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Professional Learning Community in Malaysia

Article  in  International Journal of Engineering and Technology · August 2018

DOI: 10.14419/ijet.v7i3.30.18347

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 International Journal of Engineering & Technology, 7 (3.30) (2018) 433-443

International Journal of Engineering & Technology

Website: www.sciencepubco.com/index.php/IJET

Research paper

Professional Learning Community in Malaysia

Roslizam Hassan*¹, Jamilah Ahmad² and Yusof Boon³

¹Faculty of Education, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia,

²Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Education, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
³Associate Professor, Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Education
*Corresponding author E-mail: [email protected]

Abstract

The professional learning community (PLC) is a platform for teachers to share their opinions and experiences especially with respect to
the quality of teaching and learning processes (PdP). This partnership gives teachers more added value because they have the opportunity
to improve their self-esteem and to keep in pace with the developments in the education world. This concept paper will discuss a number
of issues related to PLCs such as PLC's background and development, PLC definitions, the development of PLC concept, PLC models
and the issues and challenges that exist in implementing PLC. The analysis was done in the context of Malaysia and abroad. The paper is
written based on extensive secondary data analysis. After examining all matters related to PLC, it can be concluded that PLC is a form of
partnership that every school teacher needs to practice either in the context of education in Malaysia or anywhere in order to drive excel-
lence in a school. With a lot of challenges nowadays regarding the implementation of PLC, this issue needs to be addressed so that the
quality of teachers can be enhanced and will further influence the students' academic achievement.

Keywords: concept development; definition; issues and challenges; literature research; model; professional learning community

evidences from empirical researches have shown that teachers’

1. Introduction quality is the one and only key factor in affecting students’ aca-
demic achievement (6–8). To enhance teachers’ quality, teachers’
development process especially in the aspect of teaching quality is
Professional Learning Community (PLC) is a new term amongst vital. Various researches had studied the relationship between
educators in Malaysia. However, at international level, PLC has school leaders’ leadership and teachers’ development process in
been numerously debated and discussed among educators and the enhancing teachers’ teaching quality and students’ learning. The
community (DuFour, 2016). PLC is defined as collaborative ini- leadership dimension which is most closely related to students’
tiatives by a group of teachers who are committed to work as a academic achievement is school leaders promoting and taking part
team to enhance the quality of teaching and learning (T&L), for in teachers’ learning and development process (Leithwood &
example, doing action research to create an intervention that will Jantzi, 2008; Leithwood et al., 2004; Robinson et al., 2008).
give positive effect towards students’ learning and enhancing their After studying several definitions of PLC, what advantages or
academic achievement (DuFour, DuFour, & Eaker, 2008). benefits will the school get if they succeeded in sustaining PLC?
Rosenholtz (1989) defined PLC as a good practice that should be In brief, it can be said that PLC provides numerous advantages for
cultivated in school to enhance teachers’ T&L quality. School the school. The advantages of PLC have been acknowledged be-
administration and teachers should give full support towards the cause of two main factors. Firstly, it is proven that if PLC is being
PLC practice as it is one of the main contributor for the success of practiced in school, the T&L process will be more dynamic and
PLC. PLC acts as a platform for teachers to share their views and have more quality, or in other words, schools that have good T&L
experiences. This sharing will give teachers more added-value as process must have practiced PLC (12,13). There were many evi-
they can “learn to teach” (4). PLC is also a good practice which dences from previous researches that shows students’ academic
done continuously and not seasonally in improving school devel- achievement can be enhanced if teachers teaching the students are
opment by including cooperation from school leader, teachers, practicing PLC consistently (14–16). This statement is also sup-
support staffs and students. Several schools also include commu- ported by Hofman and Dijkstra (2010) and Schechter (2008) who
nity support in their PLC team to enhance teaching knowledge and clarified that school development and students’ academic
experience sharing activities for the teachers. With various effort achievement have positive relationship with the PLC practice
from the different parties, teachers could increase their efficacy among teachers in school.
and capacity in carrying out their responsibilities (5). The second advantage is that PLC is capable to cultivate positive
Based on several local and international definitions, it can be con- and dynamic school culture (DuFour & Fullan, 2013). Moreover,
cluded that PLC is a collaborative initiative among teachers in a many literature reviews supported the idea and perception that
school to enhance T&L quality through knowledge and experience PLC can enhance students’ academic achievement and promote
sharing to ensure all students would get their right to have fun and professional development among teachers (DuFour, DuFour, &
effective T&L experience. Nevertheless, PLC depends a lot on the Eaker, 2008; Lieberman & Miller, 2011; Newmann & Wehlage,
school leader and teachers’ support. Without their support, PLC 1995; Senge, 1990). PLC also focuses on teachers’ initiative col-
could not be cultivated excellently and will find failure. Many lectively towards students’ learning and teachers’ development
Copyright © 2018 Authors. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted
use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
434 International Journal of Engineering & Technology

itself, in which this has been positively accepted and widely ap- ty of T&L process. He found that teachers will be more committed
plied to government policy makers, researchers and leadership the teaching will be more effective if they get supports from every
practitioners around the world (15,16,23). member of the school community, whether leaders or colleagues.
According to Darling-Hammond (2000) and also Harris and Sass Among the supports needed include the existence of effective
(2011), students’ academic achievement is related to teachers’ teacher networks, cooperation among colleagues and professional-
teaching quality and effective PLC is acknowledged as a way to ism development process among teachers. These kinds of support
enhance teachers’ teaching quality, which consequently contribut- are important to enhance teachers’ self-efficacy. He also stated
ed to sustainable advancement in students’ learning (Harris & that self-efficacy is important because it affected teachers in
Jones, 2010; Stoll et al., 2006; Vescio et al., 2008). To make a adapting with new classroom behaviors and maintained their mo-
PLC truly effective, teamwork and collaboration between school tivation as teachers. Rosenholtz’ finding is supported by
leaders and teachers are needed. The element of trust that exists in McLaughlin dan Talbert (1993) in which they stated that when
school collaborative culture will significantly influence PLC’s teachers are given opportunities to collaborate with their col-
effectiveness and leads to increase in students’ academic achieve- leagues to improve their quality of work, they are actually devel-
ment (Bryk & Schneider, 2002; Forsyth, Barnes, & Adams, 2006). oping their self-professionalism level by sharing the knowledge
For Wilson (2016), PLC is a platform to nourish teachers’ profes- and experiences that have been gained throughout the period of
sional development and students’ academic achievement. It will being a teacher.
be challenging to build a good school without good teachers. Too A year after Rosenholtz introduced the practice of enhancing
many literatures have discussed impact of good teachers. National teachers’ teaching quality which had no specific name for it then,
Commission on Teaching and America’s Future (1996) reported the concept of learning organization was introduced by Senge
on teaching issue in America that teachers’ quality and profes- (1990) in his book entitled “The fifth discipline: The art and prac-
sionalism are two crucial things in students’ learning. This finding tice of the learning organization” (DuFour et al., 2008). In this
is supported by Newmann and Wehlage (1995) which stated that book, Senge introduced the term “The Five Disciplines” which
students’ academic achievement will improve in schools that prac- referred to learning organization and stated that it should be creat-
tice collaborative culture in PLC among teachers and the local ed to ensure the organization can compete and be sustainable by
community. enhancing the capacity of each of its members. “The Five Disci-
plines” that was created were system thinking, mental models,
2. Development of the Professional Learning team learning, personal mastery and shared vision. He also high-
lighted the importance of collaboration among the community
Community Concept members than doing tasks individually so that organization capaci-
ty development can be implemented successfully.
PLC has various definitions based on what have been stated by Several years later, Louis dan Kruse (1994) gave a new terminol-
scholars who studied “learning organization”. According to ogy to illustrate learning organization which is School-based Pro-
DuFour (2016), PLC is a good continuous practice in an organiza- fessional Community (SBPC). SBPC has three purposes which are
tion. Boyer (2010) stated that PLC is a process of bringing good firstly, enhancing collective responsibility among organization
practices in the classroom to the community and also bringing the members (individual/group) to achieve a good and comprehensive
community to school to support teachers’ teaching and students’ performance in school and not just students’ academic achieve-
learning activities. This is a collaborative activity in learning ment; secondly, enhancing personal commitment towards tasks
among school administrators, teachers, students and the local and professionalism (the desire to work hard to achieve school
community. Meanwhile, Barth (2006) highlighted that PLC is a goal); and third, empowerment of teachers to ensure the first and
continuous effort of the school community in doing improve- second purposes can be implemented well.
ments, in which the school management team and teachers collab- In the year 1995, Newmann dan Wehlage (1995) introduced a new
oratively share best practices in T&L, practice them and give ben- terminology which is Circle of Support (COS) to explain learning
efits to the students. organization. COS was originated from the United States’ educa-
For Toole dan Louis (2002), PLC means a group of teachers who tional policy to improve the country’s education system to ensure
critically investigate and evaluate their teaching practice by doing high performance of schools in the United States and improve-
reflection and collaboration, and it also must be student-learning ment in students’ academic achievement. COS highlighted four
oriented. They added that the main perception towards PLS is that dimensions for successful school restructuring. The first one is
teachers who are actively involved in PLC will enhance their pro- student learning, which means the planning, practice and evalua-
fessional knowledge, leading to enhancing students’ learning qual- tion of school should focus on the latest T&L practice and newest
ity. Hord (2004) suggested that if a school wanted an effective innovation to enhance students’ learning quality. To ensure that
PLC team, they need to share the same vision and value, while this initiative would succeed, teachers need to agree to change
other scholars suggested one more characteristic which is collec- towards this and the goal to produce quality learning should be
tive responsibility for students’ learning (King & Newmann, informed to the students and their family.
2001). The second dimension is authentic pedagogy in which the teacher
Hord (1997a) defines PLC as a team in school which comprises as the instructor needs to have high quality of teaching just as the
professionals, the school leaders and teachers, who are committed students need quality learning. Thus, teachers will be given a
in gaining new knowledge and sharing the latest learning tech- teaching standard to measure their teaching quality during obser-
nique continuously with the goal of improving students’ academic vation. The third one is school organizational capacity, which is
achievement. He added that schools that practice PLC should have the ability of the school members including the management,
five dimensions which are firstly, sharing vision and mission, teachers and students, to move and work together, maintaining
secondly, leadership sharing and supportive leadership, third, col- their success as a unit. Quality learning practice for students is as
lective learning and learning application, fourth, sharing of per- hard as quality teaching practice for teachers. To ease these prac-
sonal practice and fifth, organization support. tices, schools need to unit their members as a unit and work to-
gether. Finally, the fourth dimension is external support, which
3. Development of the Professional Learning means schools need supports in terms of finance, technical and
politics from external sources such as the District Education Of-
Community Concept fice, State Education Department and also the Ministry of Educa-
tion. These sources help schools in enhancing students’ learning
The history of PLC started when Rosenholtz (1989) brought up quality, teachers’ teaching and organization capacity.
issues in teachers’ workplace in a meeting that discusses the quali-
International Journal of Engineering & Technology 435

Hord (1997a) furthered a study on this learning organization by high level of personal mastery can promote the development of a
focusing on its practice in schools. Hord used the terminology learning organization. Learning organization cannot exist without
Professional Learning Community (PLC) which highlighted on this discipline. Personal mastery is also a discipline that requires a
the influence of school’s leadership and the community in it to long time to be noticed and it is moving deeply towards a personal
enhance students’ academic achievement. He put collaboration vision that highlights individual potential, patience, realistic con-
among school leaders and teachers as the students’ key of success. cept, capability and skills. According to Caldwell (2012), this
From this study, five dimensions of PLC had been created, which personal mastery discipline creates self-development and individ-
has become the core of this research. The dimensions will be ex- ual learning in each member of the organization. Personal mastery
plained in detail in the next subtopics. application will create a path for each organization member to
Hord (1997a)’s study was then harmonized by DuFour dan Eaker access their life towards more creativity that will promote innova-
(1998) by maintaining the terminology Professional Learning tion and continuity. This discipline is also a process to achieve
Community, but making several improvements, for example, organization goal realistically through the best practices (43).
managing changes, putting the vision and mission as the founda- The second discipline is mental models. According to Senge
tion to strengthen PLC in schools, maintaining improvement pro- (1990), mental models refer to the view, mindset, and assumption
cess in schools (non-seasonal), making changes as a culture in that affect one’s understanding effectively thus affecting the indi-
schools and refining leaders’ role in practicing PLC. Until today, vidual’s behavior. Mental models can use learningful dialogues to
studies on PLS are in evolution to get the best method in enhanc- sustain human needs and wants. Mental models are also closely
ing its practice quality and learning culture in every organizations. related to an individual’s effective thinking, where the thinking
These are also important to improve self-quality of each member affects other individuals. In an organization, mental models guide
in the PLC. organization members to enhance their working skill, which in the
end will bring a big change in the organization. This second disci-
pline needs openness and honesty as it highlights the aspects of
4. Professional Learning Community Model understanding and learning other people’s feelings and thoughts
(21).
Various models of PLC have been created around the year 1990 The third discipline is shared vision. This discipline is important
until 2004. Three PLC models will be discussed in this concept in enabling the individual in the organization to develop and inte-
paper which are created by Senge (1990), DuFour (2004), and grate the vision of each organization member, which consequently
Hord (1997a). It cannot be denied that there are differences in leads towards achieving the organization vision. The shared vision
terms of the use of terminology, dimensions and elements but has the ability to align various aspirations that exist in an organi-
basically, they have the same goal which is to create a learning zation (44). For an organization, this discipline will enhance or-
organization and to encourage its members to keep learning to ganization quality through innovative practices and experiments.
enhance self-professionalism development and consequently, real- Each member of the organization has their own goal to be ful-
izing the organization goal. filled. Nevertheless, each of them belongs to the organization and
this shared vision is useful to combine every members’ goal by
4.1. Five Disciplines Model by Senge (1990) having various experiments and utilizing creativity so that they
can work towards the same goal (41).
Peter Senge, scholar of two fields which are business and educa- The fourth discipline is team learning. According to Senge (1990),
tion, had proposed the vision “learning organization” to be prac- this discipline focuses on arranging and improving a team’s capac-
ticed in schools. He who wrote the books “The Fifth Discipline” ity to ensure individual and organization goal are achieved. In
and “Schools that Learn: A Fifth Discipline Field book for Educa- learning organization, teamwork is highly emphasized because
tors, Parents, and Everyone Who Cares about Education” had through teamwork, many sources, information, feedback, organi-
explained the importance of “learning organization” concept in the zation core values and prior general knowledge are readily availa-
education world. ble for each member and these inputs will help the members to
Senge (1990) explained that there are five disciplines for a school solve problems that they are facing creatively (45).
leader to develop an effective learning organization. The five dis- The fifth discipline is systems thinking. According to Senge
ciplines are personal mastery, systems thinking, mental models, (1990), this discipline refers to the links of relationship among
shared vision, and team learning. Each discipline has its own prin- individuals in the organization. Systems thinking combines the
ciples that will guide each members in the organization to learn four disciplines that had been explained previously to thoroughly
and be experts to succeed in every tasks given. (41). Based on evaluate a learning organization. System thinking focuses on the
Singe’s view, the five disciplines will encourage organization correlations existed and pattern of changes that happened. It does
members to enhance their knowledge and capability through learn- not only look into a part of aspect; systems thinking will observe
ing process. The five disciplines are as shown in Figure 1. all parts of the organization by studying every main element in a
system such as decision making, managing perceptions, quality of
outcome, hierarchical relationship and many more. This systems
The Five Disciplines Model of Professional Learning thinking comprises two parts which are firstly, focusing on the
Community overall and secondly, focusing specifically on the individual (43).

4.2. Three Big Ideas Model of PLC by DuFour (2004)

personal mental systems
mastery models thinking
DuFour (2004) explained that PLC is basically a cooperative work
development among teachers which focuses on improving their
working capacity to ensure learning goal can be achieved by all
shared team
students. DuFour highlighted that PLC needs to focus more on
vision learning
learning, not teaching and cooperative work functions to help each
member to achieve their individual goal (DuFour, 2004). He add-
Figure 1: The Five Disciplines Model Senge (1990) ed that PLS has six basic characteristics which are firstly, the
shared vision, mission, values and goal; secondly, learning as a
The first discipline is personal mastery. This discipline requires a basis in the cooperative team; thirdly, cooperative team has to be
long time to be learned and practiced. Only individuals who have practical and realistic; fourth, all action orientations should be
clear among the organization members; fifth, team learning devel-
436 International Journal of Engineering & Technology

opment should be sustained all the time; and sixth, all learning requires help from their colleagues (DuFour, 2004). Teachers are
team should have the outcome that has been set together. supposed to master many kinds of useful data to analyze students’
To explain the concept of PLC, DuFour (2004) had developed the academic achievement thoroughly and not only depend on the
concept of “Three Big Ideas” which had been used by SISC+ Of- average rate. Teachers and school staff should emphasize the im-
ficers, The Ministry of Education Malaysia in wide-spreading portance of students’ learning process and all information,
PLC practice among teachers. The three big ideas are (i) focus on thoughts and techniques that can improve students’ development
students learning (ii) building collaborative culture and (iii) focus should be shared. To maintain students’ advancement, members of
on results (DuFour, 2004; Zuraidah, 2016). The three big ideas are PLC should work hard; they should learn more, do anything that is
shown in Figure 2. The first big idea is focus on students learning related to the learning process, and always work collaboratively to
(DuFour, 2004; Zuraidah, 2016). According to DuFour (2004), a ensure the establishment of students’ advancement can be realized.
school’s main responsibility is to help all students and ensuring
them to learn. The main purpose of building a school is learning, 4.3. Professional Learning Community (PLC) Model by
not teaching and consequently, teachers work cooperatively to Hord (1997a)
achieve the goal that has been set together (DuFour, 2004).
Change in focus from the concept of “teaching” to “learning” is a Hord (1997a, 1997b) underlined five dimensions to illustrate an
big success for a learning organization (46). In a learning commu- effective PLC. The five dimensions are firstly, shared vision and
nity, every member needs to understand the approaches in the mission; secondly, leadership sharing and supportive leadership;
concept of “students need learning”. The approaches include ex- third, collective learning and learning application; fourth, personal
plaining what the teachers expect of every student, knowing practice sharing; and fifth, organization support. Figure 3 shows
whether the students learn or not, and skillful in utilizing various the dimensions for the Professional Learning Community Model
methods to help students who have difficulties in learning by Hord (1997a). Detailed explanation on the five dimensions are
(DuFour, 2004). presented in the next subtopic.
In this concept paper, the model developed by Hord (1997a) is
chosen as the best model in evaluating the practice of PLC among
teachers in schools. This choice has been made with several justi-
Three Big Ideas
fications. The first one is the model’s strength. This Professional
Learning Community Model by Hord is one of the most popular
models amongst researchers who are measuring the level of PLC
Focus on students Focus on result practices in schools or educational education. This model has also
learning been chosen by many local and international researchers and
among them are Cassity (2012); Hidayah (2014); Kohl (2014);
Building collaborative Marzuki (2013); Marzuki, Norsiah, Azhar, & Hassan (2015);
culture Mulligan (2016); Musimartin (2014); and Spiller (2013).
The second justification is the questionnaire instrument, “School
Professional Staffs as Learning Communities Questionnaire”
(SPSLCQ), which was constructed based on this model (34,36).
Figure 2: The Three Big Ideas Model of PLC by DuFour (2004)
This questionnaire has been used worldwide because it is one of
the best instruments to measure PLC practice (Hord, 1997a). This
According to DuFour (2004), the second big idea is building col-
questionnaire is also among the most stable, strong and had be-
laborative culture. In PLC, all members including teachers and
come the choice of many researches who are studying the level of
school staff should work together to build and create culture sys-
PLC practice in educational institutions. Among the researchers
tem in the organization. Although teachers are encouraged to col-
who used this instrument include Cassity (2012); Hipp dan Huff-
laborate with organization members, sometimes, they also need to
man (2002); Marzuki (2013); Mulligan (2016); Safia (2012);
work individually. Some members have limited experience with
Shetzer (2011); Spiller (2013) and many more. Other than that,
“collaboration” and assumed that it only exists whenever there is
this instrument has a high level of validity and reliability based on
camaraderie in the organization. PLC needs an organization that
its alpha Cronbach value of +.92 (first pilot study) and +.94 (se-
has strong improvement on collaborative culture for it to be
cond pilot study) obtained by Hord (29,59).
founded and built to enable teachers to help students’ learning
advancement (46). In addition, teachers should give more empha-
size on supervising every student’s learning outcome by creating
different learning goal standard that the students need to achieve Professional Learning Community Model
based on their capability. Teachers should also have rules and
bench mark to evaluate students’ quality of work. This bench
mark is very much needed because from it, teachers would know
how to manage the evaluation of students’ results. Evaluation is Shared Leadership Collective
important for all teachers to analyze students’ strengths and weak- vision and sharing and learning and
nesses in learning and to adapt the most suitable technique to im- mission supportive learning
prove students’ learning. This is the best method to build a suc- leadership application
cessful PLC.
The third big idea proposed by DuFour (2004) is focus on results.
The effectiveness of a PLC depends on the results achieved (46). Personal Organization
Based on the current situation of students learning, teachers as a practice support
team should analyze students’ learning level and formulate specif- sharing
ic plan to ensure the goal that has been set together can be
achieved. Teachers, cooperatively, should dare to change their Figure 3: Professional Learning Community Model by Hord (1997a)
goal and approaches so that the percentage of students’ academic
achievement can be improved. In PLC, teachers should acquire The third one is time factor. The Five Disciplines Model by Senge
various information on their students’ academic achievement more which was created on 1990 was more outdated than the Three Big
than that of students of other teachers. Teachers should get the Ideas Model by DuFour (2004) and Professional Learning Com-
materials, ideas and techniques to help their students, and this munity Profesional (PLC) Model by Hord (1997a, 1997b). PLC
International Journal of Engineering & Technology 437

Model by Hord (1997a) also highlighted more complete and thor- to all its members.
ough dimensions than other models. Although the Three Big Ideas Strengths:
Model by DuFour is more recent, the highlighted scopes and di- 1. One of the most popular models among researchers
mensions did not emphasize on the role of leadership in PLC prac- who are measuring the level of PLC practice.
2. This model produced a questionnaire instrument
tice in schools.
known as “School Professional Staffs as Learning
Fourthly, it is in terms of the explanation and discussed scopes in Communities Questionnaire” (SPSLCQ) (34,36).
every dimension and the functions specified in each model. The This questionnaire is amongst the most stable and
researcher found that Hord (1997a, 1997b) explained on PLC strong instruments and has been used by many re-
more thoroughly and elaborately, and it comprises all required Professional searchers who are studying the level of PLC practice
aspects in a school to practice it. While Senge (1990) only high- Learning in educational institutions.
lighted five disciplines or dimensions, DuFour (2004) has three Community 3. The researcher found that Hord (1997a, 1997b) ex-
dimensions, Hord (1997a, 1997b) comprises five dimensions in Model plained on PLC more thoroughly and elaborately,
(Hord, 1997) and it comprises all aspects that are needed for
his model and the five dimensions are elaborated more with 17
schools that are practicing it.
important elements that should be in an organization that practices 4. The five dimensions and 17 elements by Hord are
PLC. The dimensions and elements are very comprehensive and comprehensive and include various aspects such as
comprises various aspects such as the importance of togetherness the importance of togetherness in framing and articu-
in framing and articulating organization goal, school leader’s role, lating organization goal, the role of school leaders,
the importance of leadership sharing, quality T&L process accept- the importance of leadership sharing, quality T&L
ed by students, sharing of best practices among teachers and sup- process accepted by students, sharing of best practic-
port from organization to ensure every member of the school es among teachers and support from organization.
community can succeed or feel appreciated and acknowledged.
In the Five Disciplines Model by Senge (1990), it did not specifi- 5. Dimensions of Professional Learning Com-
cally mention the elements of students’ learning, unlike Hord who
clearly put improvement of students’ learning as a very important
munity (PLC)
element. The Five Disciplines Model also did not mention the
support that should be given by the higher members of the organi- There are five dimensions of PLC built by Hord (1997a). The
zation to acknowledge the success of all organization members dimensions are also applied by other researchers in their academic
and did not mention the aspect of affection and respect amongst research, for example, Bolam et al. (2005); Botha (2012); DuFour
organization members in practicing PLC successfully. & Eaker (1998); Eaker & Gonzalez (2006); Marzuki (2013);
The Three Big Ideas Model by DuFour (2004) also highlighted Musimartin (2014); Sigurðardóttir (2006, 2010); Verbiest (2011)
only three main dimensions in PLC practice in schools which are and Wilson (2016)
focus on students learning, building collaborative culture and fo-
cus on results. This model has several weaknesses as it did not 5.1 Shared Vision and Mission
include the role of leaders in a successful PLC practice. The aspect
of leadership was not mentioned at all, as if illustrating that According to Hord (1997a, 1997b) among the main keys in the
DuFour did not see the importance of school leaders’ role and its success of PLC in school is sharing mission and vision to sustain
relationship with PLC. Other than leadership, this model also did learning culture among leaders, teachers and students. Reichstetter
not emphasize on the importance of organization support in giving (2006) suggested that the main focus of the vision and mission is
encouragement and motivation to all organization members who to improve students’ learning activity and this should be done
practice PLC. DuFour did not include this important element even together. Other than students’ learning, the school’s vision and
though it is one of the most important thing to ensure that all hard mission is also set as the benchmark in measuring teachers’ teach-
work, achievement and success of PLC members would be ing quality and its effectiveness towards students’ learning. Hence,
acknowledged. Table Error! No text of specified style in document..1 the construction of the school’s vision and mission should portray
shows a brief comparison between the three models associated teamwork and collective responsibility of all members in the
with PLC by describing Hord’s PLC Model’s strengths and the school community, while also focusing highly on students’ learn-
other two models’ weaknesses. ing process (14,38,66).
Based on a study by Sergiovanni dan Green (2015), the sharing of
Table Error! No text of specified style in document..1:. Summary of vision and mission functions as the link that would unite every
Comparison between the Models in PLC individual in a school. Therefore, administrators, teachers and
Weaknesses: students who have practiced the sharing of vision and mission
1. The Five Disciplines Model by Senge which was tend to encourage each individual in school to have a sense of
created on 1990 is more outdated than two other responsibility and consequently translating it into actions. This
models. vision and mission act as a catalyst for the teachers’ action in
2. Senge (1990) only highlighted five disciplines or
Five school. The school now belongs to everyone – from the adminis-
dimension, while the model by Hord (1997a) com-
Disciplines
prises five dimensions with 17 important elements. trators to the students – and this sharing has become the main
Model (Sen- basis of their togetherness.
3. This model did not mention students’ learning ele-
ge, 1990) According to Hipp dan Huffman (2002), the creation of PLC cul-
ment specifically, while Hord clearly put enhance-
ment of students’ learning as a very important ele- ture in schools requires the cooperation of the administrators and
ment. teachers in framing and setting the vision and mission that focuses
4. This model did not include organization support in on students’ learning. Other than them, parents and the surround-
acknowledging success. ing community will also take part in giving their views and ideas
Weaknesses:
to make the vision and mission acceptable for everyone. Teachers
1. The Three Big Ideas Model by DuFour (2004) high-
lighted only three main dimensions in PLC practice, are given full trust to execute effective T&L process while being
Three Big given guidance from the school leaders to make decisions related
and the researcher opiniated that this model is not
Ideas to the process, to ensure that the school’s vision and mission can
thorough and complete as compared to other models.
Model
2. This model has several weaknesses because it ex- be achieved.
(DuFour,
2004)
cluded the role of leaders in succeeding PLC prac- Feger dan Arruda (2008) and Bolam et al. (2005) stated that the
tice. sharing of vision and mission is very much needed in improving a
3. This model did not state the importance of organiza- school. This sharing gives meaning to all community members of
tion support in giving encouragement and motivation
the school, whether internal or external and they need to always be
438 International Journal of Engineering & Technology

concerned and ready to help supporting one another to ensure the teachers to practice PLC through continuous support and learning
vision and mission can be achieved. Through this sharing dimen- process.
sion, administrators and teachers need to identify the needs and Hipp dan Huffman (2002) stated that the framework for the di-
importance of the set vision and mission, and not just agreeing on mension leadership sharing and supportive leadership is a demo-
any good ideas for their school. They do not only set the vision cratic practice. According to them, the practice of power and au-
and mission together, but they are doing more by giving full thority sharing is one of the examples of leadership democracy,
commitment in realizing them for the enhancement of students’ which is needed in the earlier phase of PLC development. Teach-
learning quality (65). ers are encouraged to give important input in making decision so
that leadership skill among teachers can be enhanced. The deci-
5.2 Leadership Sharing and Supportive Leadership sion making process is on things related to T&L activity of their
expertise or subjects being taught. Teachers are given the oppor-
The second dimension in PLC is leadership sharing and supportive tunity to express their ideas and giving alternatives for occurring
leadership (Hord, 1997a; 1997b). Hord suggested that the positive problems in the T&L process. Teachers’ leadership skill will be
effects of PLC (in term of leadership) can be seen if the school nurtured and improved as they are given the chance lead their
leaders and teachers share their tasks and responsibilities in a T&L process in class and sharing good practices with other fellow
school. He added that leadership is one of the most important di- teachers by guiding, reflecting and collaborating in discussing
mension in PLC because it has a strong and positive influence for T&L issues.
the school leaders and teachers to share their authority and ideas in
achieving the school vision (69). There are six advantages if the 5.3 Collective Learning and Learning Application
PLC is led by a skillful and capable leader. The six advantages are
firstly, the leaders ease the PLC members to interact with one The third dimension introduced by Hord (1997a, 1997b) is collec-
another; secondly, teachers tend to support every PLC activity of tive learning and learning application. This dimension describes
the leader is actively involved in PLC; thirdly, the school vision that school leaders and teachers should know how to build a
becomes the basis for all actions; fourth, it enhances development school community. The development of PLC in school is a con-
for professionalism practice; fifth, it strengthens PLC if there were tinuous process and it involves collective learning process
any difficulties or challenges in practicing it; and sixth, the leader- amongst the community in school (72). Hord (1997a) also high-
ship portrays the overall PLC in an organization. lighted that collective learning is vital in PLC practice as it re-
Hoerr (1996) suggested that school leaders and teachers should quires the exploration of new knowledge and practicing it in class-
develop shared leadership so that they are aware that they work room. This situation helps the school to ensure students’ learning
together as a unit to achieve school goal. Leithwood, Steinbach, goal can be achieved. In addition, DuFour (1999) stated that col-
and Ryan (1997) stated that school leaders should encourage their lective learning is a continuous process in leading students’ learn-
teachers to work as team and they should respect each other. Louis ing and solving problems in school. Collective learning process
dan Kruse (1994) supported this by stating that school leaders helps teachers to enhance their expertise in the subject they taught,
need the support of teachers and the school community because it improving their knowledge and also improving their skills and
is a basic element in PLC and through this supportive leadership, good practices to ensure students’ academic achievement and
school leaders would have stronger sense of responsibility in school quality can be enhanced (69).
building an effective school. For a school to build PLC, there are According to Norhayati (2009) in a research on PLC in a school in
three main factors that should contributed by the leaders. They are Sepang district, it is found that all teachers should collaborate
capability to share authority, capability to offer facilities for teach- among themselves to keep improving their knowledge and skill,
ers and the staffs, and capability to be actively present in school especially on those related to the subjects being taught. She added
activities (36). that teachers should familiarize themselves with high level learn-
According to Hord (1997a), to boost the success of leadership ing to fulfill students’ learning needs. This matter will encourage
sharing, school leaders should firstly distribute their power and teachers to collaborate more in learning new knowledge and skills
responsibilities. However, this should be the decided by the lead- and consequently applying them in classroom. Silo learning (or
ers themselves. This idea was also described by Hord dan individual learning) can no longer be applied, especially in the 21 st
Sommers (2009) who stated that authority, power and sharing in century learning.
decision making are the most important factors in a PLC. Hord Eaker, DuFour, dan DuFour (2002) stated that the collaborative
(1997b) acknowledged that school leaders and teachers were fac- culture among teachers and the administrators is one of the core
ing various difficulties in practicing this leadership sharing. Thus, characteristics of a school that practices PLC. Among the collabo-
school leaders should support and accept reasonable and practical rative culture that may be implemented in school include learning
ideas given by teachers. Accepting ideas, views and suggestions of in group, not in silo, solving T&L problems through discussion
teachers is the first step towards practicing leadership sharing. and getting the answers for the problems through a collective
School leaders should also develop a democracy concept and their agreement of the majority. Some examples of the activities that
actions should lead towards power sharing, decision making and would promote collaborative culture are a discussion among to
accepting brilliant suggestions from teachers and staffs that would create a quality lesson plan to achieve T&L objectives, creating
contribute to the development of effective leadership (69). questions consisting of various levels (especially high order of
PLC is also a medium to train teachers to be the future school thinking skill type of questions), discussing students’ answers
leaders. To realize this, school leaders should provide opportuni- (various levels) to evaluate students’ level of understanding, and
ties for teachers to participate in making decisions that are related finding the intervention to solve problems that involve students
to the school (73,74). In this case, Thompson, Gregg, dan Niska with low academic achievement.
(2004) agreed that leadership sharing should be distributed to all This is supported by Mumtaz (2008) who stated that collective
members in the school community based on the values owned by learning should include everyone in the organization. He added
each member, involved trusting one another and always be pre- that PLC can be the trigger for teachers to do learning activities
pared to share experiences among the members in the school among them, share the current and latest knowledge, create teach-
community. Zuraidah (2009) stated that teachers should be given ing materials to aid students’ understanding, and any activities that
support in many aspects so that improvement may be done well. can enhance their working quality. In consequent, this can im-
She added that other the headmaster or the principal, the assistants prove students’ academic achievement. Mclaughlin dan Talbert
of headmaster or principal should work together with their own (2006) also agreed on this idea by stating that one of the character-
capacity in strengthening the practice of PLC in school. This mid- istics of an effective school is when the school is able to educate
dle-line leaders are believed to be able to motivate and inspire the teachers to work together in a team. Through teamwork, teach-
International Journal of Engineering & Technology 439

ers will learn collectively through meetings, discussions, and shar- teacher, but it would also make the teachers to be more aware and
ing of ideas, knowledge and experience. These activities will cre- sensitive towards the students’ needs and demands in the class-
ate a good and effective working team. To reach this level, the room (Andrews & Lewis, 2002).
team’s goal and each member’s tasks should be clarified and un-
derstood well. This is important to ease the team to accomplish the 5.5 Organization Support
tasks and the goal can be achieved more quickly and easily. This
sharing and collaborative learning method can build better The fifth dimension introduced by Hord (1997a, 1997b) is organi-
knowledge development among teachers as compared to when zation support. Hord (1997a) defined organization support as an
they are learning in silo (Andrews & Lewis, 2002). interpersonal (human) relationship with physical sources (struc-
ture). Hipp dan Huffman (2002) agreed with Hord (1997a) by
5.4 Personal Practice Sharing stating that PLC can only function when the organization has or-
ganization support in terms of the relationship between the human
The fourth dimension in PLC is personal practice sharing (36,47). resources and school structure. These two characteristics ensured
According to McREL (2003), teachers in school should always PLC can be continuously practiced in school and not just during
work and learn together with their colleagues by evaluating good selected periods. The human relationship factor has five character-
practices that are being practiced. They should also be aware of istics which are affectionate relationship (loving), mutual trust and
students’ needs, interests and skills. A research by Bonces (2014) respect, acknowledgement of success, dare to face any risks and
on PLC practices in schools in Colombia found that the education making changes by working together which had been practiced all
system in the country benefited from PLC practice because the along (implemented in the school community). On the other hand,
school administrations and teachers from diverse background and the structural factor consists of three main characteristics which
expertise are working together to achieve school goal. He further are sources, facilities and communication system.
stated that knowing and practicing teachers’ best practices will Hipp dan Huffman (2002) underlined several characteristics of a
enrich the teachers with knowledge, methods and experiences to school that had achieved good relationship among colleagues.
improve T&L process in classroom and consequently enhancing Some of the characteristics are cohesiveness among everyone in
students’ academic achievement. the school community, being loving and respectful towards one
According to Sujirah (2011), personal practice sharing is a process another, being open in accepting advices, being concerned, and all
that encourages teachers to interact and share their best practices other important positive characteristics in an organization. Struc-
in classroom and the experiences they got while doing the T&L ture support, for example, is very important to develop and sustain
process. Good practices and experiences in T&L are important to PLC. Among the important structure supports in PLC is the
be shared to improve each teacher’s added value. In this research, sources needed by the school, such as the school’s financial posi-
he suggested several personal practices sharing that can be prac- tion that would support all school and teachers’ activity, and also
ticed in school. The practices are sharing of the latest practices of the size of the school. These matters should be handled seriously
T&L, giving feedback on students’ development, observing and for the effectiveness of PLC in school (69).
analyzing students’ work, and encouraging teachers to share ideas, Hord dan Sommers (2009) also suggested that PLC development
knowledge and experience. All these practices, if practiced, would in school requires organization support. Administrators and teach-
enhance teachers’ knowledge and skills that would help in solving ers should help one another in improving their knowledge and
problems, especially on the T&L process in classroom. skill and practicing good practices. They added that PLC devel-
For Norhayati (2009), personal practice sharing is one of the signs opment requires high level of understanding, sense of sharing and
of the success of PLC because it proved that the school succeeded belonging and also a solid support from the administrators. Hence,
in implementing difficult and critical characteristics to be prac- the administrators should be proactive in nurturing collaborative
ticed in school, for example, openness, having mutual trust and practice among teachers in school.
respect, helping one another and most importantly, willingness to According to Hord (1997a), the physical condition of a school and
share best practices with fellow teachers. On the issue of trust and the capacity of its community are found to have positive relation-
personal practice sharing, Sackney, Walker, dan Mitchell (2005) ship in PLC practices in school. Human capacity in every teacher
highlighted that mutual trust among teachers is a critical factor in is very important for them to be able to contribute their energy and
the process of enhancing the quality of the school, teachers, and ideas. Hord (1997b) also explained that human capacity comprises
students. Teachers or anyone else may not be open, fail to learn several characteristics which include collective learning, shared
the latest T&L practices and contemplate to collaborate with their leadership and professional practice, the element of mutual love,
colleague if there was no mutual trust. They would doubt one trust and respect among colleagues, acknowledging colleagues’
another and this would complicate the process of bringing the success, making changes in the organization collaboratively and
school towards betterment. many more. Meanwhile for structure support, Hord (1997a) be-
According to Musimartin (2014), through personal practice shar- lieved that the structure of communication network is the most
ing, teachers would volunteer and be open (in accepting advices) important characteristic other than the size of a school. A commu-
to reflect their own T&L practices and others’ as well. Teachers nication structure requires deep feedback and reflection, and it
can do the reflection by observing other teachers’ T&L process involves activities such as organization committee meeting, letter-
and bringing the findings from the observation to their group dis- box, notice board and also e-mail. All these mediums are useful
cussion. Through this approach, teachers will be able to identify tools to create an effective school. Nonetheless, e-mail is a very
their strengths and weaknesses, and at the same time, what to be important tool for school leaders and teachers to share resources,
corrected or improved based on the feedback of their colleagues. ask questions and share good practices (86).
Nevertheless, this process will only succeed if there are mutual
respect and trust among the members. According to Hord (1997a) 6. Issues in Practicing Professional Communi-
and Thompson et al. (2004), the definition of personal practice
sharing is a consistent sharing of knowledge, expertise and experi- ty Learning
ence, doing research if there were problems in T&L process, col-
laborative learning among teachers, and exchanging teaching ma- PLC practice also has its own challenges and critiques. According
terials and methods to ensure students’ learning quality can be to Stoll dan Loius (2007), PLC practice in China faced challenges
improved. Other than sharing good practices, teachers would also to create a school climate that would support PLC development.
give motivation and encouragement for their colleagues and they This statement is supported by Bolam et al., (2005) who explained
would evaluate and analyze students’ work and development (15). the challenges in practicing PLC to encourage and sustain learning
Personal practice sharing would not only give added value to each culture among professionals in school with the end goal of en-
440 International Journal of Engineering & Technology

hancing students’ learning quality. Giles dan Hargreaves (2006), only be built effectively if the purpose of the collaborative discus-
in their research on PLC, found several evidences which proved sion was to enhance students’ academic achievement. DuFour
that an effective PLC will enhance teachers’ commitment and (2004) expressed his disappointment when the term PLC was used
reflective practice among them (Bryk, Camburn, & Louis, 1999; vastly that it had lost its original meaning.
Larrivee, 2000; Vescio, Ross, & Adams, 2008), but it is difficult The development of PLC is still at the beginning stage and it is a
and rare to successfully create an effective PLC because it failed new concept in the education world in Malaysia. PLC is getting
to be maintained and sustained for a long period. more known and practiced in school after it had been included for
Another challenge to maintain PLC is to encourage “social capi- the first time in the Ministry of Education Malaysia Interim Stra-
tal” to accept PLC practice and ensure it can be continuously prac- tegic Planning 2011-2020 (97). In the plan, PLC was specifically
ticed in school. In general, social capital means a network of hu- stated as one the activities to enhance the quality of teaching,
man relationship in a particular community that would enable the learning and teachers’ training. This matter was clearly stated in
community to function effectively (8,12). Hence, in the school the first initiative of the plan, which is to uphold teaching profes-
context, social capital refers to the school leaders, assistant princi- sion. Recently, PLC has become one of the activities of Continu-
pals or headmasters, heads of department, committee chairman, ous Professional Development that should be carried out by school
teachers and students, or in other words, the whole school com- leaders and teachers and this had been specifically stated in Ma-
munity. laysian Transformational Education Bulletin named “Buletin
There are two strategies to solve the two challenges. The first Anjakan: Buletin Transformasi Pendidikan Malaysia” No. 7/2015
strategy is leadership. Leadership is the most important factor in (98). Several State Education Departments responded to the idea
building and maintaining PLC among teachers in school of empowering PLC by putting PLC as one of the KPI that needed
(12,15,36). Several researchers stated that two most dominant to be achieved by education officers, school leaders and teachers.
leaderships in building and maintaining PLC are instructional For example, Johor State Education Department had made PLC as
leadership and transformational leadership (Day & Sammons, one of the 10 KPIs in Strategic Planning Phase 4. PLC was in-
2013; Hallinger, 2003). The second strategy is to enhance social cluded in the fourth strategic goal, where every school needed to
capital in school, and it is suggested that trust is a very important have an efficient, effective and innovative management system.
element that should be the foundation of PLC and any collabora- Efficient, effective and innovative management system would
tive activities (Bryk & Schneider, 2003; Louis, 2006). ensure the targeted objectives can be achieved through various
A research by Sims dan Penny (2014) found four factors that led approach, whether via Malaysia Education Quality Standard,
to failure in practicing PLC. Firstly, the PLC members (teachers) Quality School Management System, Professional Learning
made PLC too rigid by focusing on PLC using one set of matrix Community or performance dialogue. This clearly proves that
form that was supplied from the data team discussion, insufficient PLC plays a big role in developing an efficient and innovative
time to collaborate and lack of support from the administrations to management system (99).
make the PLC effective. The second factor is that majority of the Negeri Sembilan State Education Department had also taken the
members (teachers) thought that PLC did not bring positive effects same step as the Ministry of Education when they implemented
on their teaching skill. In an interview that was carried out, six of PLC as one of the methods to enhance the education system at
the respondents had come to a consensus that PLC did not affect school, district, and state level. Through the second core strategy
their teaching plan at all. which is high quality of international standard, PLC practice was
The third factor is time constraint. Time has become the main stated in the sixth strategy, which is to enhance education quality
challenge in PLC practice. Teachers found it hard to sit together to produce human capitals who acquire the 21 st century knowledge
and discuss. Time constraint has become the factor of their failure and skills. For the third core strategy which is equity for all stu-
to collaborate because of the various demand in their work. Re- dents, PLC was also made as the third strategy to handle the issue
garding the time issue, Voulalas dan Sharpe (2005) highlighted of education gap between urban and rural schools by bridging the
that there are many obstacles to maintain PLC practice for a long gap closer among the urban-rural schools, type schools, and out-
time in a school. The obstacles are time constraint, no effective of-district schools (100).
leadership, limited resources and no long-term planning. This Since PLC is a new concept in Malaysia education world, there
research also found that leadership of a school leader is the most are limited literature that explains the weaknesses of PLC practice
vital element in overcoming all these obstacles because of their in Malaysian schools. In terms of definition, PLC is a new term.
capability and power in managing resources well and affecting the Nevertheless, professional development process has existed in
organization culture. Thus, it is proven once more that leadership Malaysia for a long time to enhance teachers’ added value and
plays an important role in ensuring the continuity of PLC in quality. Professional development program is seen to have similar-
schools. ities with PLC in terms of practicing learning among the members
The fourth factor is that the positive effects of PLC towards stu- of an organization. However, this development program is carried
dents’ academic achievement is still arguable. Based on a re- out traditionally through one-way courses or workshops. The pro-
search, only one from six respondents agreed that PLC gave posi- gram had received many criticisms from the experts. Among them
tive effects on the students. Meanwhile, two other respondents include unclear objectives, lack of follow up after the program, not
disagreed while the rest preferred to not answer. Other than that, fulfilling teachers’ needs and demands and lack of professional
all respondents had a negative view towards the founding of data development model to be referred to. (101). According to Seng
team which refers to a group of PLC in the researched school. (2005), courses and training workshops are the most popular tradi-
They also stated that the time constraint to fulfill the tasks given tional method in Malaysia. It emphasized more on one-way and
by data team was a challenge that they had to face. Nevertheless, top-down communication, and the knowledge delivered were
an advantage was gained from the PLC practice, where it nurtured more on the international context and not in the context of local
collaborative culture among the school community. This finding situation.
agreed with the finding found by Richmond dan Manokore (2010) Moreover, the lack of follow up at school after the courses or
who stated that collaboration among school leaders and teachers training workshop had ended led the professional development
can succeed if the school practiced PLC. program to failure. According to Jackson (2009), the professional
Although there is an advantage in practicing PLC, not all PLC can development program and activities in schools were more of a
be carried out correctly thus benefiting the students and the school. “sit-down and listen” session and this caused the teachers to fail in
PLC may not be able to succeed due to several factors, whether developing their potential and knowledge. Mohamad (2005) stated
internal (collaborative factor) or external (environment and situa- that the knowledge they gained was not comprehended or applied
tion). The problem was found to begin at the definition of PLC and sometimes were not delivered to other teachers in the school.
itself. Not all teachers’ grouping can be defined as PLC. PLC can He added that the delivery of the knowledge gained from the pro-
International Journal of Engineering & Technology 441

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