Leadership Behavior and Self-Efficacy of Principals as Determinants of Professional Learning Community Practices/ A Convergent Design

Abstract

This study explored the influence of leadership behavior and self-efficacy of principals on professional learning community practices using convergent design. The participants were the teachers from the selected public elementary schools in Region XI, Philippines. The participants for the quantitative phase and for the qualitative phase were purposively chosen from the selected public elementary schools to participate in the in-depth interview and focus group discussion. Regression and thematic analysis were used to analyze the corresponding data gathered. In the quantitative phase, the results showed that the status of leadership behavior and self-efficacy of principals were both described as very high which means that principal leadership is always observed, and the principal’s self-efficacy is always manifested while the status of professional learning community practices in public schools was also described as very high which means that professional learning community practices are always evident. Further, it was revealed that leadership behavior and self-efficacy of the principal significantly influenced the professional learning community practices of the public elementary schools. In the qualitative phase, a validated researcher-made interview guide was used to probe the participants’ lived experiences with regard to the professional learning community practices and how these shaped the teachers’ beliefs, attitude and commitment. The result showed two essential themes that emerged pertaining to the participants’ views on professional learning community practices which include nurturing environment for competence development and charismatic instructional leadership. Likewise, three essential themes emerged on the role of participants’ experiences in shaping the beliefs, attitude, and commitment towards professional learning community practices. These include deepened awareness of professional growth, openness and positive outlook in pursuing school goals, and service with academic integrity and professionalism. Finally, findings of the integration revealed that the results of two phases corroborated with each other.