The impact of professional learning communities on social studiesteachers’ professional development and student academic achievement

Abstract

The main goal in this study was to explore the impact of a professional learning community(PLC) on social studies (SS) teachers’ professional development (PD) and student academicachievement. With this in mind, the study was carried out using a design-based researchapproach with an overarching ADDIE design model. The participants of the study consistedof six SS teachers from two middle schools and 113 students. Data were collected usingscales, observations, and semi-structured interviews and analyzed through qualitative techni-ques on teacher data as well as t-tests on student data. Findings suggest that the PLCdesigned in a reflective thinking cycle has had a positive impact on teacher PD andenhanced student achievement in SS. The conclusion is that there is a positive relationshipbetween teacher participation in the PLC and student achievement. Therefore, it is recom-mended that the PLC be made widely available in PD of SS teachers, and PD programs beplanned as long-term hands-on training activities, while also taking into account the specificneeds of the field.