Date

8-2018

Department

School of Education

Degree

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Chair

Kurt Y Michael

Keywords

Gender, Principal, Professional Learning Community, Teacher

Disciplines

Curriculum and Instruction | Education | Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research | Educational Leadership | Educational Methods | Educational Psychology | Other Education

Abstract

Effective Professional Learning Communities are one tool schools utilize to ensure that student achievement improvement is prioritized. Professional Learning Communities help educators increase their professional knowledge and minimize conflict amongst colleagues. Additionally, teachers who regularly participate in a Professional Learning Community have students who reach higher achievement benchmarks than the students of their non-participating peers. The purpose of this study was to determine whether a statistically significant difference existed between principal perceptions and teacher perceptions of Professional Learning Communities as measured by the Professional Learning Communities Assessment—Revised. A sample of 49 principals and 53 teachers from 49 schools in California participated in the study. A series of independent t-tests were utilized to test three null hypotheses to determine if any differences in perception were evident and if participant gender had any impact on the results. It was discovered that no statistically significant perception differences existed between male principals and female principals, male teachers and female teachers, and principals and teachers, regardless of gender identity or educational role. It was concluded that principals and teachers mirror perceptions of their Professional Learning Community, regardless of gender identity. Conducting similar studies in varied geographical locations with demographic diversity and larger sample sizes is recommended to increase the breadth of knowledge of Professional Learning Communities.

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