Abstract

This research shows the development and influencing factors of high school English teachers’ evaluation of professional learning community in Changchun, China. Followed Olivier and Hipp & Huffma’s research, the teacher professional learning community evaluation questionnaire was developed by the researchers. 422 English teachers in Changchun were invited to participate in the online survey. This study found that the organization characteristics of professional learning communities in this city shared similar characteristics with Western countries at some degree. English perceptions of including the “shared personal practice” and “collective learning and application” achieves the average level in this research. Compared to the western professional learning communities, the Chinese professional learning communities in this study lack of the democratic leadership and shared value and vision attributions. According to the analysis, we find that the Confucian cultural context, teacher’ career development stages, the pressures of national college entrance examination and the systematic teaching training have a significant impact on the evaluation of teacher professional learning communities. Aiming at to build a learning organisation rather than a bureaucratic administration, we suggest that the “shared value and vison” and “shared and supportive leadership” needs more reform in the current professional learning communities. Namely, traditional Soviet model of school-based professional learning communities need to reform toward a learning organisation emphasizing the teaching and learning.

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