Professional learning communities in mexican public schools: Exploring their development Comunidades profesionales de aprendizaje en escuelas públicas mexicanas: Explorando su desarrollo Academic Article in Scopus uri icon

abstract

  • © 2021, Univ Nacional de Educacion a Distancia (UNED). All rights reserved.This study aims to answer: What happens when teachers and principals get involved in a professional learning community to carry out their school planning? Under a qualitative multiple cases approach, principals and teachers from five elementary public schools in the states of Nuevo León, Chihuahua and Hermosillo in Mexico participated in learning communities under which they would carry out their school planning. The research began with a seminar as a trigger that allowed the establishment of the mission and vision of each school, and in accordance with these and their needs, the creation of the themes of the communities and specification of their planning actions. On-site participant observations were made of each community, as well as interviews with professors and principals. The findings were organized in the phases of initiation, development and completion of the process, within which the categories are shown, such as: process of understanding the community, organization, collaborative work, facilitators and barriers, as well as perceived benefits. In general, some similarities and differences were found in the five schools, among the first, the resistance and initial confusion of the teachers to work in a CPA as well as the work overload, the lack of knowledge about goals in some of the schools and the lack of time to participate, however they recognized having had a space and opportunity for interaction and communication, recognizing collaborative work, identifying the usefulness of the CPA to learn and share, while the directors distinguished the CPA as a means that can support their management. Each school as a particular case presented distinctive characteristics given that while one of the schools was successful in the organization and implementation of actions in their communities, others had difficulties to attain results due to the lack of a favorable work environment and leadership of the principal.

publication date

  • January 1, 2021