There is great interest internationally in the potential of professional learning communities for enhancing educational reform efforts and sustaining improvement.This international collection, with contributions from researchers and those leading initiatives in five countries, aims to broaden and deepen conceptions and understanding of professional learning communities, as well as highlighting frequently neglected complexities and challenges.The introduction sets the stage, defining and characterising professional learning communities, locating them in current and shifting contexts, and framing what follows.The purpose of professional learning communities is explored from a range of different perspectives and interpretations by contributors to the first section. While traditional conceptions of professional learning communities focused exclusively on teachers and school leaders, attentive to a fast changing world and policy environments, these authors broaden the frame of reference to involve support staff, the wider community, learning networks of schools and international learning communities of school leaders.Words and expressions are often associated with professional learning communities, but what do they really mean? Each chapter in the next section draws on research to 'drill down' deeper on topics such as distributed leadership, dialogue, organisational memory, trust, self assessment and inquiry, and purpose linked to learning. The authors help the reader to see how these aspects of professional learning community are created, what they look like when they are working well, what people need to think about, and implications for practice.Developing professional learning communities is beset by many dilemmas.

Three of the most challenging provide the focus for the chapters in the final section: developing professional learning communities in secondary school, building social capital, and sustaining professional learning communities. The authors provide pointers on why these challenges exist, offering rays of hope for ways forward.The afterword reflects on emerging themes.The book is aimed at 'thinking' professionals internationally: practitioners (within and supporting schools), policymakers, academics and research students. We hope that readers will engage with the ideas in the spirit of professional learning community, using the book as a stimulus for dialogue, collaborative enquiry and learning among a range of professional learning community stakeholders. It is a 'must read' for anyone who is interested in building capacity for sustainable learning and the ability to harness your community as a resource for change.