Date of Award

6-1-2011

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Ph.D.

Organizational Unit

Morgridge College of Education

First Advisor

Kent Seidel, Ph.D.

Second Advisor

Roger Salters, Ph.D.

Third Advisor

Susan Korach

Fourth Advisor

Elliot Asp

Keywords

Collective efficacy, Learning communities, Learning organizations, Professional learning community

Abstract

The Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study in 2007 conducted by the National Center of Education Statistics revealed that the students in United States are scoring lower than several other countries in the areas of science and mathematics. Students in other countries are able to compete globally for employment in professional occupations that were previously occupied by graduates from the United States. Therefore, there is a sense of urgency to increase student achievement throughout the United States. No Child Left Behind (2001) mandates that public schools develop accountability systems to ensure that all students achieve at the proficient or advance levels. It goes further to mandate that school systems address achievement gaps between sub-groups. Researchers have investigated the characteristics of effective schools in search of the solutions to address our student achievement gaps and achievement for all students. Collective efficacy, the perception that a school has the capability to attain their goals, has been found to increase student achievement. Likewise, research on effective learning organizations has also been found to increase student achievement. There has been much research on each construct individually, however research on the relationships between these two constructs and the related impact on student achievement is beginning to emerge.

This study investigates the correlation between teachers' perception of collective efficacy and their school as an effective professional learning community and delving deeper to find a resulting relationship to student growth data. Fourth and fifth grade teachers from a large suburban school district of 50, 000 students in the Denver Metro area participated in this study to assess whether there was a correlation between their level of perceived collective efficacy and their perception of their school as a professional learning community. Roger Goddard's Collective Efficacy: Short Form questionnaire was used to assess collective efficacy. Shirley Hord's School Professional Staff as Learning Community questionnaire was used to assess perceptions of learning communities. Data from the Colorado Student Assessment Program of Spring 2009, student growth data specifically, was used to investigate correlations between student achievement to teachers' perceptions of collective efficacy and learning communities.

Analysis revealed that there is a positive correlation between collective efficacy and schools as professional learning communities. The correlation was statistically significant at r= 476 p=.000. Hord's questionnaire contains five dimensions of learning communities and four out of the five were found to be positively correlated to collective efficacy and were statistically significant. However, the findings indicated that there was not a relationship between student growth data and collective efficacy or professional learning communities which was inconsistent with other studies.

Publication Statement

Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.

Rights Holder

Joleta Gallozzi

Provenance

Received from ProQuest

File Format

application/pdf

Language

en

File Size

103 p.

Discipline

Educational leadership, Education policy, Educational administration

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