Learning Communities, Pedagogical Competence, and Innovative Learning Practices among Elementary School Teachers: A Small-Scale Correlational Study

Abstract

This study aims to explore the association between learning-community participation and self-reported pedagogical competence and innovative learning practices among elementary school teachers. The low quality of learning outcomes in Indonesia, as reflected in PISA 2022, highlights the need to examine teacher professional development mechanisms. Using a cross-sectional correlational design, this small-scale exploratory study was conducted in a single elementary school. The accessible population comprised all seven teachers actively teaching in the school, who were surveyed via census. Data were collected through three self-report questionnaires measured on a 5-point Likert scale and analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, Spearman rank correlation (as a sensitivity analysis), and simple linear regression with SPSS 26. The results indicated that teachers reported high levels of learning-community participation (M = 4.15, SD = 0.42), pedagogical competence (M = 4.18, SD = 0.38), and innovative learning practices (M = 4.02, SD = 0.51). Pearson correlation revealed strong positive associations between learning-community scores and pedagogical competence (r = 0.847, p = 0.008, two-tailed) and between learning-community scores and innovative learning practices (r = 0.792, p = 0.018, two-tailed). Simple linear regression showed that learning-community scores accounted for 71.7% of the observed variance in pedagogical competence and 62.7% of the observed variance in innovative learning practices within this sample. However, given the very small sample (N = 7) from a single school, the cross-sectional design, and the use of self-report instruments, these findings should be interpreted as exploratory rather than causal or generalizable. The findings suggest that school-based learning communities may serve as a promising context for teacher professional development, particularly in fostering collaborative planning and shared reflection. Nevertheless, strengthening innovative practices may require additional enabling conditions such as infrastructure, principal support, and dedicated time.