This study examined the relationships between teachers' perceptions of faculty trust, professional learning communities, and their professional learning among a sample of 2106 Hong Kong kindergarten teachers. It analysed the differences between the effects of faculty trust in various stakeholders (i.e., colleagues, parents, and the principal). The results show that while trust in colleagues exerted a positive effect on teacher professional learning, the direct effects of trust in the principal and trust in parents were non-significant. Meanwhile, professional learning communities positively mediated the effects of teachers’ perceived faculty trust on their learning. Implications for teacher learning in kindergartens are presented. Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

This study examined the relationships between teachers' perceptions of faculty trust, professional learning communities, and their professional learning among a sample of 2106 Hong Kong kindergarten teachers. It analysed the differences between the effects of faculty trust in various stakeholders (i.e., colleagues, parents, and the principal). The results show that while trust in colleagues exerted a positive effect on teacher professional learning, the direct effects of trust in the principal and trust in parents were non-significant. Meanwhile, professional learning communities positively mediated the effects of teachers' perceived faculty trust on their learning. Implications for teacher learning in kindergartens are presented.
[Copyright of Teaching & Teacher Education is the property of Elsevier Ltd.]

This study attempted to identify communication as a human relational 'path' through which principal leadership influenced teacher professional learning. The data was collected from a sample of 970 teachers from 32 Hong Kong primary schools. Online survey was administered, with two questionnaires to measure teacher perceptions of principal leadership and school capacity. Baron and Kenny' s (1986) four-step causal process for mediation analysis was employed and integrated with bootstrapping method. Further significance of the mediating effects of communication was tested, and the sizes for both the direct and indirect effects in the relationship were made explicit. The findings affirmed the role of communication as a mediator in the relationship between principal leadership and teacher learning.
[Copyright © 2016 Rowman & Littlefield.]