Program
Education Doctorate
Year Approved
2020
First Advisor
Reimer, Tracy
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine faculty perceptions of professional learning communities, collective mindfulness, and student achievement in high-poverty Minnesota schools. The School Professional Staff as Learning Community Questionnaire (SPSLCQ) and School Mindfulness Scale (M-Scale) collected data from K-12 faculty in high-poverty schools across Minnesota. Results of the t-test indicate there was a difference between the level of collective mindfulness and faculty perceptions of professional learning communities in high-achieving, high-poverty schools and low-achieving or average-achieving, high-poverty schools. Collective mindfulness increased in high-achieving, high-poverty schools and faculty perceptions of professional learning communities increased in low-achieving or average-achieving, high-poverty schools. Results of the Pearson’s r correlation indicated that there was a negative statistical relationship in the faculty perceptions of professional learning communities and the level of collective mindfulness in high-poverty schools: the higher the faculty perceptions of professional learning communities, the lower the level of collective mindfulness. Study findings did not align with previous research in the field which suggest further research is needed to learn about the negative relationship between professional learning communities and collective mindfulness within high-poverty educational settings and continue to fill the research gap.
Degree Name
Education Doctorate
Document Type
Doctoral dissertation
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Johnson, M. J. (2020). Professional Learning Communities and Collective Mindfulness [Doctoral dissertation, Bethel University]. Spark Repository. https://spark.bethel.edu/etd/333