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Continuity and change in educators’ professional learning networks

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Abstract

While prior research suggests that many educators turn to social media to grow and enhance professional learning networks (PLNs) that extend beyond their schools, little is known about how PLNs shift over time. In this exploratory study, we investigated the nature of continuity and change in the PLNs of 192 K-12 and university educators from 17 countries. Participants responded to our request to comment on PLN descriptions they provided in a previous 2014 survey, and then identify continuity and change during the intervening years. Respondents overwhelmingly expressed that their PLNs had changed over the four years between the two surveys. The causes of PLN changes appeared to be diverse, dynamic, and interrelated. Various proximal and distal factors contributed to changes in professional activities. We frame the study through social ecological systems theory, discuss the significance of these findings, and consider implications for K-12 and higher education professional learning. Educators and those who lead and support their professional learning should reflect upon and attend to PLN change to ensure more educative results for teachers and students.

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Acknowledgements

The authors express their gratitude to Brett Stamm, Laura Brown, and Lauren Mitchell for their valuable assistance with different aspects of this research project. This research was reviewed and approved by the human research protection program at the University of Massachusetts Ahmerst.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Education, Elon University, Campus Box 2105, Elon, NC, 27278, USA

    Jeffrey P. Carpenter

  2. University of North Texas, Teacher Education and Administration, Matthews Hall 206Q, 1155 Union Circle #310740, Denton, TX, 76203, USA

    Daniel G. Krutka

  3. University of Massachusetts Amherst, Teacher Education & Curriculum Studies, 813 North Pleasant Street, Amherst, MA, 01003-9308, USA

    Torrey Trust

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  1. Jeffrey P. Carpenter
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Correspondence to Jeffrey P. Carpenter.

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Appendices

Appendix A: Survey Items

Appendix B: Codebook

Category

Code

Definition

Type of change

People (general)

Adding or subtracting particular people as well as changes in depth of relationships with existing people

People (intentional)

Seeking out particular people or kinds of people to add to their PLN

Spaces

Joining new spaces or leaving spaces

Shift in engagement in a space

Increasing or decreasing engagement within a particular space

Network size

Growing or shrinking of the overall number of people in the PLN

Tools

Using new tools, discontinuing use of tools, changing how tools are used

Topic Focus

Adding, removing, or changing degree of attention to particular topics as focus of learning and development

Professional organizations

Joining, leaving, or changing engagement levels with particular professional organizations

Face-to-face

Adding more face-to-face components to their PLN

Interactions

Interacting with people in new ways

Cause of PLN change

Interests

New or different professional interests influence change

Job

New or different job roles, responsibilities, and/or sites influence change

People

New or different people and/or people’s behavior influence change

Technology

New technologies or changes to existing technologies influence change

Time

A shortage of time or time pressures influence change

Personal lives

Changes in participants’ personal lives influence PLN change

Continuity

In the midst of describing causes of change, also described causes or elements of continuity

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Carpenter, J.P., Krutka, D.G. & Trust, T. Continuity and change in educators’ professional learning networks. J Educ Change 23, 85–113 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10833-020-09411-1

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