Professional communities and student achievement - a meta-analysis

In the past 3 decades, the concept of professional community has gained considerable momentum in the theoretical and empirical studies in this field. At the same time, the concept has faced conceptual and methodological difficulties in that as yet no universal definition has been formulated and that...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inSchool effectiveness and school improvement Vol. 22; no. 2; pp. 121 - 148
Main Authors Lomos, Catalina, Hofman, Roelande H., Bosker, Roel J.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Abingdon Routledge 01.06.2011
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Subjects
Academic Achievement
Communities of Practice
Concept Formation
Definitions
Educational Environment
Electronic Journals
Literature Reviews
Meta Analysis
professional community
Professional Development
Research Methodology
School effectiveness
Secondary Education
student achievement
Studies
Teacher Improvement
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Summary:In the past 3 decades, the concept of professional community has gained considerable momentum in the theoretical and empirical studies in this field. At the same time, the concept has faced conceptual and methodological difficulties in that as yet no universal definition has been formulated and that its operationalization differs in the various empirical studies conducted on the subject. This study presents a comprehensive synthesis of the theories currently available and their implications for the conceptualization and operationalization of the professional community concept including a meta-analysis of the studies that investigated the effect of professional community on student achievement. Our meta-analysis reported a small but significant summary effect (d = .25, p < .05), indicating that within a school environment professional community could enhance student achievement. Furthermore, the need for the conceptual and empirical validation of the concept's key dimension was discussed.
ISSN:0924-3453
1744-5124
DOI:10.1080/09243453.2010.550467