Is it personal? Teacher’s personality and the principal’s role in professional learning communities

Abstract

Research results have provided evidence of the potential contribution that professional learning communities (PLCs) can make to enhance school outcomes. While numerous organizational and cultural aspects of schools have been recognized as key requirements for PLC success, researchers have noted that a teacher’s ability to share knowledge in the context of school learning interactions requires certain skills. Our goal is to extend the theoretical understanding and practical implications of individual factors that may support and/or constrain PLC development. Specifically, we discuss teachers’ personality traits from the big five typology, namely, extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness to experience, as a possible explanation for differences in motivation toward social interactions, knowledge sharing, and the general position of the individual teacher in the PLC network. We also address the principal’s role in promoting the process of knowledge sharing and social relationships in PLCs. Practical implications for school members and principals are suggested.

Öğretmenleri̇n Ki̇şi̇li̇k Ti̇pleri̇ İle Mesleğe Yabancilaşma Arasindaki̇ İli̇şki̇

“…In addition, the positive personality traits of the dominant teachers value professional values, produce the intrinsic motivation to fulfill the requirements of the profession, the students are responsible for the cognitive-affective development of strategies to support the development of self-efficacy is demonstrated with research findings (Djigic, Stojiljkovic & Doskılmaz, 2013;. In addition, it is possible to come across a series of studies that link the personality traits of teachers with the formation of professional learning communities that will increase their professional competencies and skills and making them more competent in the teaching profession (Benoliel & Schechter, 2017;Graham, 2007;Jones;. However, as teachers' positive personality traits do not dominate, their commitment to the profession, resilience levels, and occupational motivation are not as high as expected, and their burnout levels are also high (Thomson, 1995).…”

“…Ayrıca, pozitif kişilik tipleri baskın olan öğretmenlerin mesleki değerlere önem verdiği, mesleğinin gereklerini yerine getirecek içsel motivasyonu ürettiği, sorumlu olduğu öğrencilerin bilişsel-duyuşsal gelişimlerini destekleyecek stratejiler ürettiği, öz yeterliklerini güçlendirdiği araştırma bulguları ile ortaya konulmaktadır (Djigic, Stojiljkovic & Doskovic, 2013;Eryılmaz, 2014). Bunun yanında, öğretmenlerin mesleki yeterliklerini ve becerilerini artıracak türden profesyonel öğrenme toplulukları oluşturmaları ve bu toplulukların bir parçası olarak kendilerini öğretmenlik mesleğinde daha yetkin hale getirmeleri ile kişilik tiplerini bağdaştıran bir dizi çalışmaya literatürde rastlamak mümkündür (Benoliel & Schechter, 2017;Graham, 2007;Jones, 2014). Ancak pozitif kişilik tipleri baskın olmayan öğretmenlerin mesleğe bağlılıkları, yılmazlık düzeyleri ve mesleki motivasyonları beklendiği kadar yüksek düzeyde çıkmadığından ve tükenmişlik düzeyleri de yüksek olduğundan bu öğretmenlerin mesleğe yabancılaşma düzeyleri de artış göstermektedir (Thomson, 1995).…”

Learning from intelligent failure: an organizational resource for school improvement

“…A PLC can promote a social, cognitive and emotional support system for teachers as they work in collaboration to solve school failures and teachers' individual failures. PLCs can thus operate as a platform for sharing and acknowledging individual and organizational failures, creating a more lateral flow of information to analyze, correct and learn from intelligent failures (Benoliel and Schechter, 2017). Within this framework, principals can also encourage diversity by inviting representatives from all levels of the school (teachers, senior teachers), as well as external stakeholders, to participate in the learning from failure process.…”

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“…From the individual factors we take into consideration the Big Five` personality factors in relation with PLC. Benoliel and Schechter (2017) advanced that Big Five personality traits have an influence on PLC through tendencies for relation building and knowledge sharing.…”