Action research communities as a whole-of-school teaching improvement initiative: a multi-method multi-informant study

Professional learning communities (PLCs) actioned through collaborative action research (CAR) have been found in the literature to be beneficial for both teachers and students. However, previous studies mainly examined teachers’ perceived effectiveness of CAR-based PLCs, as well as identified steps and elements involved in such PLCs, either self-initiated by teachers themselves or by university researchers in a school-university partnership model. Few have focused on a whole-of-school teaching improvement initiative based entirely on PLCs through CAR. In this study, we provide preliminary evaluation of a 3-year whole-of-school teaching improvement initiative (the SETaRI), based on PLCs through CAR at a regional primary school in NSW, Australia. Analysis of students’ various assessment measures (N = 206), teachers’ survey (N = 44), observation of professional learning team meetings, and various types of student artefacts revealed that students showed general and consistent improvement in both their reading and maths performance over time following the implementation of the SETaRI model, with greater progressive learning effects for those whose initial learning outcomes were lower than their peers. The findings also highlighted data-driven decision making, teacher collaboration, and school leadership as potent elements underlying teachers’ positive attitudes toward the implementation of the model as well as student learning outcomes and improvement. This study provides useful implications for a school improvement agenda focused on action research communities.