Evaluating schools as professional learning communities

This article reviews and reports updated findings on research examining and evaluating schools as professional learning communities in a range of contexts and phases of education. The value of the professional learning community (PLC) concept for enhancing teachers practice and professional learning is addressed as well as its contribution to student learning and outcomes. Although few current studies exist that specifically look at how the effectiveness and quality of a PLC can be measured and evaluated and also whether a PLC has a quantifiable
positive impact on pupil outcomes, this article focuses on the available evidence. To illustrate the key issues, selected evidence is drawn from two large-scale research project funded by (i) the UK's Department for Education and Science (DFES), General Teaching Council (GTC), and National College for School Leadership (NCSL) “Creating and Sustaining Effective Professional Learning Communities” (Bolam et al., 2005) and (ii) UK's Economic and Social Science Research Council (ESRC) and Department for International Development (UKAID) “Improving Teacher Development and Educational Quality in China (ITDEQC)” (Thomas et al., 2015).