Context, school principals and professional learning communities in China: the case of educational group schools

Abstract

PurposeThis paper explores education group school principal’s influence on professional learning community (PLC) development in China.Design/methodology/approachQualitative comparative case studies were conducted.FindingsThe findings show that principals indicated principal-level factors were their major concerns regarding PLC cultural condition design, school needs were the major concerns in PLCs’ relational and structural design, and educational-group factors impacted principals’ extension of PLCs’ structural conditions.Originality/valueThis article concludes by presenting a “three-context” framework for understanding education group principal’s influence on PLCs in China.