The role of the school principal in creating a professional learning community

The purpose of this study is to examine the role of school principals in establishing professional learning communities based on the views of school principals themselves. A qualitative research approach was adopted in the study, and a phenomenological design was used. The study group consisted of 17 school principals working in primary, middle, and high schools in Zonguldak province during the 2025-2026 academic year. A semi-structured interview form developed by the researcher was used as the data collection tool in the study. Research data were obtained through face-to-face interviews with school principals. The findings of the study are as follows: School principals defined professional learning communities as groups where teachers exchange knowledge and experience with each other, share their good practices, share good examples, and solve problems by exchanging views. School principals expressed the obstacles they encountered in professional learning community practices as time, reluctance, resistance to change, resistance to development, resistance to criticism, differences in perspective, and perception of duties. Recommendations for developing and supporting professional learning community activities included organizing lesson plans, providing guidance and expert support, encouraging collaboration, sharing successful practices, and planning activities. In light of the findings, it can be said that professional learning communities can be supported and developed through in-service training, expert support, and rewards.