Teacher communities as a context for professional learning: a preschool case study

Considerable research has shown professional learning communities (PLC) within schools as a beneficial way for teachers to develop professionally within the context of their own work environment. Although the positives are often highlighted in PLC’s, there is limited information as to how teachers function within these spaces. This qualitative case study seeks to gain an understanding of preschool teachers’ experiences in a PLC. The data were constructed from three sources over a period of four months to include interviews with teachers, observations of PLC sessions, and classroom documentation. The data were analysed through a process of generating codes and grouping codes into categories. Through this analysis, identity and negotiability emerged as central tenants to teachers interacting within this space. We describe and interpret the processes of identifying as a member of and negotiating meanings in this PLC using Wenger’s (1998/2006) work as a lens to decipher these ideas. We argue that teacher learning is a matter of creating and sustaining communities comprised members who, to varying degrees, own and are responsible for a shared picture of practice.