IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/sagope/v10y2020i2p2158244020925516.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Unveiling the Practices and Challenges of Professional Learning Community in a Malaysian Chinese Secondary School

Author

Listed:
  • Wei Chuan Chua
  • Lei Mee Thien
  • Shun Yi Lim
  • Chee Seng Tan
  • Teik Ee Guan

Abstract

Professional learning community (PLC) studies in the Asian Chinese nations remain scarce despite the emerging interest in the practice of PLC beyond the Western context. This study attempts to provide an understanding of the practices of PLC and challenges in implementing PLC in a Malaysian Chinese culture–dominated secondary school. This qualitative study used a phenomenological constructivist approach as a strategy of inquiry. Semi-structured interview data were collected from six middle leaders and ordinary teachers in a national-type Chinese secondary school in the northern region. Findings informed three existing PLC practices at the school level, namely, (a) peer coaching, (b) sharing of personal practices, and (c) professional development courses. However, the practice of PLC encounters various challenges, including excessive workload, teachers’ passive attitudes, unsupportive conditions in the school, poor execution of PLC by the school community, and a vague understanding of PLC. Interestingly, this study identified two uncovered challenges hindering the development of PLC: misconception about PLC and lack of supervision from the authority. Implications and future studies are presented.

Suggested Citation

  • Wei Chuan Chua & Lei Mee Thien & Shun Yi Lim & Chee Seng Tan & Teik Ee Guan, 2020. "Unveiling the Practices and Challenges of Professional Learning Community in a Malaysian Chinese Secondary School," SAGE Open, , vol. 10(2), pages 21582440209, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:sagope:v:10:y:2020:i:2:p:2158244020925516
    DOI: 10.1177/2158244020925516
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/2158244020925516
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/2158244020925516?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Mohd Faiz Mohd Yaakob & Jamal & Nordin Yunus, 2016. "The Relationship between School Culture and Professional Learning Community in Malaysia," International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, Human Resource Management Academic Research Society, International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, vol. 6(12), pages 231-236, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Zhou Yan & Meng Na & Syed Shah Alam & Mohammad Masukujjaman & Ye Xiao Lu, 2022. "Teacher Competencies and School Improvement Specialist Coaching (SISC+) Programme in Malaysia as a Model for Improvement of Quality Education in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-17, December.
    2. Hamada Elfarargy & Beverly J. Irby & Erin A. Singer & Rafael Lara-Alecio & Fuhui Tong & Elisabeth Pugliese, 2022. "Teachers’ Perceptions of Instructional Coaches’ Practices in Professional Learning Communities," SAGE Open, , vol. 12(3), pages 21582440221, August.
    3. Ayesha Ishaque & Marc Audi, 2024. "Leadership and Infrastructure in Implementing Professional Learning Communities in Lahore HEIs: An Interpretive Structural Modeling Approach," Bulletin of Business and Economics (BBE), Research Foundation for Humanity (RFH), vol. 13(2), pages 505-512.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.

      Corrections

      All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:sagope:v:10:y:2020:i:2:p:2158244020925516. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

      If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

      If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

      If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

      For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

      Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

      IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.