Teachers hold the key to school reform. Professional learning communities—as well as other related strategies, including collaborative and distributive models of leadership—offer much that is promising. Yet, weaknesses documented in research require attention. We conducted a study of teachers in two elementary schools identified as exemplary professional learning communities to explore the ways that teachers’ collaboration, shared decision making, and leadership were resources for development and innovation. For this study, we coded and organized transcribed interviews and field notes, forming a typology of teachers’ practices and interpretation about the paradoxical value and role of autonomy in community. We conclude this article by discussing the importance of teacher inquiry and research on student learning as mechanisms for aligning autonomy and heteronomy in school community.
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