Impact of a Professional Learning Community on the Professional Development of Teacher Educators in Myanmar
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.3311/ope.627Abstract
Professional learning communities provide ongoing professional development for teachers, where they become learning leaders and actively participate in school improvement. Continuing professional development (CPD) is vital in improving educational outcomes, as its importance has been proven over the years. This article explores the need for professional development of teacher educators in Myanmar and the utility of professional learning communities in improving teacher quality. This study aims to explore a comprehensive understanding of professional learning communities to support the professional development of teacher educators in improving the quality of education. The research questions are: (1) What are teacher educators' perceptions of PLCs' influence on their professional development? (2) Are there any variations in the teacher educator's professional development in professional learning communities regarding their factors? (3) Is there any significant relationship between professional learning communities and the professional development of teacher educators? Quantitative research methods were used in this study. Survey data were collected from 70 participants (teacher trainers) from seven Education Colleges. The analysis shows that when done well, professional learning communities can impact teacher quality. Some research suggests that teacher professional development is closely related to teacher professional skills and school improvement. The collective learning process helps teachers understand the subject better and broadens their knowledge base. This will help improve student performance and school quality in the future. Teachers' professional development in PLCs were similar based on their position and teaching service as teacher educators. However, teachers were significantly different regarding their age and educational qualifications. In this study, teachers had a high level of collective efficacy. There were significant differences among teachers based on their teaching age, position and educational qualification. Lack of time, teacher accountability, leadership skills, and the negative attitudes of participating teachers were the most frequently cited challenges in implementing PLCs. As a result, educators and stakeholders can use these findings to implement professional learning communities.Author Biographies
Moet Myint Lay MOET
Moet Moet Myint Lay is a Ph.D. student (specializing in Teacher Education and Higher Education Studies) at the Doctoral School of Education, Faculty of Education and Psychology, Eotvos Lorand University, Budapest. She is also a deputy director at the Department of higher education, Ministry of Education in Myanmar. She got her master’s degree majoring in Educational Administration and Supervision (EAS) in 2010 at Sagaing University of Education.
She worked together with Development Partners (Dps) in some projects (School-based in-service Teacher Training (SITE)(UNICEF), Teacher Mentoring Program (World Bank), Survey of Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA), and Survey Early Grade Mathematics Assessment (EGMA) (World Bank). Her professional field is Educational Administration, Educational Leadership, Designing curriculum, and Human Resource Management.
Anikó Kálmán
She is recognized as one of the few experts in Hungary in the field of Lifelong Learning and Andragogy. She got her PhD degree in 1999 in Educational Science and the Habilitated Doctor (Dr. habil.) qualification in 2007 in Management and Organizational Sciences.
Among others, she is currently Rector’s Adviser at the University of Nyíregyháza and associate professor at Budapest University of Technology and Economics (BME), academic staff member at the Doctoral School of the Faculty of Education and Psychology at Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest and in the Educational Doctoral School at the University of Szeged. She was executive president of MELLearN Hungarian National University Lifelong Learning Network between 2002-2015 and was elected to the SEFI Board of Directors in 2014. In 2015, she worked as a visiting lecturer at Tampere University of Applied Sciences.
Her research fields include lifelong learning, staff development, adult education, methodology, the knowledge triangle and the new ecosystem.
