Secondary teachers' and administrators' perceptions of teacher leadership within the implementation of professional learning communities

The purpose of this study was to examine secondary or high school teachers’ and administrators’ perception of teacher leadership within the PLC model. The study included a review of data collected from the Professional Learning Communities Assessment-Revised (PLCA-R) from a purposeful sample of high school teachers and administrators from a large suburban school district in southeast Texas. A purposeful sample of high school teachers, teacher leaders, administrators, and the Director of Professional Growth were interviewed in an attempt to provide a more in-depth understanding of their perceptions of teacher leadership within the PLC model. Quantitative data were analyzed using frequencies and percentages, while an inductive coding process was used to analyze the collected qualitative data. Quantitative data analyzed the five dimensions of PLCs varied based on the campuses of the teachers and administrators. Qualitative analysis reinforced quantitative data gathered while bringing additional clarity to teachers, teacher leaders, administrators and the Director of Professional Growth perceptions of teacher leadership in PLCs. Quantitative analysis revealed that there is evidence of the implementation model of PLCs in the district, however there is some inconsistency in the shared and supportive leadership domain. The qualitative analysis supported the inconsistency in shared and supportive leadership evidence in the teacher leaders role in PLCs from the perspectives of the teachers’, teacher leaders’, administrators’ and the Director of Professional Growth.