Abstract
Purpose. The purpose of this study was to determine the degree to which staff displays the behaviors of a professional learning community through training from the school reform Onward to Excellence (OTE). In particular, this study examined the six categories in the professional learning community (PLC), which are organizational learning, collective responsibility, focus on student learning, reflective dialogue, staff collegiality and collaboration, and deprivatized practice. Methodology. This study utilized an ex post facto research design. A Wilcoxon Matched Pairs Signed Rank Test and frequency distributions were used to determine differences between starting PLC ratings and PLC ratings at the completion of the Onward to Excellence program. Each element of the PLC was examined separately with a Wilcoxon Matched Pairs Signed Rank Test. A total of 159 middle school teachers from Onward to Excellence schools responded to the Professional Learning Community survey. The return rate was 84.1 percent on the pretest and 68.8 percent on the posttest. Findings. OTE makes a negative impact on the following components of a PLC: organizational learning, collective responsibility, student learning, reflective dialogue, and collegiality and collaboration, but OTE makes no difference on the deprivatized practice component of a PLC. Conclusions. OTE makes a negative impact on five of the six elements of a PLC at the end of one cycle. It is a rigorous process that takes strong leadership from both the site administrator and the school leadership team. At this period in the program many teachers are being asked to do things that many have not asked before, which can increase frustration. The deprivatized practice element did not significantly change, but did have a few improvements specifically in the increasing observation of teachers in classrooms. Recommendations. The study should be replicated again with a longer time between the pretest and posttest. Specific screening of leadership teams prior to implementation of the OTE program could be used to help build leadership capacity through leadership training programs. A simplification of the OTE program focused on reform and PLC should be implemented to improve a PLC at the sites. Additional testing should also be done at the elementary and high school levels.