What happens when an inner-city English primary school attempts to introduce a professional learning community?

This is a study of what happened to an English inner-city primary school when leaders attempted to introduce a professional learning community (PLC). This one year ethnographic-case study used a mixed methods approach to collecting data through the use of questionnaires, semi-structured interviews, document analysis and observation. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. The data collection and analysis were conducted within a theoretical framework that assumed PLCs are learning organisations (Senge, 1990) and are situated as with Communities of Practice (CoPs) (Lave and Wenger, 1991). Furthermore, the conceptual framework used for the study viewed effective PLCs as situated, systematic, collaborative and transformational. This research will contribute to the literature with regard to how schools approach the introduction of a PLC. The findings demonstrated that a school introducing a PLC should consider having a clear and shared PLC vision, engaged staff members who understand professional learning, and well-informed leaders who remain focused on the goal of introducing a PLC and manage externally imposed pressures