Effect of professional learning communities on teachers and students: reporting updated results and raising questions about research design

ABSTRACT

This manuscript is a review and critical analysis of professional learning communities (PLCs) research using 13 empirical international studies. Our findings confirm what previous reviews have found: participation in PLCs resulted in improved teacher practice and increased student achievement. In this review, we provide detailed and specific examples of what has improved in teacher practice, and how impact on students has been documented. However, we raise concerns about the design of current PLC studies as there were methodological issues that limited the ability to interpret results. Despite promising evidence about the effects of PLCs on teachers and students, we articulate specific directions for future research designs that will improve the quality of PLC studies.

KEYWORDS:

• Community of practice
• professional development
• teaching practice
• student achievement
• literature review

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. The broad definition helped us locate many potential PLC studies that need to be included in this review. The purpose of embracing a working definition was not to conceptually define PLC nor to theorize a comprehensive definition of PLC nor to inform future studies. We, however, tried to find a common base supported by relevant theoretical studies to be more inclusive. Across the literature, researchers sometimes use the term “communities of practice” (and others) to refer to PLCs. We did not want to exclude the (potential) articles in which the conceptual framework fits PLC’s foundation even though the label is communities of practice (and others).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Selcuk Doğan

Selcuk Doğan is a researcher and instructional designer in the Center for Online Innovations and Production at the University of Florida. He is interested in teachers’ professional development and learning communities and how they affect teacher and student outcomes. He uses large-scale assessment data, such as PISA and TALIS, to examine interrelationships among teachers and variables using structural equation modeling and propensity score analysis.

Alyson Adams

Alyson Adams, PhD, is a Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Florida. She is interested in teacher development at the preservice and inservice levels. She focuses on how to maximize teacher learning within professional development structures.