ERIC Number: ED646867
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2022
Pages: 137
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: 979-8-8417-6930-9
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
A Case Study of an Urban Elementary School's Professional Learning Community: Teacher Cognition, Practice and Work Satisfaction during a Global Pandemic
Wesley F. Brown
ProQuest LLC, D.Ed. Dissertation, Tarleton State University
The 2019-2020 school year ushered in the Texas Education Agency's second year under a new A - F rating system for the state's 1,200 districts and 8,759 public schools. As such, educational leaders across the state began to take an even closer look at what it takes to meet the needs of an ever growing and diverse population of students. However, in the spring of 2020, those efforts became more complicated, and it became even more inherent for school leadership to meet the educational needs of students as the Texas educational system found itself amid a global pandemic. Indeed, the Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic created catastrophic mayhem the world over, leaving in its wake not only disease and death, but also severe economic and educational disruption never seen before in the modern era. As a result, the Texas Education Agency suspended state assessments for the spring of 2020 and local education agencies did not receive a rating for 2020 due to a declared state of disaster. The purpose of this research case study was to interpret how, in the midst of a global pandemic, the framework and processes of a professional learning community within an individual elementary school campus located in the region of central Texas guided the cognition and behaviors of teachers in regard to their instructional planning and delivery for traditional face-to-face and virtual instructional modalities as a result of the collaborative work done within the environment of a professional learning community and the perceived impact this collaborative work has on teacher work satisfaction.The key results of this study indicated that severe disruption resulted regarding the adherence of the PLC processes and framework implemented by the focus district and specific elementary school campus as the administration and teachers responded to the educational circumstances created by the COVID-19 pandemic. This disruption prevented the focus campus to successfully adhere to the three main ideas of how a professional learning community is defined by a relentless focus on learning, a collaborative culture, and focused attention on results. Regardless of the disruption brought on by COVID-19, significant themes emerged from the data which support the need for a faithful adherence to the professional learning community processes and framework. These themes include the structural supports of consistency, time, relationships, and specificity. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]
Descriptors: Urban Schools, Elementary School Teachers, Communities of Practice, Job Satisfaction, COVID-19, Pandemics, Teacher Behavior, Electronic Learning, Cooperation, Instructional Development, In Person Learning
ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway, P.O. Box 1346, Ann Arbor, MI 48106. Tel: 800-521-0600; Web site: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml
Publication Type: Dissertations/Theses - Doctoral Dissertations
Education Level: Elementary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Texas
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A