The relationship between a clear school vision and school culture as a professional learning community

Abstract

Research shows that education thrives on the development of schools as professional learning communities. In this quantitative study we investigated whether there is a relationship between various school visions and school culture as professional learning community. For this study, we used data from 413 teachers from 24 Dutch schools: ‘mainstream’ schools, Traditional educational renewal schools, Reformed schools and Waldorf schools. Multilevel analyzes were used to investigate to what extent differences between schools in vision determine the extent to which teachers perceive their school as a professional learning community. We found a significant relationship between a clear school vision and the perception of school culture as a professional learning community. The insights of this study underline the relevance of a clear vision for the way in which teachers work together to improve education in Dutch schools. Implications for education are discussed.