The professional learning community as subversive activity: countering the culture of conventional schooling

Abstract

As the professional learning community (PLC) as a desired cultural norm gains popularity within K–12 state schools, greater knowledge of the PLC implementation process is warranted. This study reports findings from semi‐structured focus group interviews with teachers in an urban/suburban high school after one year of schoolwide professional development introducing the PLC as a schoolwide practice. Three findings emerge. First, PLC practices are countercultural to mainstream teacher practice. School leaders and external change agents introducing PLCs in mainstream schools must, therefore, approach the work not as a technical task but as cultural transformation. Second, group facilitation skill is a crucial leadership attribute for the effective cultivation of a PLC. Third, to be effective, PLC cultivation must be perceived not as an end‐to‐itself, but as the means to a clearly identified, shared, and compelling goal for student learning; otherwise, it risks being dismissed by teachers as the usual professional development noise.

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