Arab Educational Information Network

This study aimed to identify the obstacles of the performance of professional learning communities (PLC) from the point of view of science teachers in Afif Governorate in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. to answer the study questions, the researchers used the descriptive analytical approach, by developing a questionnaire consisting of two main topics: performance obstacles related to the personal aspects of the teacher, and performance obstacles related to school environment. The sample consisted of 95 science teachers in primary, middle and secondary schools. The sample size was 53.98% of the research society. The results indicated a number of performance obstacles from the point of view of science teachers. Among the most important performance obstacles related to the personal aspects of the teacher is the large number of teaching and administrative responsibilities that reduce the opportunities for cooperative work among teachers. Another obstacle in this topic is that less attention in the professional development programs is given to PLC. As for the obstacles related to the school environment, the most important of which is the school’s lack of an educational environment that supports PLC. The intensity of students numbers in the classroom which reduces the chances of the teacher reflection on teaching practices. The results also showed that there are no statistically significant differences credited to the variable of the grade (primary - intermediate - secondary) (α = 0.05).While statistically significant differences occurred related to the number of years of experience, in favor of more experienced science teachers (α=0.05). (Published Abstract)