Work

Enabling a professional learning community in Malaysian rural primary schools: the role of collegial trust

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Purpose This study examines how different dimensions of collegial trust are associated with teachers’ engagement in Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) practices within rural primary schools. Although PLCs are widely recognized as mechanisms for teacher learning, limited attention has been given to understanding which dimensions of collegial trust function as relational resources that sustain collaboration in geographically isolated and resource-constrained educational contexts. Methods A cross-sectional correlational survey design was used to collect data from 310 teachers selected through proportional cluster random sampling across 57 rural Malaysian primary schools. Descriptive analyses and structural equation modelling (SEM) were conducted to examine relationships between collegial trust dimensions and PLC practices. Results The strongest dimensions of collegial trust among rural teachers were reliability, competence, and openness. The dimensions that were weaker among rural teachers were benevolence and honesty. In general, teachers in rural schools implemented PLC practices to a moderate extent. Although the overall relationship between collegial trust and PLC practices was modest, reliability, competence, and openness contributed more strongly to explaining teachers’ PLC engagement. Implications This study extends the PLC literature by revealing that trust exists along multiple dimensions. The findings of this study suggest that enhancing reliability, competence, and openness among PLC teachers could improve the implementation of PLC strategies in rural schools. However, because this study was cross-sectional, these findings should be used only to describe the relationship between these variables, rather than to suggest causal relationships.

Source: Frontiers in Education

DOI: 10.3389/feduc.2026.1906655