The relationship between teacher value orientations and engagement in professional learning communities

The development of teacher professional learning communities (PLC) has attracted growing attention among practitioners, policy-makers and researchers. The aims of this study were to identify typologies of professional learning teams based on measures of professional learning engagement, and assess their linkages with teachers’ value orientations. Based on data obtained from 408 professional learning teams in Singapore schools, cluster analysis identified three types of professional learning teams: highly engaged, moderately engaged and less engaged. These three profiles differ mainly in terms of level of endorsement for the four measures of professional learning engagement (collective focus on student learning, collaborative learning, reflective dialogue and shared values and vision). Results revealed that highly engaged professional learning teams reported the highest levels of endorsement for all four engagement measures. Teachers among the learning teams in the highly engaged profile reported a significantly higher level of uncertainty avoidance than those in the moderately engaged and less engaged profiles. Teachers in the less engaged profile also reported a significantly higher level of power distance than those in the highly engaged teams. Multinomial logistic regression analysis found that team power distance and team uncertainty avoidance were significant predictors of engagement profile membership. The implications for fostering effective teacher development through more systematic support of PLC are discussed. Copyright © 2016 Taylor & Francis.