community and opportunities for learning. Five mathematics teachers in one township primary school in South Africa and the two authors of this paper constituted the professional learning community. Transcripts of the audio-recorded meetings constituted the data analysed in this paper. Data analysis was done using the critical incidence approach. The findings indicate that the teachers shifted from passive to more active participants. They gradually perceived themselves as a community, sharing thinking and co-creating new meanings collaboratively. The facilitators’ roles gradually shifted from leading and intervening and probing. Opportunities for learning were created with respect to knowledge of learners’ problem solving needs, and specific instructional practices to address those needs. The findings indicate that the development of effective and sustainable professional learning communities is a gradual process that takes time, and involves shifts in roles by both facilitators and teachers.

Physical education (PE) teacher efficacy describes the belief, skills, and competency to facilitate teaching and learning activities within a PE setting. This is important because highly efficacious teachers have a significant impact on learning outcomes for students. This makes teacher efficacy a significant factor in the development and retention of teachers. Yet, despite international consensus on its importance, practical strategies to develop pre-service teacher efficacy, during PE teacher education (PETE) programmes, have been underexplored. As PE teacher educators working in higher education (HE), we have built on existing research, including our own, to introduce an alternative anthropological perspective on how PE teacher educators can develop pre-service teachers’ efficacy. Specifically, this conceptual paper advances the development of pre-service teacher efficacy using a ‘wayfinding’ approach. Wayfinding refers to the skilled actions individuals develop as they navigate physical, social, and temporal spaces to find their own way. Thus, shifting the development of efficacy from a decontextualised and competency-based development process, to one where efficacy is cultivated and grown in professional learning contexts and communities. Through this, we position pre-service teachers as wayfinders who are actively navigating landscapes of a PETE programme, with PE teacher educators providing guidance throughout the journey. To enact this reconceptualisation, we provide illustrative examples so that PE teacher educators can guide pre-service teachers to find their way through three important PETE programme constructs: (1) school experience placements (SEP), (2) advanced subject knowledge (ASK), and (3) professional learning communities, including role models (PLC). This approach may improve the design and curricular content of future PETE programmes and support PE teacher educators’ ability to develop efficacious pre-service teachers.

Factors leading to successful professional learning communities (PLCs) have been widely discussed in the West, but little is known about how/whether teachers’ beliefs contribute to PLCs in the Chinese context. This qualitative case study aimed to investigate teachers’ beliefs about teacher learning in PLCs and their influence on collegial learning activities in two departments of a Hong Kong secondary school. Semi-structured interviews and observations were employed to collect data. The findings indicate that teachers in the Chinese Department believed that learning could be achieved in PLCs and their practices of collegial activities were conducive to teacher learning. Conversely, teachers in the English Department did not believe that interacting with colleagues would foster learning and their collegial activities yielded limited accomplishment in teacher growth. It is suggested that teachers’ beliefs play an important role in facilitating or impeding reform initiatives on teacher development. Implications for teacher education and further studies are discussed.

Professional learning communities have become one of the most talked about ideas in education today. Many K-12 schools are working to become professional learning communities in the hope that student learning will improve when adults commit themselves to talking collaboratively about teaching and learning and then take action that will improve student learning and achievement. The researchers in this study believe that a school must understand and practice the five disciplines of a learning organization to be a true professional learning community and that leadership plays a significant role in the ability of a school to become a professional learning community that enhances student learning. The questions explored in this study of six middle schools, three urban and three suburban, were: 1) What does a professional learning community look like in a middle school? 2) What kind of principal creates a professional learning community in his/her school? 3) What are the beliefs and dispositions of such a leader? 4) Do teachers perceive their school to be a professional learning community? and, 5) Is there a relationship between professional learning communities, leadership, and student learning?

The goal of this study was to examine the development of a group of preservice teachers over three semesters during the second phase of their coursework and fieldwork in the teacher development program at a major Midwestern university. The questions at the heart of the study were whether this cohort of preservice teachers developed community. What markers of community were evidenced? What contextual factors served to support or impede the development of community? Data were collected through observation of their courses, a series of interviews with a sample of preservice teachers, and archiving artifacts of their coursework such as the course syllabi, reading materials, and their discussions online. Data analysis was grounded in theory about the nature of community, communities of practice, teacher communities, online communities and in a sociocultural theory of technological change. The findings suggest that these preservice teachers began to form community during their years in the teacher development program. This community began to evolve from a community of practice into a professional learning community as they developed from college students into practicing teachers. However, the culture of the classroom, the physical arrangement of the room and the importance given to students' voices in class and online, played a large role in fostering and supporting the development of community.

In this article we argue that school leaders should ensure that teachers experience a supportive professional learning community committed to collaborative, thoughtful inquiry and be enabled to create similar communities in their classrooms. This study followed on one published in 2017 that explored school leaders’ responses to an introduction to cognitive education. The same participants investigated cognitive education practices (ways of teaching thinking) in their schools, with an emphasis on the factors that facilitated or constrained implementation. Using a qualitative research approach an open ended research assignment in the form of a report was completed by 32 teachers in school leadership positions. The data was analysed using the guidelines of grounded theory to identify key themes. The findings suggest a possible starting point for leadership initiatives, although cognitive education practices in the participating schools were constrained by a number of structural, contextual and personal factors. Discussion highlights the importance of the development of professional learning communities that focus on cognitive education and identifies a possible leadership direction, namely, building on the progress already made in training teachers to apply Bloom’s taxonomy to assessment tasks. Although our data is from schools in one area of South Africa, our conclusions are likely to have implications for school leadership generally, with particular reference to the development of classroom and professional thinking and learning communities.