Reculturing through professional learning communities: A case study of implementing the national professional learning policy in a small rural primary school in Cyprus

Abstract

The study attempted to gain a deeper understanding of how a small rural school worked as a professional learning community towards reculturing to improve certain aspects of school life by implementing aspects of the national teacher professional learning framework. A cyclical, inquiry-based professional learning path of a professional learning community was followed (Darling-Hammond et al., 2009; Woodland, 2106) to achieve reculturing. Data was collected through diary notes and semi-structured interviews using a thematic analysis of qualitative data. The results revealed the importance of setting a common goal in the small rural school context and the role of the head teacher in the transition of the teachers’ group into a learning community. The case study revealed the importance of bottom-up professional learning activities that align teaching staff needs with school needs and context. The teachers in the study, bounded by the contextual norms and rules of the small rural school and encouraged by their headteacher’s initiative, gradually became a community, achieved reculturing, improved school and classroom practice together, saw the impact their learning had on students, parents, and teachers, created trustful relationships and made broader suggestions for the implementation of the national teacher professional learning policy.