The Role of Teachers' Professional Learning Communities in the Context of Curriculum Reform in High Schools.

CURRICULUM change; CURRICULUM planning; SELF-efficacy in teachers; PROFESSIONAL learning communities; IN-service training of teachers; HIGH school teachers; SECONDARY education; COLLECTIVE education

As mainland China seeks to implement its curriculum reforms, efforts to apply reform concepts emphasizing teacher empowerment have not been very successful. Theory and policy indicate that one possible solution is to establish a teachers' professional learning community (PLC). This study conducted a survey of thirty-two high schools in three cities in mainland China and found that the establishment of a PLC can help teachers feel more empowered; make teachers more receptive to the new high school curriculum reforms by promoting managing the change at school; and influence teachers' perceptions of the value of the reforms by helping them feel more empowered, thus making them more receptive to reforms. The special characteristics of a PLC of sharing practices, collective learning, and collaborative culture can encourage teachers to participate in the curriculum reforms as agents of reform: by collectively sharing responsibility for the risks of reform and bravely striding forward, they can truly become a force for change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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