This research describes the evolution over the last eight years of a professional learning community of elementary and secondary school principals in one school cluster in Sydney, Australia. The paper not only highlights the characteristics of this learning community that make it effective within a critical consideration of the literature and research about professional learning communities in education but emphasises the movement towards a collective responsibility for the learning of all students in the cluster schools and the important change from teaching to student learning that has been achieved through careful collaborative strategic planning for teacher and leader professional learning and development and the translation of this into leadership and classroom practice. The research is set within the context of two significant Australian national policy initiatives, those of Quality Teaching, Learning and Assessment and Middle Schooling. The latter has been important in facilitating connections between elementary and secondary schools, particularly in addressing issues of student transition from elementary to secondary school and associated decreases in student self esteem, confidence and academic achievement and concomitant increases in loss of interest in school, truancy and avoidance behaviour. The cluster professional learning community has focused particularly on addressing these issues through a collaborative program to develop quality teaching, learning and assessment across the cluster schools.

Focus group semi-structured interviews and participant observation

The research findings confirm a number of the characteristics already identified in the research literature that are essential to a successful professional learing community (eg, commonality of interests/challenges, strong professional relationships that result in high levels of honesty, trust and risk, a commitment to the common imperative of finding regular time and opportunity to meet, shared responsibility and commitment to the tasks set by the group. Findings also develop new ideas concerning the development of collective responsibility for the learners in all schools by leaders and their teaching staff.