| dc.description.abstract | The purpose of this study was through cultural theory, to explore principals' and teachers' roles in professional learning communities in selected school contexts. Professional learning communities (PLCs) are powerful models designed to promote system-wide school improvement. While PLCs are designed to promote system-wide school improvement, research indicated that these goals are accomplished in some instances (DuFour et al, 2005; Saphier, 2005; Schmoker, 2005), and not accomplished in others (Carroll, 2010; Chenowith, 2009; Fullan, 2007; Hattie, 2009; Sims & Penny, 2015; Supovitz & Christman, 2003; Talbert, 2011). One way to explain these discrepancies is through cultural theory, which posits that cultural members' roles and the rules associated with those roles are important variables in contextual practices and interactions (Douglas, 1995; Giles-Sims & Lockhart, 2005; Harris, 2005). For example, teachers' and principals' roles may inhibit or promote the success of PLCs in a given school environment. (Fullan, 2006; Hord, 2004; Leithwood, & Riehl, 2003). This study used naturalistic inquiry methods (Erlandson, Harris, Skipper & Allen, 1993), which allows the researcher to understand the everyday life of the people involved in the educational environment. The naturalistic inquiry method was chosen to provide a holistic picture of what the impact is on the lives of the teachers, school culture, and the principal, within the school context. This study was bound to two middle schools and explored the PLC structure, through Douglas's (1982, 1986) Cultural Theory. | |
