HOLDING THE REINS OF THE PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITY - EIGHT THEMES FROM RESEARCH ON PRINCIPALS’ PERCEPTIONS OF PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITIES

Oct 15, 2026

A naturalistic inquiry study explores 12 Manitoba principals’ conceptions of professional learning communities. Findings show principals view building such communities as a normative imperative in their school educational culture, yet their understandings of what constitutes a professional learning community (Toole & Louis, 2002) are varied and partly limited. The study identifies eight dominant themes shaping those perceptions, including process focus, structural supports, trust, relationship types, and how evaluation influences learning, and principal–teacher relationships.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages22

Reading Time55 min

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Introduction

Conceptual Framework

HOLDING THE REINS OF THE PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITY: EIGHT THEMES FROM RESEARCH ON PRINCIPALS’ PERCEPTIONS OF PROFESSIONAL LEARNING COMMUNITIES Jerome Cranston, University of Manitoba Using a naturalistic inquiry approach and thematic analysis, this paper outlines the findings of a research study that examined 12 Manitoba principals’ conceptions of professional learning communities. The study found that these principals consider the development of professional learning communities to be a normative imperative within the educational culture of their schools, yet their understandings of what constitutes a professional learning community, as defined by Toole & Louis (2002) are varied and partially limited. However, the principals suggested that there are eight dominant themes that are central in their conceptions of “professional learning community.” The themes are: professional learning communities are about process; structural supports enable the development of professional learning communities; trust as the foundation for adult relationships; congenial relationships dominate conceptions of community; learning is an individual activity; professional teaching is derived from attitudinal attributes; teacher evaluation shapes how principals think about learning in professional communities; and, teacher evaluation impacts principal and teacher relationships in professional learning communities. Introduction Numerous researchers (Crow, Hausman & Scribner, 2002; DuFour & Eaker, 1998; DuFour, Eaker, & DuFour. 2005; Hord, 1997, 2004; Toole & Louis, 2002) argue that nurturing a culture that supports staff in becoming a professional learning community is the most promising avenue for sustained, substantial school improvement. Studies demonstrate that schools with strong professional learning communities produce important outcomes for students and school professionals (Crow et al., 2002; Toole & Louis, 2002). Toole and Louis (2002) suggest that cross-cultural research findings indicate that professional learning communities lead to improved school functioning. A professional learning community is seen as a powerful staff development approach and potent strategy for school change and improvement (Hord, 1997 , 2004) . School improvement efforts require that, at the school level, staff work collaboratively to solve educational problems through the development of a robust community of learners who will to take responsibility for, and be committed to, achieving student outcomes (Blase & Blase, 2003) . A problem facing research on professional learning communities has been a conceptual one, and while some suggest that the term defines itself (Morrissey, 2000), oversimplifications offer little to a meaningful conceptual understanding. Although perhaps obvious to some, the human interactions in a professional learning community have proven difficult to capture (Little, 2003). Little (p. 914) writes,“Relatively little research examines the specific interactions by which professional community constitutes a resource for teacher learning and innovations in teaching practice.” This study illustrates an example of “theory-in-use”(Argyris, 2000), by exploring principals’ perceptions of schools as professional learning communities. The purpose of this study, using a naturalistic inquiry approach (Lincoln & Guba, 1985; Patton, 1990) and thematic analysis (Boyatzsis, 1999), was to gain a more complete understanding of principals’ perceptions of schools as professional learning communities because, as Toole and Louis (2002) argue, an “area ripe for additional research” involves listening to school leaders’“voices from the field” on the shape and values of professional learning communities (p. 274). This study responds to the general research question: What characteristics are identified by principals in their conceptions of schools as professional learning communities? Conceptual Framework Even without a precise definit

FAQs

What was the study’s main purpose and approach?

The study used a naturalistic inquiry approach and thematic analysis to understand principals’ perceptions of schools as professional learning communities.

How do Manitoba principals view professional learning communities?

Principals generally see development of professional learning communities as a normative imperative within their school culture, though their conceptions vary and are partially limited.

What are the eight dominant themes identified in the research?

The themes include professional learning as process; structural supports; trust for adult relationships; congenial relationships; learning as individual activity; attitudinal attributes shaping teaching; and teacher evaluation influencing both learning and principal–teacher relationships.

Oct 15, 2026

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