Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) play a pivotal role in fostering teachers' growth, encompassing not only their professional skills but also their emotional experiences. Despite this holistic approach, empirical evidence regarding the overall impact of PLCs on teachers' occupational well-being (OWB) in mainland China, particularly within preschool settings, remains limited. This study employs a mixed-methodological approach, conducting surveys with a total of 772 preschool teachers to explore the PLCs-OWB relationship. Additionally, it utilises 8 in-depth one-to-one interviews and 4 focus groups to interrogate the influences of PLC experiences on early childhood educators' well-being in Chengdu, a city in the southeast of China.

The findings exemplify not only a significant positive correlation between PLC and preschool teachers' OWB, but also six key factors that significantly foster their OWB, including collegial support, unity of purpose, adaptive leadership, relationship, continuing professional development, and teachers as agents. These six themes are embedded in different types of PLCs, and highlight the transformative potential of PLCs in enhancing teachers’ well-being and support a more enduring pursuit of professional knowledge of educators.

This study concludes the establishment of a sustainable PLC as an ideal type for teachers' continuous growth, integrating the advantages of effectively encountering the uniqueness of teachers, optimising training and operating mechanism, and contributing to a community culture with inclusivity for working well together. In other words, a more holistic and sustainable PLC that asserts teachers' multifaceted needs is envisioned to optimise educators’ liberating engagement in their vital work, thereby promoting well-being within their communities.

Authors:
Yuting Guo, Durham University, United Kingdom

About the Presenter(s)
Miss Yuting Guo is a PhD student in the School of Education, Durham University, UK.Her research interests are teachers' well-being and professional learning community.

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