Date of Conferral

2022

Degree

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

School

Education

Advisor

Christina Dawson

Abstract

AbstractResearchers have shown that effective professional learning communities (PLCs) enhance the ability of educators to improve student outcomes at schools, including schools with a student body of more than 75% students of color. Educators and policy makers need to understand more about how educators in these school settings experience PLC work. The purposes of this basic qualitative study were to determine how educators in a school serving primarily students of color both described their experiences relating to implementation of PLCs, and how they identified opportunities or gaps in their current resources. Adult learning theories informed the initial conceptual framework; implementation fidelity was identified during the study as a needed element for the framework. Data were collected through semistructured interviews conducted online with seven high school educators in one location in the southern United States. Data were analyzed using a combination of a priori, open, and axial coding to support thematic analysis guided by Yin’s five-step approach. Findings indicated that educators need to have experience with the PLC concept, feel supported, and have sufficient resources and time for participation. Collaboration is the most important resource that is needed, with face-to-face interaction seen as more effective than online forms of interaction. The COVID-19 pandemic and the switch to virtual participation were disruptive. The participating educators were disappointed in the lack of respect they felt they received as adult learners and identified concerns with the implementation of the PLC. The study’s implications for positive social change include enhancing capacity for administrators and teachers to develop better PLCs that counter the challenges of low academic performance in U.S. schools serving mostly students of color.

Download

Share

 
COinS