This article presents a review of 70 empirical articles focussing on professional learning communities (PLCs) for teachers in the Global South. The review highlights an upward trend in the quantity of the publications on PLCs from 2010 onwards. The evidence suggests that PLCs could be initiated as a result of a mandate, a project of professional…

The concept of professional learning communities (PLCs) has received considerable attention in research as well as in school practice since the late 1990s. PLCs have been positively associated with a variety of outcomes for both teachers and students, but differences in the way the concept is operationalised, and the fact that most of the research…

Professional learning communities (PLCs) have become the gold standard of teachers' professional learning. However, their success is far from guaranteed. Little is known regarding the processes that groups of learners undergo to become fully-fledged PLCs. This study followed a teachers' PLC over three years. It shows how the facilitator learned to…

Since facilitators are considered to be crucial actors in teacher teams, the aim of this study is therefore to explore, observe and characterise actions of facilitators by means of detailed video-observations of facilitators during teacher-team meetings. Results show that facilitators' actions vary from passive-absent and passive-waiting to…

A networked learning community (NLC) comprises teachers from different schools engaging collaboratively in purposeful and sustained professional learning. Networked learning entails the construction of knowledge that is new to the members of the group by tapping their collective practitioner knowledge and the public knowledge base. Members can use…

There is strong evidence that professional learning in schools can positively impact learner experience and outcomes. This conceptual paper draws on key literature focused on understandings of high-quality professional learning and what makes an excellent environment in which to learn. This literature informed and spoke to the sense-making of our…

This study explores whether the relationship between departmental leadership (i.e. group-oriented and development-oriented departmental leadership) and the interpersonal characteristics of professional learning communities (PLC) (i.e. collective responsibility and reflective dialogue) varies between departments, depending on whether teachers…

Amidst societal, demographic and educational changes, teachers are expected to engage in professional development and learning (PDL) throughout their careers. This study explores school teachers' mental models about their work in the framework of Senge's learning organisation, aiming to support their PDL during curriculum reform and organisational…

Adequate principal preparation and subsequent lifelong learning are of paramount importance in offering the ingredients for coping in multifaceted and highly demanding school environments. This article addresses the following research questions: (1) How do a theoretical and reflective component compare in terms of perceived (a) practical output…

This article focuses on the development of a network learning system to enhance professional learning in Initial Teacher Education (ITE) through collaboration in a university-school partnership. The Chilean education system, characterised by market-oriented reforms and competition, serves as a unique context where to explore the development of an…

This article presents findings from a study examining teacher talk in the early and late phases of a 4-year project in a Norwegian elementary school where Lesson Study was used as a method for professional development. The study focuses on inclusive and adapted education and aims to explore the changing beliefs about student needs and the…

A prominent phenomenon in education in Europe and internationally is the demand for research-based education, which is also the case in Sweden, the context of this study. Therefore, greater academic demands have been placed on teachers, which can present a distinctive challenge for teachers who were educated when teacher education prioritised…

Despite a burgeoning body of research on teacher identity development, little is known about how incongruities between the ideal and real-life teaching practices create identity tensions. The present study adopted an arts-based approach and examined teachers' ideal and actual teaching practices, and the associated identity tensions and related…

Studies have examined teachers' experience of organisational learning in school-based contexts but have seldom investigated teachers' cross-school learning processes. This paper explores the dynamic processes of teacher learning in cross-school settings led by local teaching and research officers. Qualitative comparative case studies based on…

Using social constructivist theories of adult learning and complexity thinking perspectives, a long-term, multi-tiered professional development (PD) programme was designed, implemented and evaluated at Qatar University. This qualitative study explored the systems of influence on 24 university teachers' professional agency for learning and leading…