Introduction

      The most promising strategy for sustained, substantive school improvement is developing the ability of school personnel to function as professional learning communities.

      That is the message of this book in a nutshell! Everything else provides context and details—but careful examination and constant probing of context and detail are critical elements in becoming a professional learning community.

      Each word of the phrase “professional learning community” has been chosen purposefully. A “professional” is someone with expertise in a specialized field, an individual who has not only pursued advanced training to enter the field, but who is also expected to remain current in its evolving knowledge base. The knowledge base of education has expanded dramatically in the past quarter century, both in terms of research and in terms of the articulation of recommended standards for the profession. Although many school personnel are unaware of or are inattentive to emerging research and standards, educators in a professional learning community make these findings the basis of their collaborative investigation of how they can better achieve their goals.

      “Learning” suggests ongoing action and perpetual curiosity. In Chinese, the term “learning” is represented by two characters: the first means “to study,” and the second means “to practice constantly.” Many schools operate as though their personnel know everything they will ever need to know the day they enter the profession. The school that operates as a professional learning community recognizes that its members must engage in the ongoing study and constant practice that characterize an organization committed to continuous improvement.

      Much has been written about learning organizations, but we prefer the term “community.” An organization has been defined both as an “administrative and functional structure” (Webster’s Dictionary) and as “a systematic arrangement for a definite purpose” (Oxford Dictionary). In each case, the emphasis is on structure and efficiency. In contrast, however, the term “community” suggests a group linked by common interests. As Corrine McLaughlin and Gordon Davidson (1994) write:

      Community means different things to different people. To some it is a safe haven where survival is assured through mutual cooperation. To others, it is a place of emotional support, with deep sharing and bonding with close friends. Some see community as an intense crucible for personal growth. For others, it is simply a place to pioneer their dreams. (p. 471)

      In a professional learning community, all of these characteristics are evident. Educators create an environment that fosters mutual cooperation, emotional support, and personal growth as they work together to achieve what they cannot accomplish alone.

      This book offers specific, practical recommendations for those who seek to transform their schools into professional learning communities. The recommendations we offer are based on research, evident in best practice, and consistent with standards of quality adopted by various national organizations. References to and brief summaries of standards for curriculum, teacher preparation and development, school leadership, professional development programs, school-parent partnerships, and assessment practices are provided throughout this book.

      We have not, however, limited our study to research, practices, and standards in education. We also examine organizational development, change processes, leadership, and successful practices outside of education. We rely heavily on the work of Linda Darling-Hammond, Michael Fullan, Andy Hargreaves, Milbrey McLaughlin, Fred Newmann, Seymour Sarason, Phil Schlechty, Ted Sizer, Dennis Sparks, and others who have focused on steps that can be taken to improve public schools. But we also have sought out the lessons that can be found for educators in the work of Warren Bennis, James Champy, Steven Covey, Terry Deal, Peter Drucker, John Gardner, Rosabeth Moss Kanter, John Kotter, James Kouzes, Burt Nanus, Tom Peters, Barry Posner, Peter Senge, Robert Waterman, and others.

      Some educators may object to any suggestion that schools could benefit from the lessons that have been learned in the private sector. These teachers and administrators are often quick to point out that they have no control over who their “customers” are or will be; that while the private sector can focus on finding its niche in the market or enhancing the quality of its processes, schools must take all students, regardless of their abilities or levels of support from parents and the community. It is certainly true that children are not products and that educators are not assembly line workers. There are many differences between schools and industry, and those differences should not be minimized.

      Nevertheless, one characteristic of a learning organization is a willingness to learn from its external environment, and it is this willingness that most educators have not demonstrated. In his study of school cultures, Seymour Sarason (1996) concludes that school personnel are remarkably uninterested in issues outside of their daily routines: “It is as if they are only interested in what they do and are confronted with in their encapsulated classrooms in their encapsulated schools” (pp. 329–330). Educators have been too quick to dismiss as irrelevant the experience and insights gained by those outside of education. Over a decade of research has established that the most successful people in any area look outside their narrow field for fresh perspectives and new ideas (Kanter, 1997). We believe that school practitioners can and should learn from the organizations outside of education that have struggled with some of the same issues that public schools face today. The best of these organizations have struggled to find answers to the following questions:

      • How can we clarify and communicate the purpose, vision, and values of our organization?

      • How can we initiate, implement, and sustain a change process?

      • How can we provide strong leadership at the same time that we empower those closest to the action?

      • How can we shape organizational culture and provide structures that support the culture we