Abstract:

Our school theory and practices are oriented towards the past century and old paradigms. School paradigms, which have not made the school a learning centre and focus on student learning and success, lag behind modern developments and cannot lead the society. Studies on success and learning in the literature and their results emphasise the need for schools to act together with all their stakeholders. From this point of view, the concept of professional learning communities has emerged in the literature. The concept of professional learning communities emerges as teachers share their experiences and practices in collaboration with their colleagues. As professional learning communities, the school principal, teachers, and school stakeholders have roles and responsibilities in the school setup. First of all, for schools to be built as a professional learning community, the school's organisational culture should be built with a learning-oriented culture. As a professional learning community, the dimensions of schools are shared and supportive leadership, shared values and vision, collective learning and practices, shared personal practices and supportive conditions (structure-relationships). The realisation of these dimensions is important for the school to become a professional learning community. For this, school principals should lead instructional, involve teachers in school decisions, and teachers should share their experiences with their colleagues in learning-oriented cooperation. The fulfilment of these roles and responsibilities will contribute significantly to student success.

Keywords: