The characteristics and perceptions of teachers engaged in leading professional communities

ABSTRACT

Following educational reform in Israel, teacher-leaders create and lead professional development communities (PDCs), which are professional learning communities with a focus on in-service professional development and/or improving pedagogical effectiveness. Interviews with 30 teacher-leaders and all four district-level program coordinators revealed that, prior to assuming the role, teacher-leaders developed their professional and leadership skills largely in a self-directed manner. They described their PDCs as cohesive and dedicated, cooperative, involving peer-learning, and as creating a knowledge bank of teaching methods and tools. PDCs enable teachers to advance projects within the school and affect school culture. Principals’ involvement with PDCs varied, with their usually considerable involvement very favorably regarded. This article describes these findings and discusses their implications for the professional development of teachers in the international context.

KEYWORDS:

• Continuing teacher education
• teacher leadership
• professional development
• professional learning community

Acknowledgments

The authors thank the Israeli Ministry of Education for enabling the research to take place.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the MOFET Institute, Tel-Aviv, Israel.

Notes on contributors

Orit Avidov-Ungar

Orit Avidov-Ungar is the Head of the Graduate School and a senior lecturer at Achva Academic College, Kiryat Malachi, Israel. She also lectures in the Faculty of Education and Psychology in the Open University. She heads the specialization in professional development program at MOFET (the institute for research, curriculum, and program development for teacher educators). Her research explores the empowerment and professional development of teachers, and the leadership of organizational change in education systems with an emphasis on the implementation of innovative technologies in education systems.

Ravit Konkes Ben Zion

Ravit Konkes Ben Zion is the Deputy Principal of Hadar Multidisciplinary, a state community elementary school in Ness Ziona, and formerly an ME student at Achva Academic College. As Deputy Principal of Hadar Multidisciplinary, she plays a leadership role in developing and embedding the school’s educational philosophy that children should learn through courses of their choice.