Document Type
Dissertation
Degree
Doctor of Education
Major
Education, Educational Leadership & Policy Studies
Date of Defense
12-5-2008
Graduate Advisor
Matthew D. Davis, Ph.D.
Committee
Dolan, Margaret
Owen, Kenneth
Richardson, Lloyd
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to determine if a relationship exists between schools' maturity as professional learning communities (PLCs) and student achievement in mathematics and communication arts. Teachers from all 333 public elementary schools in Missouri serving students in kindergarten through fifth grade were invited to participate by completing Hord's School Professional Staff as Learning Community Questionnaire. Each question was directly related to one of Hord's five critical dimensions of PLCs: "...supportive and shared leadership; a shared vision and values; collective learning and application of learning; shared personal practice; and supportive conditions" (Hord, 1997a, p. 6, passim). Multiple linear regression analyses were used to test the hypothesis: as the maturity level of schools as PLCs increases, according to scores on the School Professional Staff as Learning Community Questionnaire, student scores on standardized tests in communication arts and mathematics, specifically the Missouri Assessment Program Index Score, will also increase. The findings for this study suggest that as the maturity level of schools as PLCs increases, student scores on standardized tests in third grade communication arts and mathematics also increase significantly. There was no significant relationship between schools' maturity levels as PLCs and student achievement in fourth or fifth grade for communication arts or mathematics.
OCLC Number
505223991
Recommended Citation
Arbetter, Eric Brett, "The relationship between the maturity level of professional learning communities (PLCs) and student achievement" (2008). Dissertations. 529.
https://irl.umsl.edu/dissertation/529