Abstract
This study analyzed all published research articles examining the relationship between professional community efforts (plc) (used here as a broader category than, but inclusive of, Professional Learning Communities or PLCs) and student academic achievement (SAA) that reported primary research findings published before January 1, 2015. This study specifically identified primary, quantitative studies of SAA that in context are plc, but which may or may not be labeled as such, that were published before January 1, 2015. Analyses examined how many studies of plc and SAA were of a descriptive, correlational, causal comparative, quasi-experimental,or experimental design type, evaluated the internal validity of their findings, and assessed the generalizability of each study based on normative expectations of implementation and study design type. Each of the 57 studies meeting the inclusion criteria were evaluated using a Design and Quality of Implementation Matrix. Findings indicated that none of 57 primary research efforts examining plc and SAA exhibited acceptable levels of generalizability. For articles demonstrating high design and implementation scores, threats to external validity are presented and discussed. Recommendations are provided for improving the generalizability of research in plc.
Degree
EdD
College and Department
David O. McKay School of Education; Educational Leadership and Foundations
Rights
http://lib.byu.edu/about/copyright/
BYU ScholarsArchive Citation
Thacker, Brandon K., "A Methodological Analysis of Research into the Effect of Professional Learning Community on Student Academic Achievement" (2016). Theses and Dissertations. 6442.
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/6442
Date Submitted
2016-07-01
Document Type
Dissertation
Handle
http://hdl.lib.byu.edu/1877/etd8868
Keywords
student academic achievement, professional learning community, lesson study, collaboration, methodology, and validity
Language
english