Exploring the Professional Learning Community in a Special Education School Serving Pupils with Autism

Researchers, policy-makers, and practitioners have underscored the need for schools to become professional learning communities (PLC) as leverage for school change in dynamic environments. Professional learning community is defined by the networks of learning processes among its community members, where teachers continuously deliberate with one another on how to solve problems that relate to teaching and learning. The purpose of the current study was to explore the facilitators and impediments of PLC in a special education school for pupils with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Semi-structured interviews (84) and observations (18) were conducted over a period of two years. Data collection and analysis occurred simultaneously as an ongoing process throughout both years of inquiry. Generating themes was an inductive process, grounded in the various perspectives articulated by participants. Participants indicated that organizational resources (allocating time and place for collaborative learning), a learning culture, and an administrative support were major factors that inhibited PLC. There is a need to broaden the research on PLC to various self-contained special education schools, as well as inclusive schools.