Improvement Strategies for Professional Learning Communities：the co-mediating role of professional agency and teachers’ scientific research ability

Improvement Strategies for Professional Learning Communities：the co-mediating role of professional agency and teachers’ scientific research ability | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Improvement Strategies for Professional Learning Communities：the co-mediating role of professional agency and teachers’ scientific research ability Jianwen Guo, Mingxin Shen, Tingting Jia, Chunyu Zhang This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8512548/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 13 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Existing studies focus on the institutional and material support in the process of building professional learning communities, while neglecting the psychological needs and subject efficacy of teachers. This study integrates organizational support theory, social cognition theory and communities of practice, constructs a chain-like mediation model, and analyzes the collaborative path in which multi-dimensional organizational support, especially psychological support, influences community construction through teachers' professional agency and scientific research ability. Based on the data of 4,010 teachers in three provinces, it is indicated that organizational support enhances teachers' sense of belonging through resource supply and emotional empowerment, professional agency drives the social cognitive cycle of "environmental support - sense of efficacy - knowledge production", and scientific research ability promotes the community iterative mechanism of "problem identification - knowledge sharing - practice optimization". The two form a two-way reinforcing effect. The research breaks through the single mediation paradigm, proposes the "resource - capability - collaboration" system support framework, and clarifies the transformation logic of organizational support from individual cognitive reshaping to collective knowledge construction. The results show that: (1) Perceived organizational support, professional agency and teachers' scientific research capabilities significantly affect the construction of professional learning communities; (2) Professional agency and teachers' scientific research capabilities play a mediating role in the influence of organizational support perception on the construction of professional learning communities; (3)Active organizational support is related to the development of perception and professional learning communities. The research results have enlightening significance for the construction of professional learning communities. perceived organizational support1 professional agency2 teachers’ scientific research ability3 professional learning communities4 chain-mediation model5 Figures Figure 1 Introduction Over the past two decades, professional learning communities are important topic in the field of education (Brodie, 2021 ; Vangrieken et al., 2017 ). The academic community generally recognizes professional learning communities as groups of educators who collaborate to participate in consistent, methodical, and ongoing cycles of inquiry-based learning, with the primary objective of enhancing both their individual and collective teaching capabilities, further improving student outcomes (Brodie, 2021 , cited in Stoll et al. 2006 ; Hairon et al. 2017 ; Chen & Wang, 2015 ; Dissertation & Stegall, 2011 ). It has been proved that professional learning communities play a crucial role in enhancing students’ grades (Pan & Cheng, 2023; Stoll et al., 2006 ; Vescio et al., 2008 ; Voelkel and Chrispeels, 2017 ; Zheng et al., 2016 ; Owen, 2016 ), improving educators’ professional development (Pan & Cheng, 2023; Voelkel & Chrispeels, 2017 ; Owen, 2016 ; Patton & Parker, 2017 ; Yoo & Jang, 2022), and fostering the development of schools (Little, 2002) and education (Stoll et al., 2006 ). Existing studies have proved that organizational support is closely related to promoting teamwork and motivating members to participate in team building. The Organizational Support Theory was proposed by Eisenberger et al. ( 1986 ), aiming to explain how an organization's care and support for its employees affect their attitudes and behaviors. The care and support of an organization for its employees will enhance their sense of belonging and willingness to contribute (Kurtessis et al., 2017 ; Yao et al., 2020 ). Organizations can stimulate the happiness of members within the institution, their sense of identity with the team (Wang et al., 2022 ), sense of belonging, and enhance the willingness to complete team tasks and promote team building through resources and emotional support. This is also widely reflected in the process where teachers participate in school affairs, devote themselves to professional development and teamwork (Kurt & Duyar, 2023 ). In the field of education, establishing professional learning communities requires organizational support and efficient cooperation among members. It is necessary to ensure the establishment of basic rules, clear tasks, support, and the establishment of a common vision and mission among members (Doolittle et al., 2008 ). Some scholars have also noted that schools are regarded as an organization, which can promote the team participation of teachers and the construction of professional learning communities (Furqon et al., 2018). Schools can assist teachers in improving their teaching level and professional quality by providing instrumental and informational support, such as teaching AIDS, multimedia equipment, professional books, a common development vision, professional training opportunities, and collaborative work, and enhance teachers' enthusiasm for participating in work and teamwork and construction (Admiraalet al., 2021 ). It can be seen that some scholars have noticed the positive predictive effect of school-level support on promoting teachers' participation in the construction of professional learning communities. However, most of the current related studies are limited to support at the material and information levels (Antinluoma et al., 2018 ). It is worth noting that teachers are the main members and core force in the construction of professional learning communities (Hairon, 2020 ; Vangrieken et al., 2017 ; Watson, 2014 ). In the process of the construction and development of professional learning communities, there are not many researchers who pay attention to the support of organization for teachers' psychological and professional development (Antinluoma et al., 2018 , 2021 ; Cleary et al., 2023 ). The construction of professional learning communities not only requires the support of schools, but also the assistance of teachers' professional agency, professional ability, especially scientific research ability (Molla & Nolan, 2020 ; Lau et al., 2023 ; Zheng et al., 2016 ; Vanblaere & Devos, 2016 ). In terms of teachers' perception of organizational support, the care and support of the organization for employees can enhance their sense of belonging and willingness to contribute (Oubibi et al., 2022 ). Currently, organizational support can meet teachers' material and information needs in professional growth and cooperation (Antinluoma et al., 2018 ; Chen & Wang, 2015 ), but how to promote teachers' effective participation in the construction of professional learning communities by meeting their psychological needs (such as recognition and a sense of belonging) is a problem that remains to be further explored (Ahmed & Malik, 2019 ; Bonaiuto et al., 2022 ; Kurtessis et al., 2017 ). When teachers perceive the support from the school in aspects such as emotional care (such as recognition from leaders and support from colleagues), their sense of belonging and responsibility will be significantly enhanced (Kurtessis et al., 2017 ; Chung, 2019 ), thereby participating more actively in the improvement of one's own professional capabilities, especially scientific research ability, and further engaging more deeply in the construction and collaborative activities of the professional learning communities (Okcu et al., 2025; Yu et al., 2024 ). Existing studies have also shown that this mechanism is particularly crucial among the teaching staff, as the construction of professional learning communities highly relies on teachers' psychological engagement and voluntary contributions (Stoll et al., 2006 ; Katsantonis, 2019 ). Therefore, this study constructed a structural equation model including professional learning communities, perceived organizational support, professional agency and teachers' scientific research ability, and took the latter two as mediating variables. Explore the overall belief of teachers regarding whether the organization values their contributions and cares about their well-being. This study breaks through the limitations of previous studies that only focus on institutional construction and the single means of organizational support, and integrates Organizational Support Theory, Social Cognitive Theory, and Community of Practice theory. Pay attention to the dominant position and feelings of teachers in the professional learning communities, focus organizational support on the spiritual, psychological and emotional aspects of teachers, and attempt to examine the roles of two factors, professional agency and teachers' scientific research ability, on the perception of the influence path of organizational support on the construction of the professional learning communities (Christensen, 2025 ; Voelkel & Chrispeels, 2017 ). Ultimately, clarify how various types of organizational support such as material support, information support and psychological support respectively and comprehensively act on teachers' psychological feelings, professional development, and collaborative professional learning communities, and comprehensively influence the construction and development of professional learning communities. When teachers perceive support from the organization, such as emotional care, resource provision, and achievement recognition, they will enhance their sense of belonging to the organization and actively give back to it through the principle of reciprocity, for example, participating more actively in the collaboration of the professional learning communities (Vahasantanen, 2015; Rhoades & Eisenberger, 2002; Watson, 2014 ). Through theoretical integration, the limitations of the single mediation model are broken through to reveal how the individual agency and scientific ability of teachers form a "two-way enhancement loop" through organizational support and community collaboration-agency promotes knowledge production, and knowledge feeds back the sense of efficacy; Scientific research ability optimize the quality of collaboration, and collaboration expands the boundaries of capabilities. This provides a theoretical basis for the school to design an integrated support system of "resources - capabilities - collaboration". In this way, it will also help teachers break through the predicament of "isolated teaching", enhance teaching efficiency and professional well-being through teamwork, and reduce job burnout (Darling Hammond et al., 2017). At the same time, it can also provide schools with practical management plans, optimize the organizational environment, and promote the overall quality improvement of the teaching staff. Furthermore, it contributes to educational equity and quality improvement, especially providing low-cost and high-efficiency teacher development paths for resource-weak areas, and promoting sustainable educational development (Stosich, 2016 ; Stoll, 2011 ). 1 The perceived organizational support and professional learning communities The organizational support theory aims to explain how an organization's care and support for its employees affect their attitudes and behaviors (Eisenberge et al., 1986). The core idea of this theory is that employees will form an overall belief about whether the organization values their contributions and cares about their well-being, and adjust their own behaviors based on the "principle of reciprocity". When perceived as having a high level of organizational support, employees will give back to the organization by enhancing organizational commitment, work engagement, etc. (Rhoades & Eisenberger, 2002). Perceived organizational support in the field of education refers to the extent to which an organization values employee’ contributions, cares about their well-being, and commits to their support (Johnson & Birkeland, 2003 ; Kara et al., 2015; Lew, 2009 ; Permata et al., 2023; Rosafizah et al., 2020 ). This concept is rooted in Organizational Support Theory and has been extensively studied to understand its antecedents and outcomes (Kurtessis et al., 2017 ). Organizational support theory provides an important perspective for understanding how school organizations influence teachers' behaviors. For instance, when teachers perceive the support provided by the school in aspects such as resource allocation and emotional care, their sense of belonging and responsibility will be significantly enhanced (Kurtessis et al., 2017 ), and they will then participate more actively in the collaborative activities of the professional learning communities. This mechanism is particularly crucial among the teaching staff because the construction of professional learning communities highly relies on the psychological input and voluntary contribution of teachers (Stoll et al., 2006 ). Previous studies on perceived organizational support mostly focus on its impacts on teachers (Hsieh et al., 2022 ; Ishfaq et al., 2023; Jiao et al., 2022 ; Tuazon, 2016 ; Wang & Zhou, 2022 ; Chang et al., 2022). However, limited studies have discussed the impact of perceived organizational support on the construction of professional learning communities. And when it refers to the impacts of perceived organizational support on the construction of professional learning communities, most studies focus on the material support given by the organizations like the necessary resources, environment and so on (Timperley, 2008; Vescio et al., 2008 ; DuFour & Eaker, 1998; Louis & Marks, 1998 ), but limited studies have referred to the mental support, which includes identifying teachers’ goals, attending to their well-being, recognizing their achievements and so on. Furthermore, in previous studies, the connotation and function of organizational support were often confused, and researchers did not have a clear explanation for the types of organizational support. Some researchers equate the material and information resource support provided by schools with organizational support, but to a certain extent, they ignore how to enhance teachers' sense of achievement, gain and belonging at the psychological level, support teachers' professional development, and promote teachers' participation in the construction of professional learning communities(Antinluoma et al., 2018 , 2021 ; Gallucci, 2008 ;Conoley & Conoley, 2010 ; Zhu et al., 2019 ; Cleary et al., 2023 ). Based on existing researches, this study aims to further distinguish the types and functions of organizational support, as well as its role and influence on the professional learning communities, and mainly exploring the psychological support provided by the organization. Specifically, we assert that organizations have the capacity to offer mental support apart from material support, thereby enhancing teachers’ happiness and satisfaction within collaborative environments. In turn, enables them to contribute their insights and strengths to the establishment and advancement of professional learning communities as cohesive units. In terms of meeting psychological needs, organizational support enhances teachers' sense of identity with the professional learning communities by fulfilling their belonging needs, such as being accepted by the team, and their respect needs, such as having their achievements recognized (Eisenberger et al., 2001). In terms of resource empowerment, apart from the material resources provided by the organization, such as teaching and research time and training opportunities, our research focuses on psychological resources, such as leadership trust and the collaborative atmosphere among colleagues, which can reduce the cost for teachers to participate in the collaboration of professional learning communities and enhance their willingness to invest (Hobfoll, 1989 ). Furthermore, there is the drive of reciprocal behavior. According to the "principle of reciprocity", when teachers perceive the support of the organization, they will give back to the organization by actively sharing knowledge, undertaking group responsibilities, etc., thereby promoting the sustainable development of the professional learning communities (Eisenberger & Stinglhamber, 2011 ). Therefore, we hypothesize that : H1. Perceived organizational support is positively associated with the construction of professional learning communities. 1.2 Professional agency in the relationship between the perceived organizational support and professional learning communities Generally, professional agency at work can be conceptualized from the perspective of social culture with the subject as the center (Eteläpelto et al., 2013 ). Previous studies suggest that there is a significant correlation between personal agency and relevant social background, with both elements being mutually constitutive and interdependent (Eteläpelto et al., 2013 ). Specifically, professional agency is interpreted as the capacity of the professionals, such as teachers, to engage in actions, address issues, make informed choices and decisions, and adopt particular positions (Vähäsantanen, 2015 ). For teachers, in order to enhance their professional agency, they need to work in the school, an organization, and cultivate a sense of belonging and empowerment in the social communication with colleagues and other people. As for the significance of professional agency, it can not only play an important role in the development of teachers and the construction of schools (Postholm, 2018 ; Kunter et al., 2013 ; Borg, 2018 ), but can also provide support and motivation for educational reform and teacher identity transformation (Vähäsantanen, 2015 ). Based on the social cognitive theory (Bandura, 2001), professional agency is manifested as the ability of teachers to actively regulate behaviors, set goals and influence the environment in professional practice. When teachers perceive organizational support (such as emotional care and scientific research resources), their self-efficacy will be significantly enhanced, and they have confidence in successfully participating in collaborative tasks(Pyhalto et al., 2015). Thereby driving them to proactively initiate teaching and research cooperation and coordinate community activities (Vahasantanen, 2015). For example, based on professional agency and self-efficacy, teachers can transform organizational support into professional agency behaviors (such as formulating collaboration rules and resolving teaching disputes), and through the ternary interaction mechanism of "environment (support) → individual (efficacy) → behavior (initiative)", Promote the sustainable development of professional learning communities (Etelapelto et al., 2013). The construction and development of professional learning communities is one of the important parts of school construction (Antinluoma, et al., 2021 ; Schaap & Bruijn, 2018 ). Just like the influence of professional agency on school construction, the construction and development of professional learning communities, has also been found to be positively influenced by professional agency. Some studies have noted the relationship between professional agency and professional learning communities (Biesta et al., 2015 ). Professional agency has multiple associations with key characteristics of professional learning communities, such as focus, long-term inquiry, collaboration, leadership support, and trust (Brodie, 2021 ). Notably, previous studies have revealed that professional agency significantly predicted professional learning communities. In particular, professional agency plays a vital role in promoting teaching research and cooperative practice in building professional learning communities. Specifically, professional agency promotes the development of the group by actively changing teaching practice strategies, improving the effectiveness of collective cooperation, mutual understanding, recognition, encouragement and help among members (Pyhältö et al., 2015 ). Regarding the connection between perceived organizational support and professional agency, it could be inferred that perceived organizational support can positively influence professional agency by examining the following aspects. Firstly, the organizations support teachers’ development of professional agency by providing them with the necessary resources and environmental conditions for cooperative learning. (Hord, 1997). Besides, the organizational system can give teachers more influence and help in the aspects of collaborative learning and peer support, which has an impact on the development of professional agency (Kauppinen et al., 2020 ; King, 2022 ). Furthermore, perceived organizational support has a promoting effect on the improvement of teachers' job satisfaction and performance, and further promotes the formation of professional agency. Conversely, the dimensions of organizational exclusion and nihilism are negatively associated with teachers’ sense of achievement, satisfaction, and motivation in the workplace. (Chinomona & Sandada, 2014 ; Demir & Çobanoğlu, 2022 ). In addition, effective perceived organizational support builds a common cultural atmosphere that allows teachers to give full play to their professional agency (Stoll & Louis,2007). Accordingly, teachers gain support from various aspects in the self-organization support, feel satisfied in the group, improve their professional agency, and impact the construction of professional learning communities (Robinson, 2008; Little, 2006; Parker& Tuck, 2019). Although we have found that professional agency has an impact on the construction of professional learning communities, and perceived organizational support also has an impact on professional agency, there is no relevant strong research to reveal whether professional agency plays an effective mediating role between perceived organizational support and the development and construction of professional learning communities. Therefore, we try to construct a path from perceived organizational support to professional agency to professional learning communities, focusing on whether professional agency plays a significant mediating role. We hypothesize that: H2. Professional agency mediates the relationship between organizational support and professional learning communities. 1.3 Teachers’ scientific research ability in the relationship between the perceived organizational support and professional learning communities Teachers’ scientific research ability refers to the ability of teachers to find, analyze and solve problems in education, and to use scientific methods to conduct educational research, so as to explore the law of education, improve the teaching method, improve the quality of education, promote their professional growth and facilitate the development of educational theory and practice (Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 2009; Darling-Hammond et al., 2017 ; Zeichner & Noffke, 2001). This ability plays a role in promoting teachers’ professional development by improving their knowledge, skills, teaching practices, and critical attitudes, while also fostering continuous learning and collaboration (Zhou, 2022; Meijer et al., 2013 ; Rahyasih et al., 2020 ). Social cognitive theory (Bandura, 2001) helps explain the mediating role of teachers' scientific research ability between perceived organizational support and the construction of professional learning communities. Research shows that the support provided by schools can promote teachers to build their scientific research ability through two key mechanisms. The first is observational learning. For instance, teachers enhance their research ability by imitating the research methods of senior researchers. Another aspect is practical feedback, such as expert-guided optimization of research design (Meijer et al., 2013 ). Such support has significantly enhanced teachers' core scientific research ability such as problem discovery, data analysis and achievement transformation (Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 2015 ), laying the foundation for their subsequent participation in the collaboration of professional learning communities. scientific research ability also drives teachers to transform research results into shareable knowledge resources. For example, teachers tend to systematically present research findings through symbolic representations, such as visual charts and shared documents(Vescio et al., 2008 ), and actively organize seminars or share research tools (Hairon et al., 2017 ). Thereby promoting the collective knowledge construction of the professional learning communities (Darling Hammond et al., 2017). This process is in line with the "ternary interaction model" of social cognitive theory: the environment, that is, organizational support, creates enabling conditions through resource supply and feedback mechanisms. The improvement of the research ability of individuals, namely teachers, enhances their sense of self-efficacy. Furthermore, in terms of behavior, mainly in terms of collaboration, promote the behavior of knowledge sharing to achieve the practical effectiveness of professional learning communities (Bandura,1999). Scientific research ability, as the core mediating variable, transforms organizational support into the collaborative behavior of teachers. Its action path can be summarized as: organizational support → scientific research ability → professional learning communities, highlighting the internal logic that the school indirectly promotes the sustainable development of the professional learning communities through teachers’ scientific research ability building. In this regard, with respect to the relationship of teachers’ scientific research ability and perceived organizational support, several studies suggest that perceived organizational support positively impacts teachers’ scientific research ability by enhancing job satisfaction, reducing academic misconduct, and improving research performance (Shuang, 2010; Guanghui, 2013). Some scholars believe that academic exchanges and incentives in organizational support can effectively help teachers build scientific research ability and enhance their enthusiasm for research (Shuang, 2010). Some researchers hold that perceived organizational support positively affects teachers’ creativity (Wahib, 2024 ). Teachers’ scientific research ability also has a positive impact on the construction of professional learning communities. Many studies have mentioned the characteristics of teachers’ scientific research ability (Hargreaves & Fullan, 2012; Menter et al., 2011; Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 2009). It could be inferred from the research of Hargreaves and Fullan (2012) that teachers’ scientific research ability includes reflective practice, collaboration and sharing, and continuous learning. Moreover, the study by Menter et al. indicates that teachers’ scientific research ability includes practice, reflection, cooperation and communication, continuous learning and so on. Furthermore, the characteristics of teachers’ scientific research ability summarized from Cochran-Smith and Lytle's (2009) study are reflective practice, commitment to inquiry, and collaboration. Noticeably, the cooperation, one of these characteristics, mentioned by these studies is also indispensable for the construction of professional learning communities (Stoll et al., 2006 ; Vescio et al., 2008 ; DuFour & Eaker, 2009; Hord, 2004). Besides, the reflective ability and cooperative ability formed by teachers in the process of scientific research, as well as the knowledge and experience they accumulate, will lay the foundation for the construction of professional learning communities (Vescio et al., 2008 ; Timperley, 2008; Hargreaves & Fullan, 2012). Although we have found that teachers’ scientific research ability has an effect on the construction of professional learning communities and perceived organizational support has an effect on teachers’ scientific research ability, no research has revealed whether teachers’ scientific research ability will play an effective intermediary role between perceived organizational support and the construction of professional learning communities. Therefore, we try to construct a path from perceived organizational support to teachers’ scientific research ability to the construction of professional learning communities, focusing on whether teachers’ scientific research ability plays a significant mediating role. Accordingly, we hypothesize the following: H3. Teachers’ scientific research ability mediates the relationship between perceived organizational support and professional learning communities. 1.4 The co-mediation effect of professional agency and teachers’ scientific research ability The organizational support theory, social cognition theory and communities of practice provide a basis for the synergistic mediating effect between professional agency and teachers' scientific research ability. The organizational support theory points out that schools meet the psychological needs (sense of belonging and sense of achievement) of teachers through material resources (such as research funds and training opportunities) and emotional support (such as recognition from leaders and trust from colleagues), laying the foundation for the activation of their professional agency and research ability (Kurtessis et al., 2017 ; Hsieh et al., 2022 ). Social cognitive theory further reveals that organizational support functions through a ternary interaction mechanism of "environment (resources) → individual (sense of efficacy) → behavior (collaboration)". This can prompt teachers to proactively launch peer observations or action research (Pyhalto et al., 2015), and their own research ability, such as data analysis and technology transfer, help them build confidence in sharing evidence-based solutions (Vanblaere & Devos, 2016 ). These transformations at the individual level are ultimately achieved through the collaborative dynamics of communities of practice to realize collective effectiveness-teachers participate in knowledge sharing and can systematically integrate resources based on their own scientific research ability. The two work together to promote the leap of teachers from "marginal participation" to "core participation" (Hairon et al., 2017 ). Two intermediate paths (organizational support → professional agency → collaboration; organizational support → scientific research ability → knowledge co-creation) eventually converge in the accumulation of practical wisdom of the professional learning communities, forming a closed loop of "resource empowerment → individual transformation → collective construction" (Vescio et al., 2020). As teachers have professional agency, they can contribute to the development of their own professional ability with both subjective and active efforts (Toom et al., 2021 ; Guskey, 2000; Hattie, 2009; Stoll& Louis,2007). Teachers’ professional ability includes many kinds of abilities, among which one of the most important ability is teachers’ scientific research ability (Sullanmaa et al., 2023). Therefore, the continuous development of professional agency will also enable teachers to invest in teaching and research, actively find and solve problems, and improve their own scientific research ability. Previous studies have also shown that there is a certain correlation between professional agency and teachers’ scientific research ability (Wang & Lam, 2022 ; Molla & Nolan, 2020 ).When teachers are able to identify problems and actively participate in scientific research, it is possible to foster a good culture of cooperation that enhances teaching and research through collective intelligence (Robinson, 2008). On this basis, close cooperation can be established to collectively solve teaching problems through scientific research, thereby promoting the construction of professional learning communities. These studies show that there is a significant correlation between professional agency, teachers’ scientific research ability, and professional learning communities (Molla & Nolan,2020). Professional agency ensures that teachers can continuously and effectively participate in scientific research, improve their own scientific research ability, fosters close teamwork, and build professional learning communities (Tan& Caleon.2016). At the same time, based on the discussions and assumptions mentioned above, it could be seen that perceived organizational support plays a crucial role in enabling teachers to develop professional agency in emotional dimensions. This, in turn, facilitates their active engagement in problem-based research and enhances their scientific research ability. In this process, they will cooperate closely and participate in the construction of professional learning communities. Therefore, we construct a chain path from perceived organizational support to professional agency to teachers’ scientific research ability to professional learning communities, with professional agency and teachers’ scientific research ability serving as the mediating variables. Accordingly, we hypothesize the following: H4. Professional agency and teachers’ scientific research ability co-mediate the relationship between the perceived organizational support and professional learning communities. 2 Materials and Methods 2.1 Samples This study adopts the stratified random sampling method to ensure the randomness and representativeness of the sample. The research subjects were divided into three levels by region: Beijing, Guizhou Province and Yunnan Province. Samples were randomly selected from the teacher lists provided by the education departments of each region to ensure that every primary and secondary school teacher had an equal chance of being selected and to avoid sampling bias. The specific distribution of the sampled primary and secondary school teachers is shown in Table 1 . Table 1 Demographic characteristics of the sample (N = 4010). N % Gender Female 3443 85.9% Male 567 14.1% Age under the age of 20 3 0.1% 20–25 years old 590 14.7% 26–30 years old 1069 26.7% 31–40 years old 1246 31.1% 41–50 years old 751 18.7% 51–55 years old 282 7.0% 55 years old or older 69 1.7% In the demonstration of sample size, ensure its sufficiency from multiple perspectives. On the one hand, based on the commonly used empirical criteria in social science research and combined with the number of questionnaire items, the requirements for the basic sample size were determined. On the other hand, by using professional statistical tools and based on factors such as the expected research results and significance levels, the minimum sample size required for the theory is calculated. Meanwhile, by referring to the requirements of the structural equation model for the sample size, the rationality of the sample size was further verified. Ultimately, 4,312 questionnaires were collected through the wechat platform. After screening, 4,010 valid questionnaires were obtained, with an effective recovery rate of 93%, far exceeding the minimum requirements of various standards and fully meeting the statistical needs of the research. Regarding the determination of the sample size, this study takes into account both the overall scale and the research accuracy. Based on the overall estimation of the research, by using scientific calculation methods and comprehensively considering factors such as confidence level and error range, the required sample size was initially obtained. Considering the possible actual invalid feedback, the sample size should be appropriately increased to determine the target sample size. The actual collected valid sample size significantly exceeded the target value, providing a solid guarantee for the reliability of the research conclusion.​ 2.2 Ethical Approval Statement and Informed Consent Declarations The research protocol was approved by the Biological and Medical Ethics Review Committee of Minzu University of China(Approval No. ECMUC2024011CO), ensuring ethical compliance. This study was conducted in accordance with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. Regarding informed consent, all participants provided written informed consent voluntarily prior to their enrollment in the research. This consent was obtained after a detailed explanation of the research objectives, procedures, potential risks, and benefits. 2.3 Measures This is a teacher-report survey containing a demographic battery and four scales. The demographic battery has 2 items: the teachers’ gender and age. The four scales include professional learning communities; perceived organizational support; professional agency; and teachers’ scientific research ability. Professional learning communities. We used the scale adapted from Leithwood, Aitken, and Jantzi to measure professional learning communities (Leithwood et al., 2006 ). This scale has been validated and applied in the Chinese educational context (Zheng, Yin, & Li, 2018). The scale had 18 items, divided into five dimensions: shared goals or shared values, cooperative activities or collective learning, concern for student learning or student development, sharing practice, and reflective dialogue. Examples of items were, “Our school has a clear development goal” (shared goals or shared values), “In our school, there are many cooperative teaching activities among teachers” (cooperative activities or collective learning), “The teachers in our school are concerned about the effectiveness of students’ learning” (concern for student learning or student development), “My colleagues often come to my class” (sharing practice) and “I would discuss a student’s learning problems with other teachers and think about how to help them” (reflective dialogue). Items were assessed according to the Likert scale on a scale of 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). The mean professional learning communities scores were calculated, with higher scores reflecting a higher level of professional learning communities. In this study, Cronbach’s α was 0.98, p < 0.001, which revealed a strong reliability. The structural validity of each index was good: RMSEA = 0.049, CFI = 0.990, TLI = 0.983 and SRMR = 0.008. Perceived organizational support. The perceived organizational support scale used in this study was adapted from Eisenberger’s Perceived Organizational Support Scale (Eisenberger et al., 1986 ). The scale had 6 items. Examples of items were, “The school values my personal goals and values”, “The school is very concerned about our happiness”, and “The school will be proud of what I have achieved in my work”. Items were assessed according to the Likert scale on a scale of 1 (completely no match) to 5 (very good match). The mean organizational support scores were calculated, with higher scores reflecting a higher level of organizational support. In this study, Cronbach’s α was 0.97, p < 0.001, which revealed a strong reliability. The structural validity of each index was good: RMSEA = 0.052, CFI = 0.988, TLI = 0.978 and SRMR = 0.010. Professional agency. Professional agency was mainly measured by the scale of the Professional Agency Scale (Sullanmaa et al., 2023). The scale had 15 items, divided into five dimensions: transformative practice, collective efficacy, positive interdependence, mutual identification, and active help-seeking. Examples of items were, “Teacher group discussions inspire my work” (transformative practice), “We as a group of teachers encourage each other and develop together” (collective efficacy), “I encourage collaboration with my faculty colleagues” (positive interdependence), “I appreciate the fact that we have a common code of conduct for our most challenging students” (mutual recognition) and “I'm not afraid to ask other teachers for help” (active help-seeking). Items were assessed on a Likert scale ranging from 1 (completely no match) to 5 (very good match). The mean scores in the teacher communities were calculated, with higher scores reflecting a higher level of the professional agency in the teacher communities. In this study, Cronbach’s α was 0.98, p < 0.001, which revealed a strong reliability. The structural validity of each index was good: RMSEA = 0.074, CFI = 0.917, TLI = 0.902 and SRMR = 0.033. Teachers’ scientific research ability. The ability was mainly measured by the second sub-scale, which focused on teachers’ scientific research ability, of the Professional Competence Scale (Sullanmaa et al., 2024 ). The scale included 6 items. And the examples were, “I can creatively put forward ideas and methods to solve practical problems in education and teaching according to the basic theories of education”, “I can master and use specific scientific research methods”, and “I know how to write research reports, experience (or academic) papers”. Items were assessed according to the Likert scale on a scale of 1 (completely no match) to 5 (very good match). The mean teachers’ scientific research ability scores were calculated, with higher scores reflecting a higher level of teachers’ scientific research ability. In this study, Cronbach’s α was 0.96, p < 0.001, which revealed a strong reliability. The structural validity of each index was good: RMSEA = 0.049, CFI = 0.990, TLI = 0.983 and SRMR = 0.008. 2.4 Statistical Analyses The data in this study were analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), structural equation modeling (SEM), and maximum likelihood estimation(MLR), with data processed using Mplus 8.0 software. In this study, SEM was utilized to investigate the effect of perceived organizational support on professional learning communities, with professional agency and teachers’ scientific research ability as mediators. The effect sizes of the path coefficients were classified according to the guidelines of Lachowicz et al. (2018), with 0.14 representing small effects, 0.39 representing medium effects, and 0.59 representing large effects. 3 Results 3.1 Descriptive Statistics and Correlation Analysis The mean and standard deviation of perceived organizational support, professional learning communities, professional agency and teachers’ scientific research ability are shown in Table 2 . In addition, perceived organizational support was positively associated with professional agency, teachers’ scientific research ability and professional learning communities. And there is a significant correlation between the professional agency and teachers’ scientific research ability, as well as between teachers’ scientific research ability and professional learning communities. It supports the subsequent analysis of the structural equation model. Table 2 Means, standard deviations and correlations among variables in the research. M SD 1 2 3 4 Perceived Organizational Support 4.024 0.884 — Professional Agency 4.190 0.724 0.766*** — Teachers’ Scientific Research Ability 3.984 0.793 0.674*** 0.638*** — Professional Learning Communities 4.237 0.689 0.841*** 0.881*** 0.712*** — ***p < 0.001 3.2 Structural Model Test To simply show the model fit indices, representative indices (CFI, TLI, RMSE and SRMR) would be selected to report. The model yielded satisfactory model fit indices: CFI = 0.922, TLI = 0.918, RMSEA = 0.047, SRMR = 0.043. The model fit indices all met the corresponding criteria. Therefore, the results of model fitting were appropriate to theoretical framework. As shown in Fig. 1 , perceived organizational support was significantly and positively associated with professional agency (β = 0.766, p < 0.001), teachers’ scientific research ability (β = 0.447, p < 0.001) and professional learning communities (β = 0.335, p < 0.001). Besides, professional agency was also significantly and positively correlated with teachers’ scientific research ability (β = 0.296, p < 0.001) and professional learning communities (β = 0.530, p < 0.001). Moreover, teachers’ scientific research ability was also significantly and positively correlated with professional learning communities (β = 0.148, p < 0.001). Therefore, H1, H2, H3 and H4 were supported. 3.3 Relationship between organizational support and professional learning communities: A chain–mediating effect analysis As a significant correlation was found between professional learning communities and perceived organizational support, professional agency, and teachers’ scientific research ability, a chain-mediation model was established to assess the mediation effect of professional agency and teachers’ scientific research ability. In this study, maximum likelihood estimation (MLR) was used to examine the mediating effect of perceived organizational support on professional learning communities. The overall mediation results are shown in the Table 3 . The results show that the total effect of perceived organizational support on professional learning communities is 0.841 (Z = 104.908, 95% CI = [0.825, 0.857]), suggesting a significant positive correlation between a higher level of perceived organizational support and a stronger construction of professional learning communities. The total indirect effect is 0.506, (Z = 23.904, 95% CI = [0.464, 0.547]), which highlights the important role of mediating variables in this relationship. Among which, the indirect effect of perceived organizational support on the professional learning communities is 0.406 (Z = 17.208, 95% CI = [0.360, 0.452]), which emphasizes the importance of professional agency as a mediating variable. In addition, the indirect effect of perceived organizational support on the professional learning communities through teachers’ scientific research ability is 0.066 (Z = 8.277, 95% CI = [0.051, 0.082]), indicating that the role of teachers’ scientific research ability in this relationship is small, but still significant. Finally, the indirect chain effect of perceived organizational support on the professional learning communities is 0.034 (Z = 7.881, 95% CI = [0.025, 0.042]), indicating that although the effect of this path is small, it still plays an important role in the overall relationship. In conclusion, these findings highlight the complex dynamic relationship between perceived organizational support, professional agency, and teachers’ scientific research ability, and illustrate how these factors collectively influence the construction and development of professional learning communities through direct and indirect paths. Table 3 Mediating results in the SEM. Perceived Organizational Support→Professional Learning Communities (mediation effect test) Point Estimate Product of Coefficients Bootstrapping 95% CI SE Z Lower Upper Total effect 0.841 0.008 104.908 0.825 0.857 Total indirect 0.506 0.021 23.904 0.464 0.547 Direct effect 0.335 0.024 14.043 0.288 0.382 Indirect effect1 (Perceived Organizational Support→Professional Agency→Professional Learning Communities) 0.406 0.024 17.208 0.360 0.452 Indirect effect2 (Perceived Organizational Support→Teachers’ Scientific Research Ability→Professional Learning Communities) 0.066 0.008 8.277 0.051 0.082 Indirect effect3 (Perceived Organizational Support→Professional Agency→Teachers’ Scientific Research Ability→Professional Learning Communities) 0.034 0.004 7.881 0.025 0.042 4 Discussion The present study introduces and validates a chain mediation model involving professional agency and teachers’ scientific research ability using a large-scale sample from China. Our findings indicate that perceived organizational support significantly predicts professional learning communities, and professional agency and teachers’ scientific research ability jointly mediate this relationship. These results support all the hypotheses proposed in our study. 4.1 Perceived organizational support and professional learning communities This study confirms that perceived organizational support has a significant positive impact on the construction of professional learning communities. This finding is highly consistent with the core viewpoint of organizational support theory (perceived organizational support), confirming the viewpoint of Eisenberger et al. (Eisenberger et al., 1986 ). Organizational support has a strong positive impact on employee engagement, job satisfaction and organizational commitment (Ahmed et al., 2015 ; Riggle et al., 2009 ). The organization's support for employees stimulates their willingness to contribute actively by meeting their psychological needs (such as a sense of belonging and recognition) and providing instrumental resources (such as teaching and research funds and collaboration platforms) (Eisenberger et al., 1986 ). When schools provide emotional and psychological support as well as material support to teachers, teachers tend to regard themselves as organic components of group members and professional learning communities, and thus actively participate in professional activities such as collective lesson preparation or interdisciplinary discussions (Kurtessis et al., 2017 ). This kind of support not only strengthens the organizational commitment of teachers through the "principle of reciprocity" (Rhoades & Eisenberger, 2002), but also enhances the sustainability of their participation in group building and professional learning communities by reducing collaboration costs (such as time pressure) (Orgambidez & Almeida, 2020). In this regard, this study pays more attention to the psychological and emotional support provided by the organization for teachers, and further explores and verifies how this type of organizational support can effectively complement the organizational support at the resource and information levels, thereby having a more comprehensive, continuous and stable positive impact on the construction of professional learning communitie. And this result is consistent with previous studies (Timperley, 2008; Vescio et al., 2008 ; DuFour & Eaker, 1998; Louis & Marks, 1998 ; Bryk & Schneider, 2002). For example, schools, as organizations, can support teachers’ professional development through a shared vision of school learning, professional learning opportunities, collaborative work and learning, and changes in school organization, which has a positive impact on the construction of professional learning communities (Admiraal et al., 2021 ). The construction of professional learning communities cannot be separated from the efforts of teachers, who require both the material and mental support given by the schools to develop themselves. Therefore, it is not surprising that perceived organizational support can promote the construction of professional learning communities. This strongly suggests that perceived organizational support plays an important role in professional learning communities. The findings of this study differ from the conclusions of researchers such as Schaap (Schaap et al., 2019 ; Ebersohn & Loots, 2017). This divergence may stem from the following reasons. First of all, the types and focuses of organizational support are different. Some studies narrowly define organizational support as material or instrumental support (such as funds and equipment), while ignoring the role of emotional and psychological support. For example, simple material support, such as hardware resources, has a limited incentive effect on teachers' participation in professional learning communities, because it fails to solve teachers' psychological costs, such as collaboration pressure and role conflicts (Ekornes, 2015 ). On the contrary, this study emphasizes that emotional support, such as leadership recognition and colleague trust significantly reduces the psychological barriers of teachers' participation in collaboration by satisfying their sense of belonging and achievement (Kurtessis et al., 2017 ; Hamzah, 2020 ). This difference indicates that the multi-dimensionality (material + emotional) of organizational support is the key to activating teachers' participation, rather than a single-dimensional resource supply. In addition, there are also the influences of cultural background and the education system. In a hierarchical education system, teachers' responses to organizational support may be influenced by the cultural values of power distance. For instance, Hairon and Dimmock pointed out that Singaporean teachers tend to passively accept instructions rather than actively initiate collaboration due to the "non-confrontational culture" (Hairon & Dimmock, 2012 ). However, this study shows that when organizations provide teachers with more emotional and psychological support and grant them more rights, teachers can break through role limitations through professional initiative (Lau et al., 2023 ). Furthermore, the role of mediating variables has not been fully considered. The chain mediation model of this study indicates that when enhancing teachers' professional agency and scientific research ability, organizational support can fully stimulate teachers' collaborative behavior (Vescio et al., 2020). This also proves that educational reform requires equal emphasis on emotional support, resource input and ability cultivation, rather than relying on a single factor in isolation. It is notable that in resource-weak schools, teachers form a "resource regeneration" cycle through teamwork and sharing limited resources, indirectly promoting the sustainable development of professional learning communities (Hargreaves & O 'Connor, 2018). This mechanism has further strengthened the necessity and universality of organizational support and the construction of professional learning communities. 4.2 Mediating effect of professional agency This study suggests that professional agency could be a significant mediator in the association between perceived organizational support and professional learning communities. The mediated effect of professional agency aligns with the findings of some researchers, who have found that when teachers receive various forms of support from the organization, especially in the fields of spirit and psychology, they can fully build their professional agency. Studies suggest that perceived organizational support can enhance professional agency by providing emotional and instructional support, fostering professional identity, and creating a supportive school climate (Gallucci, 2008 ; Carroll et al., 2003; Kagoda, 2019). Teachers who receive adequate support from the organization, as well as encouragement and assistance from their colleagues, are likely to improve their collaborative skills and actively engage in activities such as goals sharing, collective learning, practices sharing and reflective dialogue (Vangrieken et al., 2015). These performances and development trends are also in line with the development characteristics of the professional learning communities to a certain extent (Brodie, 2021 ). Consequently, when teachers receive strong support from groups and organizations, they will unconsciously and proactively enhance their own professional agency. This support fosters collaborative teamwork in their daily activities, leading to changes in their attitudes and behaviors, which in turn further promotes the development of professional learning communities.( Soini et al., 2015; Vangrieken et al., 2017 ; Stoll & Louis, 2007). Therefore, Professional agency has a significant impact between perceived organizational support and the construction of professional learning communities. And this finding suggests that fostering professional agency by perceived organizational support could be another way to promote the construction of professional learning communities. In the "ternary interaction model" of social cognitive theory, individual behavior is driven by the dynamic interaction of the environment (organizational support), individual cognition (self-efficacy), and behavior (collaboration) (Bandura, 2001). This study finds that when teachers perceive the trust and empowerment of the school, their self-efficacy, such as "I can improve teaching through research", is significantly enhanced, thereby driving them to actively initiate teaching and research projects or lead action research (Pyhalto et al., 2015). For example, self-efficacy can prompt teachers to formulate collaboration rules, resolve teaching disputes, and optimize collective practice through reflective dialogue (Vahasantanen, 2015). Teachers are not only adaptors of the environment but also active constructors of the community (Toom et al., 2021 ). Therefore, schools need to empower teachers through emotional support (such as trusting leadership) and instrumental support (such as flexible working hours) to unleash their professional agency (Voelkel & Chrispeels, 2017 ). However, it is worth noting that the exertion of teachers' agency is not isolated from the school culture. In a hierarchical education system, teachers may suppress their willingness to actively influence their peers due to role conflicts (teachers vs. leaders) (Hairon & Dimmock, 2012 ). For instance, non-confrontational culture may undermine the effectiveness of teachers' leadership (Lee & Li, 2015 ). Therefore, organizational support needs to be synchronized with the reform of school culture, break the binary opposition of "leaderer-teacher", construct a parallel leadership model, and enable teachers to exert influence independently in the field of teaching (Crowther et al., 2002). 4.3 Mediating effect of teachers’ scientific research ability This study suggests that teachers’ scientific research ability could be a significant mediator in the association between perceived organizational support and professional learning communities. For one thing, effective perceived organizational support can motivate teachers to carry out research activities (Hord, 1997; Timperley, 2008). For another thing, teachers with high-level scientific research ability could further promote the construction of professional learning communities, providing further evidence for the previously discussed relationship between teachers’ scientific research ability and professional learning communities (Vescio et al., 2008 ; DuFour & Eaker, 2009). In this study, the mediating role of teachers' scientific research ability is rooted in the social cognitive theory and further realizes collective efficacy through the collaborative dynamics of communities of practice. Social cognitive theory emphasizes that the improvement of scientific research ability depends on the interaction between environmental support (such as methodological training) and individual efficacy (such as "I can produce high-quality research") (Bandura, 1997). This study shows that organizational support prompts teachers to generate evidence-based solutions by helping them master scientific research ability(Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 2015 ). For instance, teachers who have participated in scientific research training are better at transforming classroom observations into shareable research reports and disseminating knowledge within the community through symbolic representations (such as visual charts) (Vescio et al., 2020). This mechanism is further highlighted under the communities of practice framework: After teachers possess scientific research ability, they can gradually become core members of the professional learning communities through "legalized marginal participation" and lead knowledge co-creation activities (Hairon et al., 2017 ). Teachers may construct shared assessment toolkits by systematically organizing classroom data, while members of the professional learning communities optimize their applicability through collaboration (Wenger, 1999 ). This cycle of "individual innovation → collective verification → practical iteration" not only strengthens the collective wisdom of the professional learning communities, but also promotes teaching improvement through the closed loop of "practice - theory - practice" (Darling Hammond et al., 2017). This study indicates that teachers' scientific research ability plays a mediating role between organizational support and professional learning communities, which is inconsistent with the findings of researchers such as Antinluoma (Antinluoma et al., 2021 ). This might be attributed to the insufficient matching between the dimensions of organizational support and scientific research capabilities. If organizational support only focuses on the supply of material resources (such as equipment and funds), while neglecting the systematic support for the development of scientific research ability(such as professional guidance and collaborative research opportunities), it will be difficult to activate the mediating effect of scientific research ability. For instance, research in resource-poor areas has found that when schools only provide basic hardware support, teachers tend to allocate more resources to cope with teaching pressure, such as the preparation of lesson materials rather than converting them into scientific research practices. This kind of "survival-oriented" resource utilization model leads to the inability of scientific research ability to serve as a bridge between organizational support and community collaboration (Ebersohn & Loots, 2017; Change, 2001 ). Furthermore, there is a one-sidedness in the measurement of scientific research ability and a disconnection from practice. Some studies adopt outcome-oriented indicators of scientific research ability, such as the number of papers and project initiation, while neglecting the ability of teachers to transform scientific research into practice, such as problem-solving and knowledge sharing. The scientific research ability measured by the publication of papers has no significant correlation with the effectiveness of the professional learning communities. This indicates that if the "academic" and "practical" aspects of scientific research ability are not distinguished, their actual role may be underestimated (Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 2015 ; Levin & Rock, 2003 ). In addition, there is also the interference of school culture and institutional constraints. In an education system dominated by standardized assessment, teachers may apply their research ability to individual competition due to performance pressure rather than community knowledge sharing. In a highly competitive environment, even if teachers have research ability, they are more inclined to independently optimize teaching strategies rather than participate in collective reflective dialogues (Yoo & Jang, 2023 ). At this point, the relationship between scientific research ability and professional learning communities has been weakened by individualistic culture. Furthermore, administrative-led scientific research tasks may be alienated into formal burdens, suppressing teachers' active collaboration (Hargreaves & Fullan, 2012). 4.4 Chain-mediating effect of professional agency and teachers’ scientific research ability One of the meaningful findings of this study is the chain-mediating effect. This study finds that professional agency and teachers’ scientific research ability co-mediate the perceived organizational support and professional learning communities, which is consistent with previous conclusions (Wang & Lam, 2022 ; Hsieh et al., 2022 ). The synergistic mediating effect of professional agency and scientific research ability is in line with the systematic explanation formed by the integration of organizational support theory, social cognitive theory and communities of practice. Organizational support lays the resource foundation for the synergy effect. Schools activate the agency and research potential of teachers through material support (such as research funds and collaboration platforms) and emotional support (such as leadership trust and achievement recognition), and meet their needs for belonging and self-actualization (Kurtessis et al., 2017 ). On this basis, in accordance with the "ternary interaction model" of social cognitive theory, the above-mentioned organizational support will further drive individual transformation. Teachers will transform organizational support into specific collaborative actions through self-efficacy and scientific research ability (Wang & Lam, 2022 ). This transformation process reflects the core mechanism of social cognitive theory, namely the dynamic interaction among the environment (resource input), individuals (efficacy and ability), and behaviors (collaborative practices) (Bandura, 2001). Ultimately, based on the theory of community practice, teachers can achieve collective effectiveness by sharing knowledge and making role transitions, and transforming participants into core contributors. For example, teachers with scientific research ability systematize the classroom observation results into shared toolkits, while professional agency drives them to optimize their practical applications through organizing reflective dialogues, forming a cycle of "individual innovation → collective verification → iterative promotion" (Hargreaves & O 'Connor, 2018; Vescio et al., 2020). Overall, when organizational support provides trusting support, teachers actively attempt innovative teaching methods based on self-efficacy and transform practical experience into structured achievements through scientific research ability (Eisenberger et al., 1986 ; Vanblaere & Devos, 2016 ). These achievements are further diffused into shared resources in the professional learning communities through the collaboration mechanism, promoting the closed loop of "resource empowerment → individual transformation → collective construction" (Vescio et al., 2008 ; Wenger, 1999 ). During this process, organizational support provides the initial impetus, activates the individual active mechanism, and ultimately achieves knowledge integration with the help of professional learning communities. This also provides a theoretical basis for educational managers to design an integrated system path of "support - ability - collaboration". It highlights the key role of the collaborative mediating effect in cracking the problems of "resource islands" and "practice disconnection" (Gulmez,2019). More precisely, this implies that if teachers can obtain resource support, emotional support and peer help from the organization as much as possible, they will have more sense of belonging, happiness and enthusiasm in their work, thereby continuously improving their professional agency (Wang & Zhou, 2022 ; Kachchhap & Horo, 2021 ; Hsieh et al., 2022 ; Oubibi et al., 2022 ). And professional agency will help teachers better construct their own cooperative concept, so that teachers can find more practical problems and think out corresponding countermeasures in the interaction with colleagues (Vähäsantanen, 2015 ; Molla & Nolan, 2020 ). With the influence of professional agency, teachers’ scientific research ability and problem awareness can be enhanced through cooperation, so that teachers can better cooperate with colleagues in organizations and collective activities. Overall, perceived organizational support is the diversified motivation and emotional support for teachers’ professional development, and it will continuously help teachers deepen their recognition of the professional learning communities and devote themselves to its construction. Meanwhile, they will also deepen their cooperation in the process of building the professional learning communities and further promote their own development in the cooperation. (Guskey, 2000; Bryk & Schneider, 2002; Darling-Hammond, 2006). 5 Conclusions, Limitations and Practical Implications This study, by integrating the theory of organizational support, the theory of social cognition and communities of practice, constructed a chain-like mediation model and systematically revealed the dynamic path by which perceived organizational support promotes the construction of professional learning communities through the synergy of teachers' professional agency and scientific research ability. Based on the survey data of 4,010 teachers from three provinces in China, the research found that: The multi-dimensional support provided by schools (including material resources, psychological care and achievement recognition) can significantly enhance teachers' sense of organizational belonging and mutual benefit motivation, directly driving their participation in collaborative behaviors such as collective lesson preparation and interdisciplinary discussions. This finding not only verifies the "principle of reciprocity", but also further emphasizes the key role of emotional support in reducing the psychological cost of teachers' collaboration. It has broken through the single focus of traditional research on material support. More importantly, professional agency and scientific research ability exhibit a synergistic mediating effect - the former transforms organizational support into teaching innovation and rule-making behaviors initiated by teachers through the social cognitive path of "environmental support → self-efficacy → collaborative behavior". The latter relies on the practice community cycle of "knowledge production → sharing → iteration" to promote the transformation of teachers from "marginal participants" to "core contributors". The chain effect of the two forms a closed loop of "resource empowerment → individual transformation → collective construction", providing a theoretical framework for schools to design an integrated support system of "resources - ability - collaboration", and also offering new ideas for solving practical predicaments such as "resource islands" and "disconnection from practice". This study also has several notable limitations that should be taken into account for future research endeavors. Firstly, participants were selected from only 3 regions, which may may restrict the applicability of the findings in informing the construction of professional learning communities for teachers in other regions. To enhance representativeness, future studies should include participants from a wider variety of districts and schools. Secondly, the cross-sectional design of this study explored and demonstrated the relationships between the relevant variables, but failed to conduct follow-up studies to further determine the stability of these relationships. Therefore, future research should measure the development of the relationship between perceived organizational support, professional agency, teachers’ scientific research ability, and professional learning communities over time. This study presents three practical inspirations for educational administrators and teachers. First of all, schools need to build a multi-dimensional organizational support system. At the level of integrating resources and providing organizational support, in addition to offering complete material and information resource support, teachers should also be empowered at the psychological and emotional levels. Teachers' sense of belonging and efficacy can be enhanced through achievement recognition and emotional care. Secondly, it is necessary to promote the positive interaction between teachers' ability and collaboration. On the one hand, "problem-oriented" school-based research and training projects should be designed to help teachers master practical research skills such as classroom observation and data visualization, and encourage them to transform research results into shared achievements. On the other hand, it grants teachers the decision-making power in curriculum design and teaching and research activities, and stimulates their agency to actively participate in the construction of professional learning communities. Finally, efforts should be made to create a sustainable cultural ecosystem of professional learning communities, cultivate the habit of knowledge sharing among teachers, and avoid the individualistic tendency caused by performance competition. In resource-weak areas, a "collaborative resource regeneration" model can be constructed to guide teachers to maximize the utilization of limited resources through teamwork and form a low-cost development path for professional learning communities. In conclusion, this study indicates that the construction of professional learning communities should start with organizational support and achieve sustainable development through the two-way interaction of ability enhancement and cultural transformation. This path not only provides a theoretical basis for educational equity and quality improvement, but also offers a practical framework for school administrators to design systematic support plans and for teachers to break through the predicament of "isolated teaching", ultimately promoting the paradigm transformation of the education system construction from "resource dependence" to "endogenous ability". Declarations 6 Conflict of Interest The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. 7 Author Contributions J.G.: Conceptualization, validation, supervision, project administration, writing—review and editing, funding acquisition; M.S.2: Conceptualization, methodology, validation, formal analysis, data curation, writing—original draft preparation, writing—review and editing, visualization; T.J.: Writing—original draft preparation, writing—review and editing; C.Z.: Validation, investigation, resources, project administration, funding acquisition, writing—review and editing. 8 Funding This research was funded by “the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities”, grant number 2022NTSS17. 9 Acknowledgments We are grateful to all participants in this study. 10 Ethics Approval and Consent to Participate The research protocol was approved by the Biological and Medical Ethics Review Committee of Minzu University of China (Approval No. ECMUC2024011CO). 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1","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":416087,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"Conceptual Framework.","description":"","filename":"floatimage1.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8512548/v1/98b77fd8875cbb2fc60e3c01.png"},{"id":102298503,"identity":"2e741b8f-7285-40fd-b73a-aa2c25e29258","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-02-10 10:40:43","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1432303,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8512548/v1/c572c036-55f1-4b4c-ba13-4412136803d5.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Improvement Strategies for Professional Learning Communities：the co-mediating role of professional agency and teachers’ scientific research ability","fulltext":[{"header":"Introduction","content":"\u003cp\u003eOver the past two decades, professional learning communities are important topic in the field of education (Brodie, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR10\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e; Vangrieken et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR94\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e). The academic community generally recognizes professional learning communities as groups of educators who collaborate to participate in consistent, methodical, and ongoing cycles of inquiry-based learning, with the primary objective of enhancing both their individual and collective teaching capabilities, further improving student outcomes (Brodie, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR10\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e, cited in Stoll et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR83\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2006\u003c/span\u003e; Hairon et al. \u003cspan citationid=\"CR40\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e; Chen \u0026amp; Wang, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR14\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e; Dissertation \u0026amp; Stegall, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR25\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2011\u003c/span\u003e). It has been proved that professional learning communities play a crucial role in enhancing students\u0026rsquo; grades (Pan \u0026amp; Cheng, 2023; Stoll et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR83\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2006\u003c/span\u003e; Vescio et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR95\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2008\u003c/span\u003e; Voelkel and Chrispeels, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR96\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e; Zheng et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR107\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2016\u003c/span\u003e; Owen, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR69\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2016\u003c/span\u003e), improving educators\u0026rsquo; professional development (Pan \u0026amp; Cheng, 2023; Voelkel \u0026amp; Chrispeels, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR96\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e; Owen, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR69\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2016\u003c/span\u003e; Patton \u0026amp; Parker, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR70\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e; Yoo \u0026amp; Jang, 2022), and fostering the development of schools (Little, 2002) and education (Stoll et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR83\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2006\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eExisting studies have proved that organizational support is closely related to promoting teamwork and motivating members to participate in team building. The Organizational Support Theory was proposed by Eisenberger et al. (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR30\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1986\u003c/span\u003e), aiming to explain how an organization's care and support for its employees affect their attitudes and behaviors. The care and support of an organization for its employees will enhance their sense of belonging and willingness to contribute (Kurtessis et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR54\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e; Yao et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR104\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e). Organizations can stimulate the happiness of members within the institution, their sense of identity with the team (Wang et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR99\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e), sense of belonging, and enhance the willingness to complete team tasks and promote team building through resources and emotional support. This is also widely reflected in the process where teachers participate in school affairs, devote themselves to professional development and teamwork (Kurt \u0026amp; Duyar, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR53\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e). In the field of education, establishing professional learning communities requires organizational support and efficient cooperation among members. It is necessary to ensure the establishment of basic rules, clear tasks, support, and the establishment of a common vision and mission among members (Doolittle et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR27\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2008\u003c/span\u003e). Some scholars have also noted that schools are regarded as an organization, which can promote the team participation of teachers and the construction of professional learning communities (Furqon et al., 2018). Schools can assist teachers in improving their teaching level and professional quality by providing instrumental and informational support, such as teaching AIDS, multimedia equipment, professional books, a common development vision, professional training opportunities, and collaborative work, and enhance teachers' enthusiasm for participating in work and teamwork and construction (Admiraalet al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e). It can be seen that some scholars have noticed the positive predictive effect of school-level support on promoting teachers' participation in the construction of professional learning communities. However, most of the current related studies are limited to support at the material and information levels (Antinluoma et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR5\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e). It is worth noting that teachers are the main members and core force in the construction of professional learning communities (Hairon, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR37\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e; Vangrieken et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR94\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e; Watson, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR102\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2014\u003c/span\u003e). In the process of the construction and development of professional learning communities, there are not many researchers who pay attention to the support of organization for teachers' psychological and professional development (Antinluoma et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR5\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR4\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e; Cleary et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR17\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e). The construction of professional learning communities not only requires the support of schools, but also the assistance of teachers' professional agency, professional ability, especially scientific research ability (Molla \u0026amp; Nolan, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR64\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e; Lau et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR56\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e; Zheng et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR107\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2016\u003c/span\u003e; Vanblaere \u0026amp; Devos, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR93\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2016\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn terms of teachers' perception of organizational support, the care and support of the organization for employees can enhance their sense of belonging and willingness to contribute (Oubibi et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR68\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e). Currently, organizational support can meet teachers' material and information needs in professional growth and cooperation (Antinluoma et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR5\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e; Chen \u0026amp; Wang, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR14\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e), but how to promote teachers' effective participation in the construction of professional learning communities by meeting their psychological needs (such as recognition and a sense of belonging) is a problem that remains to be further explored (Ahmed \u0026amp; Malik, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR3\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e; Bonaiuto et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR8\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e; Kurtessis et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR54\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e). When teachers perceive the support from the school in aspects such as emotional care (such as recognition from leaders and support from colleagues), their sense of belonging and responsibility will be significantly enhanced (Kurtessis et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR54\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e; Chung, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR16\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e), thereby participating more actively in the improvement of one's own professional capabilities, especially scientific research ability, and further engaging more deeply in the construction and collaborative activities of the professional learning communities (Okcu et al., 2025; Yu et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR106\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e). Existing studies have also shown that this mechanism is particularly crucial among the teaching staff, as the construction of professional learning communities highly relies on teachers' psychological engagement and voluntary contributions (Stoll et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR83\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2006\u003c/span\u003e; Katsantonis, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR48\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTherefore, this study constructed a structural equation model including professional learning communities, perceived organizational support, professional agency and teachers' scientific research ability, and took the latter two as mediating variables. Explore the overall belief of teachers regarding whether the organization values their contributions and cares about their well-being. This study breaks through the limitations of previous studies that only focus on institutional construction and the single means of organizational support, and integrates Organizational Support Theory, Social Cognitive Theory, and Community of Practice theory. Pay attention to the dominant position and feelings of teachers in the professional learning communities, focus organizational support on the spiritual, psychological and emotional aspects of teachers, and attempt to examine the roles of two factors, professional agency and teachers' scientific research ability, on the perception of the influence path of organizational support on the construction of the professional learning communities (Christensen, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR15\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2025\u003c/span\u003e; Voelkel \u0026amp; Chrispeels, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR96\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e). Ultimately, clarify how various types of organizational support such as material support, information support and psychological support respectively and comprehensively act on teachers' psychological feelings, professional development, and collaborative professional learning communities, and comprehensively influence the construction and development of professional learning communities. When teachers perceive support from the organization, such as emotional care, resource provision, and achievement recognition, they will enhance their sense of belonging to the organization and actively give back to it through the principle of reciprocity, for example, participating more actively in the collaboration of the professional learning communities (Vahasantanen, 2015; Rhoades \u0026amp; Eisenberger, 2002; Watson, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR102\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2014\u003c/span\u003e). Through theoretical integration, the limitations of the single mediation model are broken through to reveal how the individual agency and scientific ability of teachers form a \"two-way enhancement loop\" through organizational support and community collaboration-agency promotes knowledge production, and knowledge feeds back the sense of efficacy; Scientific research ability optimize the quality of collaboration, and collaboration expands the boundaries of capabilities. This provides a theoretical basis for the school to design an integrated support system of \"resources - capabilities - collaboration\". In this way, it will also help teachers break through the predicament of \"isolated teaching\", enhance teaching efficiency and professional well-being through teamwork, and reduce job burnout (Darling Hammond et al., 2017). At the same time, it can also provide schools with practical management plans, optimize the organizational environment, and promote the overall quality improvement of the teaching staff. Furthermore, it contributes to educational equity and quality improvement, especially providing low-cost and high-efficiency teacher development paths for resource-weak areas, and promoting sustainable educational development (Stosich, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR84\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2016\u003c/span\u003e; Stoll, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR82\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2011\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"1 The perceived organizational support and professional learning communities","content":"\u003cp\u003eThe organizational support theory aims to explain how an organization's care and support for its employees affect their attitudes and behaviors (Eisenberge et al., 1986). The core idea of this theory is that employees will form an overall belief about whether the organization values their contributions and cares about their well-being, and adjust their own behaviors based on the \"principle of reciprocity\". When perceived as having a high level of organizational support, employees will give back to the organization by enhancing organizational commitment, work engagement, etc. (Rhoades \u0026amp; Eisenberger, 2002). Perceived organizational support in the field of education refers to the extent to which an organization values employee\u0026rsquo; contributions, cares about their well-being, and commits to their support (Johnson \u0026amp; Birkeland, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR47\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2003\u003c/span\u003e; Kara et al., 2015; Lew, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR61\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2009\u003c/span\u003e; Permata et al., 2023; Rosafizah et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR75\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e). This concept is rooted in Organizational Support Theory and has been extensively studied to understand its antecedents and outcomes (Kurtessis et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR54\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e). Organizational support theory provides an important perspective for understanding how school organizations influence teachers' behaviors. For instance, when teachers perceive the support provided by the school in aspects such as resource allocation and emotional care, their sense of belonging and responsibility will be significantly enhanced (Kurtessis et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR54\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e), and they will then participate more actively in the collaborative activities of the professional learning communities. This mechanism is particularly crucial among the teaching staff because the construction of professional learning communities highly relies on the psychological input and voluntary contribution of teachers (Stoll et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR83\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2006\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePrevious studies on perceived organizational support mostly focus on its impacts on teachers (Hsieh et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR45\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e; Ishfaq et al., 2023; Jiao et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR46\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e; Tuazon, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR90\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2016\u003c/span\u003e; Wang \u0026amp; Zhou, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR100\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e; Chang et al., 2022). However, limited studies have discussed the impact of perceived organizational support on the construction of professional learning communities. And when it refers to the impacts of perceived organizational support on the construction of professional learning communities, most studies focus on the material support given by the organizations like the necessary resources, environment and so on (Timperley, 2008; Vescio et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR95\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2008\u003c/span\u003e; DuFour \u0026amp; Eaker, 1998; Louis \u0026amp; Marks, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR60\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1998\u003c/span\u003e), but limited studies have referred to the mental support, which includes identifying teachers\u0026rsquo; goals, attending to their well-being, recognizing their achievements and so on. Furthermore, in previous studies, the connotation and function of organizational support were often confused, and researchers did not have a clear explanation for the types of organizational support. Some researchers equate the material and information resource support provided by schools with organizational support, but to a certain extent, they ignore how to enhance teachers' sense of achievement, gain and belonging at the psychological level, support teachers' professional development, and promote teachers' participation in the construction of professional learning communities(Antinluoma et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR5\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR4\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e; Gallucci, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR35\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2008\u003c/span\u003e;Conoley \u0026amp; Conoley, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR19\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2010\u003c/span\u003e; Zhu et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR108\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e; Cleary et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR17\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eBased on existing researches, this study aims to further distinguish the types and functions of organizational support, as well as its role and influence on the professional learning communities, and mainly exploring the psychological support provided by the organization. Specifically, we assert that organizations have the capacity to offer mental support apart from material support, thereby enhancing teachers\u0026rsquo; happiness and satisfaction within collaborative environments. In turn, enables them to contribute their insights and strengths to the establishment and advancement of professional learning communities as cohesive units. In terms of meeting psychological needs, organizational support enhances teachers' sense of identity with the professional learning communities by fulfilling their belonging needs, such as being accepted by the team, and their respect needs, such as having their achievements recognized (Eisenberger et al., 2001). In terms of resource empowerment, apart from the material resources provided by the organization, such as teaching and research time and training opportunities, our research focuses on psychological resources, such as leadership trust and the collaborative atmosphere among colleagues, which can reduce the cost for teachers to participate in the collaboration of professional learning communities and enhance their willingness to invest (Hobfoll, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR44\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1989\u003c/span\u003e). Furthermore, there is the drive of reciprocal behavior. According to the \"principle of reciprocity\", when teachers perceive the support of the organization, they will give back to the organization by actively sharing knowledge, undertaking group responsibilities, etc., thereby promoting the sustainable development of the professional learning communities (Eisenberger \u0026amp; Stinglhamber, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR29\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2011\u003c/span\u003e). Therefore, we hypothesize that :\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eH1. Perceived organizational support is positively associated with the construction of professional learning communities.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec3\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e1.2 Professional agency in the relationship between the perceived organizational support and professional learning communities\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eGenerally, professional agency at work can be conceptualized from the perspective of social culture with the subject as the center (Etel\u0026auml;pelto et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR33\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2013\u003c/span\u003e). Previous studies suggest that there is a significant correlation between personal agency and relevant social background, with both elements being mutually constitutive and interdependent (Etel\u0026auml;pelto et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR33\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2013\u003c/span\u003e). Specifically, professional agency is interpreted as the capacity of the professionals, such as teachers, to engage in actions, address issues, make informed choices and decisions, and adopt particular positions (V\u0026auml;h\u0026auml;santanen, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR91\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e). For teachers, in order to enhance their professional agency, they need to work in the school, an organization, and cultivate a sense of belonging and empowerment in the social communication with colleagues and other people. As for the significance of professional agency, it can not only play an important role in the development of teachers and the construction of schools (Postholm, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR71\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e; Kunter et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR52\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2013\u003c/span\u003e; Borg, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR9\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e), but can also provide support and motivation for educational reform and teacher identity transformation (V\u0026auml;h\u0026auml;santanen, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR91\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eBased on the social cognitive theory (Bandura, 2001), professional agency is manifested as the ability of teachers to actively regulate behaviors, set goals and influence the environment in professional practice. When teachers perceive organizational support (such as emotional care and scientific research resources), their self-efficacy will be significantly enhanced, and they have confidence in successfully participating in collaborative tasks(Pyhalto et al., 2015). Thereby driving them to proactively initiate teaching and research cooperation and coordinate community activities (Vahasantanen, 2015). For example, based on professional agency and self-efficacy, teachers can transform organizational support into professional agency behaviors (such as formulating collaboration rules and resolving teaching disputes), and through the ternary interaction mechanism of \"environment (support) \u0026rarr; individual (efficacy) \u0026rarr; behavior (initiative)\", Promote the sustainable development of professional learning communities (Etelapelto et al., 2013).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe construction and development of professional learning communities is one of the important parts of school construction (Antinluoma, et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR4\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e; Schaap \u0026amp; Bruijn, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR77\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e). Just like the influence of professional agency on school construction, the construction and development of professional learning communities, has also been found to be positively influenced by professional agency. Some studies have noted the relationship between professional agency and professional learning communities (Biesta et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR7\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e). Professional agency has multiple associations with key characteristics of professional learning communities, such as focus, long-term inquiry, collaboration, leadership support, and trust (Brodie, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR10\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e). Notably, previous studies have revealed that professional agency significantly predicted professional learning communities. In particular, professional agency plays a vital role in promoting teaching research and cooperative practice in building professional learning communities. Specifically, professional agency promotes the development of the group by actively changing teaching practice strategies, improving the effectiveness of collective cooperation, mutual understanding, recognition, encouragement and help among members (Pyh\u0026auml;lt\u0026ouml; et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR72\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eRegarding the connection between perceived organizational support and professional agency, it could be inferred that perceived organizational support can positively influence professional agency by examining the following aspects. Firstly, the organizations support teachers\u0026rsquo; development of professional agency by providing them with the necessary resources and environmental conditions for cooperative learning. (Hord, 1997). Besides, the organizational system can give teachers more influence and help in the aspects of collaborative learning and peer support, which has an impact on the development of professional agency (Kauppinen et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR49\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e; King, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR51\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e). Furthermore, perceived organizational support has a promoting effect on the improvement of teachers' job satisfaction and performance, and further promotes the formation of professional agency. Conversely, the dimensions of organizational exclusion and nihilism are negatively associated with teachers\u0026rsquo; sense of achievement, satisfaction, and motivation in the workplace. (Chinomona \u0026amp; Sandada, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR21\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2014\u003c/span\u003e; Demir \u0026amp; \u0026Ccedil;obanoğlu, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR24\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e). In addition, effective perceived organizational support builds a common cultural atmosphere that allows teachers to give full play to their professional agency (Stoll \u0026amp; Louis,2007). Accordingly, teachers gain support from various aspects in the self-organization support, feel satisfied in the group, improve their professional agency, and impact the construction of professional learning communities (Robinson, 2008; Little, 2006; Parker\u0026amp; Tuck, 2019).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAlthough we have found that professional agency has an impact on the construction of professional learning communities, and perceived organizational support also has an impact on professional agency, there is no relevant strong research to reveal whether professional agency plays an effective mediating role between perceived organizational support and the development and construction of professional learning communities. Therefore, we try to construct a path from perceived organizational support to professional agency to professional learning communities, focusing on whether professional agency plays a significant mediating role. We hypothesize that:\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eH2. Professional agency mediates the relationship between organizational support and professional learning communities.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cul\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.3 Teachers\u0026rsquo; scientific research ability in the relationship between the perceived organizational support and professional learning communities\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003c/ul\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTeachers\u0026rsquo; scientific research ability refers to the ability of teachers to find, analyze and solve problems in education, and to use scientific methods to conduct educational research, so as to explore the law of education, improve the teaching method, improve the quality of education, promote their professional growth and facilitate the development of educational theory and practice (Cochran-Smith \u0026amp; Lytle, 2009; Darling-Hammond et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR23\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e; Zeichner \u0026amp; Noffke, 2001). This ability plays a role in promoting teachers\u0026rsquo; professional development by improving their knowledge, skills, teaching practices, and critical attitudes, while also fostering continuous learning and collaboration (Zhou, 2022; Meijer et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR63\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2013\u003c/span\u003e; Rahyasih et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR73\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSocial cognitive theory (Bandura, 2001) helps explain the mediating role of teachers' scientific research ability between perceived organizational support and the construction of professional learning communities. Research shows that the support provided by schools can promote teachers to build their scientific research ability through two key mechanisms. The first is observational learning. For instance, teachers enhance their research ability by imitating the research methods of senior researchers. Another aspect is practical feedback, such as expert-guided optimization of research design (Meijer et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR63\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2013\u003c/span\u003e). Such support has significantly enhanced teachers' core scientific research ability such as problem discovery, data analysis and achievement transformation (Cochran-Smith \u0026amp; Lytle, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR18\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e), laying the foundation for their subsequent participation in the collaboration of professional learning communities. scientific research ability also drives teachers to transform research results into shareable knowledge resources. For example, teachers tend to systematically present research findings through symbolic representations, such as visual charts and shared documents(Vescio et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR95\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2008\u003c/span\u003e), and actively organize seminars or share research tools (Hairon et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR40\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e). Thereby promoting the collective knowledge construction of the professional learning communities (Darling Hammond et al., 2017). This process is in line with the \"ternary interaction model\" of social cognitive theory: the environment, that is, organizational support, creates enabling conditions through resource supply and feedback mechanisms. The improvement of the research ability of individuals, namely teachers, enhances their sense of self-efficacy. Furthermore, in terms of behavior, mainly in terms of collaboration, promote the behavior of knowledge sharing to achieve the practical effectiveness of professional learning communities (Bandura,1999). Scientific research ability, as the core mediating variable, transforms organizational support into the collaborative behavior of teachers. Its action path can be summarized as: organizational support \u0026rarr; scientific research ability \u0026rarr; professional learning communities, highlighting the internal logic that the school indirectly promotes the sustainable development of the professional learning communities through teachers\u0026rsquo; scientific research ability building.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn this regard, with respect to the relationship of teachers\u0026rsquo; scientific research ability and perceived organizational support, several studies suggest that perceived organizational support positively impacts teachers\u0026rsquo; scientific research ability by enhancing job satisfaction, reducing academic misconduct, and improving research performance (Shuang, 2010; Guanghui, 2013). Some scholars believe that academic exchanges and incentives in organizational support can effectively help teachers build scientific research ability and enhance their enthusiasm for research (Shuang, 2010). Some researchers hold that perceived organizational support positively affects teachers\u0026rsquo; creativity (Wahib, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR97\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e). Teachers\u0026rsquo; scientific research ability also has a positive impact on the construction of professional learning communities. Many studies have mentioned the characteristics of teachers\u0026rsquo; scientific research ability (Hargreaves \u0026amp; Fullan, 2012; Menter et al., 2011; Cochran-Smith \u0026amp; Lytle, 2009). It could be inferred from the research of Hargreaves and Fullan (2012) that teachers\u0026rsquo; scientific research ability includes reflective practice, collaboration and sharing, and continuous learning. Moreover, the study by Menter et al. indicates that teachers\u0026rsquo; scientific research ability includes practice, reflection, cooperation and communication, continuous learning and so on. Furthermore, the characteristics of teachers\u0026rsquo; scientific research ability summarized from Cochran-Smith and Lytle's (2009) study are reflective practice, commitment to inquiry, and collaboration. Noticeably, the cooperation, one of these characteristics, mentioned by these studies is also indispensable for the construction of professional learning communities (Stoll et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR83\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2006\u003c/span\u003e; Vescio et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR95\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2008\u003c/span\u003e; DuFour \u0026amp; Eaker, 2009; Hord, 2004). Besides, the reflective ability and cooperative ability formed by teachers in the process of scientific research, as well as the knowledge and experience they accumulate, will lay the foundation for the construction of professional learning communities (Vescio et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR95\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2008\u003c/span\u003e; Timperley, 2008; Hargreaves \u0026amp; Fullan, 2012).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAlthough we have found that teachers\u0026rsquo; scientific research ability has an effect on the construction of professional learning communities and perceived organizational support has an effect on teachers\u0026rsquo; scientific research ability, no research has revealed whether teachers\u0026rsquo; scientific research ability will play an effective intermediary role between perceived organizational support and the construction of professional learning communities. Therefore, we try to construct a path from perceived organizational support to teachers\u0026rsquo; scientific research ability to the construction of professional learning communities, focusing on whether teachers\u0026rsquo; scientific research ability plays a significant mediating role. Accordingly, we hypothesize the following:\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eH3. Teachers\u0026rsquo; scientific research ability mediates the relationship between perceived organizational support and professional learning communities.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec4\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e1.4 The co-mediation effect of professional agency and teachers\u0026rsquo; scientific research ability\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe organizational support theory, social cognition theory and communities of practice provide a basis for the synergistic mediating effect between professional agency and teachers' scientific research ability. The organizational support theory points out that schools meet the psychological needs (sense of belonging and sense of achievement) of teachers through material resources (such as research funds and training opportunities) and emotional support (such as recognition from leaders and trust from colleagues), laying the foundation for the activation of their professional agency and research ability (Kurtessis et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR54\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e; Hsieh et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR45\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e). Social cognitive theory further reveals that organizational support functions through a ternary interaction mechanism of \"environment (resources) \u0026rarr; individual (sense of efficacy) \u0026rarr; behavior (collaboration)\". This can prompt teachers to proactively launch peer observations or action research (Pyhalto et al., 2015), and their own research ability, such as data analysis and technology transfer, help them build confidence in sharing evidence-based solutions (Vanblaere \u0026amp; Devos, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR93\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2016\u003c/span\u003e). These transformations at the individual level are ultimately achieved through the collaborative dynamics of communities of practice to realize collective effectiveness-teachers participate in knowledge sharing and can systematically integrate resources based on their own scientific research ability. The two work together to promote the leap of teachers from \"marginal participation\" to \"core participation\" (Hairon et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR40\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e). Two intermediate paths (organizational support \u0026rarr; professional agency \u0026rarr; collaboration; organizational support \u0026rarr; scientific research ability \u0026rarr; knowledge co-creation) eventually converge in the accumulation of practical wisdom of the professional learning communities, forming a closed loop of \"resource empowerment \u0026rarr; individual transformation \u0026rarr; collective construction\" (Vescio et al., 2020).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAs teachers have professional agency, they can contribute to the development of their own professional ability with both subjective and active efforts (Toom et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR89\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e; Guskey, 2000; Hattie, 2009; Stoll\u0026amp; Louis,2007). Teachers\u0026rsquo; professional ability includes many kinds of abilities, among which one of the most important ability is teachers\u0026rsquo; scientific research ability (Sullanmaa et al., 2023). Therefore, the continuous development of professional agency will also enable teachers to invest in teaching and research, actively find and solve problems, and improve their own scientific research ability. Previous studies have also shown that there is a certain correlation between professional agency and teachers\u0026rsquo; scientific research ability (Wang \u0026amp; Lam, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR98\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e; Molla \u0026amp; Nolan, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR64\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e).When teachers are able to identify problems and actively participate in scientific research, it is possible to foster a good culture of cooperation that enhances teaching and research through collective intelligence (Robinson, 2008). On this basis, close cooperation can be established to collectively solve teaching problems through scientific research, thereby promoting the construction of professional learning communities.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThese studies show that there is a significant correlation between professional agency, teachers\u0026rsquo; scientific research ability, and professional learning communities (Molla \u0026amp; Nolan,2020). Professional agency ensures that teachers can continuously and effectively participate in scientific research, improve their own scientific research ability, fosters close teamwork, and build professional learning communities (Tan\u0026amp; Caleon.2016). At the same time, based on the discussions and assumptions mentioned above, it could be seen that perceived organizational support plays a crucial role in enabling teachers to develop professional agency in emotional dimensions. This, in turn, facilitates their active engagement in problem-based research and enhances their scientific research ability. In this process, they will cooperate closely and participate in the construction of professional learning communities. Therefore, we construct a chain path from perceived organizational support to professional agency to teachers\u0026rsquo; scientific research ability to professional learning communities, with professional agency and teachers\u0026rsquo; scientific research ability serving as the mediating variables. Accordingly, we hypothesize the following:\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eH4. Professional agency and teachers\u0026rsquo; scientific research ability co-mediate the relationship between the perceived organizational support and professional learning communities.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"2 Materials and Methods","content":"\u003cdiv id=\"Sec6\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e2.1 Samples\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis study adopts the stratified random sampling method to ensure the randomness and representativeness of the sample. The research subjects were divided into three levels by region: Beijing, Guizhou Province and Yunnan Province. Samples were randomly selected from the teacher lists provided by the education departments of each region to ensure that every primary and secondary school teacher had an equal chance of being selected and to avoid sampling bias. The specific distribution of the sampled primary and secondary school teachers is shown in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab1\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 1\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDemographic characteristics of the sample (N\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;4010).\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"3\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eN\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eGender\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFemale\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3443\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e85.9%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMale\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e567\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e14.1%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAge\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eunder the age of 20\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.1%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e20\u0026ndash;25 years old\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e590\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e14.7%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e26\u0026ndash;30 years old\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1069\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e26.7%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e31\u0026ndash;40 years old\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1246\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e31.1%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e41\u0026ndash;50 years old\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e751\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e18.7%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e51\u0026ndash;55 years old\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e282\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7.0%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e55 years old or older\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e69\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.7%\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn the demonstration of sample size, ensure its sufficiency from multiple perspectives. On the one hand, based on the commonly used empirical criteria in social science research and combined with the number of questionnaire items, the requirements for the basic sample size were determined. On the other hand, by using professional statistical tools and based on factors such as the expected research results and significance levels, the minimum sample size required for the theory is calculated. Meanwhile, by referring to the requirements of the structural equation model for the sample size, the rationality of the sample size was further verified. Ultimately, 4,312 questionnaires were collected through the wechat platform. After screening, 4,010 valid questionnaires were obtained, with an effective recovery rate of 93%, far exceeding the minimum requirements of various standards and fully meeting the statistical needs of the research.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eRegarding the determination of the sample size, this study takes into account both the overall scale and the research accuracy. Based on the overall estimation of the research, by using scientific calculation methods and comprehensively considering factors such as confidence level and error range, the required sample size was initially obtained. Considering the possible actual invalid feedback, the sample size should be appropriately increased to determine the target sample size. The actual collected valid sample size significantly exceeded the target value, providing a solid guarantee for the reliability of the research conclusion.​\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cstrong\u003e2.2 Ethical Approval\u003c/strong\u003e \u003cp\u003eStatement and Informed Consent Declarations\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe research protocol was approved by the Biological and Medical Ethics Review Committee of Minzu University of China(Approval No. ECMUC2024011CO), ensuring ethical compliance. This study was conducted in accordance with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. Regarding informed consent, all participants provided written informed consent voluntarily prior to their enrollment in the research. This consent was obtained after a detailed explanation of the research objectives, procedures, potential risks, and benefits.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec7\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e2.3 Measures\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis is a teacher-report survey containing a demographic battery and four scales. The demographic battery has 2 items: the teachers\u0026rsquo; gender and age. The four scales include professional learning communities; perceived organizational support; professional agency; and teachers\u0026rsquo; scientific research ability.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eProfessional learning communities. We used the scale adapted from Leithwood, Aitken, and Jantzi to measure professional learning communities (Leithwood et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR62\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2006\u003c/span\u003e). This scale has been validated and applied in the Chinese educational context (Zheng, Yin, \u0026amp; Li, 2018). The scale had 18 items, divided into five dimensions: shared goals or shared values, cooperative activities or collective learning, concern for student learning or student development, sharing practice, and reflective dialogue. Examples of items were, \u0026ldquo;Our school has a clear development goal\u0026rdquo; (shared goals or shared values), \u0026ldquo;In our school, there are many cooperative teaching activities among teachers\u0026rdquo; (cooperative activities or collective learning), \u0026ldquo;The teachers in our school are concerned about the effectiveness of students\u0026rsquo; learning\u0026rdquo; (concern for student learning or student development), \u0026ldquo;My colleagues often come to my class\u0026rdquo; (sharing practice) and \u0026ldquo;I would discuss a student\u0026rsquo;s learning problems with other teachers and think about how to help them\u0026rdquo; (reflective dialogue). Items were assessed according to the Likert scale on a scale of 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). The mean professional learning communities scores were calculated, with higher scores reflecting a higher level of professional learning communities. In this study, Cronbach\u0026rsquo;s α was 0.98, p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001, which revealed a strong reliability. The structural validity of each index was good: RMSEA\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.049, CFI\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.990, TLI\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.983 and SRMR\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.008.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePerceived organizational support. The perceived organizational support scale used in this study was adapted from Eisenberger\u0026rsquo;s Perceived Organizational Support Scale (Eisenberger et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR30\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1986\u003c/span\u003e). The scale had 6 items. Examples of items were, \u0026ldquo;The school values my personal goals and values\u0026rdquo;, \u0026ldquo;The school is very concerned about our happiness\u0026rdquo;, and \u0026ldquo;The school will be proud of what I have achieved in my work\u0026rdquo;. Items were assessed according to the Likert scale on a scale of 1 (completely no match) to 5 (very good match). The mean organizational support scores were calculated, with higher scores reflecting a higher level of organizational support. In this study, Cronbach\u0026rsquo;s α was 0.97, p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001, which revealed a strong reliability. The structural validity of each index was good: RMSEA\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.052, CFI\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.988, TLI\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.978 and SRMR\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.010.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eProfessional agency. Professional agency was mainly measured by the scale of the Professional Agency Scale (Sullanmaa et al., 2023). The scale had 15 items, divided into five dimensions: transformative practice, collective efficacy, positive interdependence, mutual identification, and active help-seeking. Examples of items were, \u0026ldquo;Teacher group discussions inspire my work\u0026rdquo; (transformative practice), \u0026ldquo;We as a group of teachers encourage each other and develop together\u0026rdquo; (collective efficacy), \u0026ldquo;I encourage collaboration with my faculty colleagues\u0026rdquo; (positive interdependence), \u0026ldquo;I appreciate the fact that we have a common code of conduct for our most challenging students\u0026rdquo; (mutual recognition) and \u0026ldquo;I'm not afraid to ask other teachers for help\u0026rdquo; (active help-seeking). Items were assessed on a Likert scale ranging from 1 (completely no match) to 5 (very good match). The mean scores in the teacher communities were calculated, with higher scores reflecting a higher level of the professional agency in the teacher communities. In this study, Cronbach\u0026rsquo;s α was 0.98, p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001, which revealed a strong reliability. The structural validity of each index was good: RMSEA\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.074, CFI\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.917, TLI\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.902 and SRMR\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.033.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTeachers\u0026rsquo; scientific research ability. The ability was mainly measured by the second sub-scale, which focused on teachers\u0026rsquo; scientific research ability, of the Professional Competence Scale (Sullanmaa et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR85\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e). The scale included 6 items. And the examples were, \u0026ldquo;I can creatively put forward ideas and methods to solve practical problems in education and teaching according to the basic theories of education\u0026rdquo;, \u0026ldquo;I can master and use specific scientific research methods\u0026rdquo;, and \u0026ldquo;I know how to write research reports, experience (or academic) papers\u0026rdquo;. Items were assessed according to the Likert scale on a scale of 1 (completely no match) to 5 (very good match). The mean teachers\u0026rsquo; scientific research ability scores were calculated, with higher scores reflecting a higher level of teachers\u0026rsquo; scientific research ability. In this study, Cronbach\u0026rsquo;s α was 0.96, p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001, which revealed a strong reliability. The structural validity of each index was good: RMSEA\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.049, CFI\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.990, TLI\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.983 and SRMR\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.008.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec8\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e2.4 Statistical Analyses\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe data in this study were analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), structural equation modeling (SEM), and maximum likelihood estimation(MLR), with data processed using Mplus 8.0 software. In this study, SEM was utilized to investigate the effect of perceived organizational support on professional learning communities, with professional agency and teachers\u0026rsquo; scientific research ability as mediators. The effect sizes of the path coefficients were classified according to the guidelines of Lachowicz et al. (2018), with 0.14 representing small effects, 0.39 representing medium effects, and 0.59 representing large effects.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"3 Results","content":"\u003cdiv id=\"Sec10\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e3.1 Descriptive Statistics and Correlation Analysis\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe mean and standard deviation of perceived organizational support, professional learning communities, professional agency and teachers\u0026rsquo; scientific research ability are shown in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn addition, perceived organizational support was positively associated with professional agency, teachers\u0026rsquo; scientific research ability and professional learning communities. And there is a significant correlation between the professional agency and teachers\u0026rsquo; scientific research ability, as well as between teachers\u0026rsquo; scientific research ability and professional learning communities. It supports the subsequent analysis of the structural equation model.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab2\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 2\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMeans, standard deviations and correlations among variables in the research.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"7\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c7\" colnum=\"7\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eM\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSD\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePerceived Organizational Support\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.024\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.884\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026mdash;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eProfessional Agency\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.190\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.724\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.766***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026mdash;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTeachers\u0026rsquo; Scientific Research Ability\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.984\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.793\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.674***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.638***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026mdash;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eProfessional Learning Communities\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.237\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.689\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.841***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.881***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.712***\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026mdash;\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e***p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec11\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e3.2 Structural Model Test\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eTo simply show the model fit indices, representative indices (CFI, TLI, RMSE and SRMR) would be selected to report. The model yielded satisfactory model fit indices: CFI\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.922, TLI\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.918, RMSEA\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.047, SRMR\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.043. The model fit indices all met the corresponding criteria. Therefore, the results of model fitting were appropriate to theoretical framework.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAs shown in Fig.\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Fig1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e, perceived organizational support was significantly and positively associated with professional agency (β\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.766, p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001), teachers\u0026rsquo; scientific research ability (β\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.447, p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001) and professional learning communities (β\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.335, p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001). Besides, professional agency was also significantly and positively correlated with teachers\u0026rsquo; scientific research ability (β\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.296, p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001) and professional learning communities (β\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.530, p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001). Moreover, teachers\u0026rsquo; scientific research ability was also significantly and positively correlated with professional learning communities (β\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.148, p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;0.001). Therefore, H1, H2, H3 and H4 were supported.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec12\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e3.3 Relationship between organizational support and professional learning communities: A chain\u0026ndash;mediating effect analysis\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eAs a significant correlation was found between professional learning communities and perceived organizational support, professional agency, and teachers\u0026rsquo; scientific research ability, a chain-mediation model was established to assess the mediation effect of professional agency and teachers\u0026rsquo; scientific research ability. In this study, maximum likelihood estimation (MLR) was used to examine the mediating effect of perceived organizational support on professional learning communities. The overall mediation results are shown in the Table \u003cspan refid=\"Tab3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e. The results show that the total effect of perceived organizational support on professional learning communities is 0.841 (Z\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;104.908, 95% CI = [0.825, 0.857]), suggesting a significant positive correlation between a higher level of perceived organizational support and a stronger construction of professional learning communities. The total indirect effect is 0.506, (Z\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;23.904, 95% CI = [0.464, 0.547]), which highlights the important role of mediating variables in this relationship. Among which, the indirect effect of perceived organizational support on the professional learning communities is 0.406 (Z\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;17.208, 95% CI = [0.360, 0.452]), which emphasizes the importance of professional agency as a mediating variable. In addition, the indirect effect of perceived organizational support on the professional learning communities through teachers\u0026rsquo; scientific research ability is 0.066 (Z\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;8.277, 95% CI = [0.051, 0.082]), indicating that the role of teachers\u0026rsquo; scientific research ability in this relationship is small, but still significant. Finally, the indirect chain effect of perceived organizational support on the professional learning communities is 0.034 (Z\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;7.881, 95% CI = [0.025, 0.042]), indicating that although the effect of this path is small, it still plays an important role in the overall relationship.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn conclusion, these findings highlight the complex dynamic relationship between perceived organizational support, professional agency, and teachers\u0026rsquo; scientific research ability, and illustrate how these factors collectively influence the construction and development of professional learning communities through direct and indirect paths.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab3\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 3\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMediating results in the SEM.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"6\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePerceived Organizational Support\u0026rarr;Professional Learning Communities\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e(mediation effect test)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\" morerows=\"1\" rowspan=\"2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePoint Estimate\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c4\" namest=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eProduct of Coefficients\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colspan=\"2\" nameend=\"c6\" namest=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eBootstrapping 95% CI\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSE\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eZ\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLower\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eUpper\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTotal effect\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.841\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.008\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e104.908\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.825\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.857\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTotal indirect\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.506\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.021\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e23.904\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.464\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.547\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eDirect effect\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.335\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.024\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e14.043\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.288\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.382\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eIndirect effect1\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e(Perceived Organizational Support\u0026rarr;Professional Agency\u0026rarr;Professional Learning Communities)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.406\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.024\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e17.208\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.360\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.452\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eIndirect effect2\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e(Perceived Organizational Support\u0026rarr;Teachers\u0026rsquo; Scientific Research Ability\u0026rarr;Professional Learning Communities)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.066\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.008\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8.277\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.051\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.082\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eIndirect effect3\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e(Perceived Organizational Support\u0026rarr;Professional Agency\u0026rarr;Teachers\u0026rsquo; Scientific Research Ability\u0026rarr;Professional Learning Communities)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.034\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.004\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7.881\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.025\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.042\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"4 Discussion","content":"\u003cp\u003eThe present study introduces and validates a chain mediation model involving professional agency and teachers\u0026rsquo; scientific research ability using a large-scale sample from China. Our findings indicate that perceived organizational support significantly predicts professional learning communities, and professional agency and teachers\u0026rsquo; scientific research ability jointly mediate this relationship. These results support all the hypotheses proposed in our study.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec14\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e4.1 Perceived organizational support and professional learning communities\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis study confirms that perceived organizational support has a significant positive impact on the construction of professional learning communities. This finding is highly consistent with the core viewpoint of organizational support theory (perceived organizational support), confirming the viewpoint of Eisenberger et al. (Eisenberger et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR30\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1986\u003c/span\u003e). Organizational support has a strong positive impact on employee engagement, job satisfaction and organizational commitment (Ahmed et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e; Riggle et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR74\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2009\u003c/span\u003e). The organization's support for employees stimulates their willingness to contribute actively by meeting their psychological needs (such as a sense of belonging and recognition) and providing instrumental resources (such as teaching and research funds and collaboration platforms) (Eisenberger et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR30\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1986\u003c/span\u003e). When schools provide emotional and psychological support as well as material support to teachers, teachers tend to regard themselves as organic components of group members and professional learning communities, and thus actively participate in professional activities such as collective lesson preparation or interdisciplinary discussions (Kurtessis et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR54\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e). This kind of support not only strengthens the organizational commitment of teachers through the \"principle of reciprocity\" (Rhoades \u0026amp; Eisenberger, 2002), but also enhances the sustainability of their participation in group building and professional learning communities by reducing collaboration costs (such as time pressure) (Orgambidez \u0026amp; Almeida, 2020). In this regard, this study pays more attention to the psychological and emotional support provided by the organization for teachers, and further explores and verifies how this type of organizational support can effectively complement the organizational support at the resource and information levels, thereby having a more comprehensive, continuous and stable positive impact on the construction of professional learning communitie. And this result is consistent with previous studies (Timperley, 2008; Vescio et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR95\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2008\u003c/span\u003e; DuFour \u0026amp; Eaker, 1998; Louis \u0026amp; Marks, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR60\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1998\u003c/span\u003e; Bryk \u0026amp; Schneider, 2002). For example, schools, as organizations, can support teachers\u0026rsquo; professional development through a shared vision of school learning, professional learning opportunities, collaborative work and learning, and changes in school organization, which has a positive impact on the construction of professional learning communities (Admiraal et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e). The construction of professional learning communities cannot be separated from the efforts of teachers, who require both the material and mental support given by the schools to develop themselves. Therefore, it is not surprising that perceived organizational support can promote the construction of professional learning communities. This strongly suggests that perceived organizational support plays an important role in professional learning communities.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe findings of this study differ from the conclusions of researchers such as Schaap (Schaap et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR78\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e; Ebersohn \u0026amp; Loots, 2017). This divergence may stem from the following reasons. First of all, the types and focuses of organizational support are different. Some studies narrowly define organizational support as material or instrumental support (such as funds and equipment), while ignoring the role of emotional and psychological support. For example, simple material support, such as hardware resources, has a limited incentive effect on teachers' participation in professional learning communities, because it fails to solve teachers' psychological costs, such as collaboration pressure and role conflicts (Ekornes, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR32\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e). On the contrary, this study emphasizes that emotional support, such as leadership recognition and colleague trust significantly reduces the psychological barriers of teachers' participation in collaboration by satisfying their sense of belonging and achievement (Kurtessis et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR54\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e; Hamzah, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR41\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e). This difference indicates that the multi-dimensionality (material\u0026thinsp;+\u0026thinsp;emotional) of organizational support is the key to activating teachers' participation, rather than a single-dimensional resource supply. In addition, there are also the influences of cultural background and the education system. In a hierarchical education system, teachers' responses to organizational support may be influenced by the cultural values of power distance. For instance, Hairon and Dimmock pointed out that Singaporean teachers tend to passively accept instructions rather than actively initiate collaboration due to the \"non-confrontational culture\" (Hairon \u0026amp; Dimmock, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR38\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2012\u003c/span\u003e). However, this study shows that when organizations provide teachers with more emotional and psychological support and grant them more rights, teachers can break through role limitations through professional initiative (Lau et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR56\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e). Furthermore, the role of mediating variables has not been fully considered. The chain mediation model of this study indicates that when enhancing teachers' professional agency and scientific research ability, organizational support can fully stimulate teachers' collaborative behavior (Vescio et al., 2020). This also proves that educational reform requires equal emphasis on emotional support, resource input and ability cultivation, rather than relying on a single factor in isolation. It is notable that in resource-weak schools, teachers form a \"resource regeneration\" cycle through teamwork and sharing limited resources, indirectly promoting the sustainable development of professional learning communities (Hargreaves \u0026amp; O 'Connor, 2018). This mechanism has further strengthened the necessity and universality of organizational support and the construction of professional learning communities.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec15\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e4.2 Mediating effect of professional agency\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis study suggests that professional agency could be a significant mediator in the association between perceived organizational support and professional learning communities. The mediated effect of professional agency aligns with the findings of some researchers, who have found that when teachers receive various forms of support from the organization, especially in the fields of spirit and psychology, they can fully build their professional agency. Studies suggest that perceived organizational support can enhance professional agency by providing emotional and instructional support, fostering professional identity, and creating a supportive school climate (Gallucci, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR35\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2008\u003c/span\u003e; Carroll et al., 2003; Kagoda, 2019). Teachers who receive adequate support from the organization, as well as encouragement and assistance from their colleagues, are likely to improve their collaborative skills and actively engage in activities such as goals sharing, collective learning, practices sharing and reflective dialogue (Vangrieken et al., 2015). These performances and development trends are also in line with the development characteristics of the professional learning communities to a certain extent (Brodie, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR10\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e). Consequently, when teachers receive strong support from groups and organizations, they will unconsciously and proactively enhance their own professional agency. This support fosters collaborative teamwork in their daily activities, leading to changes in their attitudes and behaviors, which in turn further promotes the development of professional learning communities.( Soini et al., 2015; Vangrieken et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR94\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e; Stoll \u0026amp; Louis, 2007). Therefore, Professional agency has a significant impact between perceived organizational support and the construction of professional learning communities. And this finding suggests that fostering professional agency by perceived organizational support could be another way to promote the construction of professional learning communities.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn the \"ternary interaction model\" of social cognitive theory, individual behavior is driven by the dynamic interaction of the environment (organizational support), individual cognition (self-efficacy), and behavior (collaboration) (Bandura, 2001). This study finds that when teachers perceive the trust and empowerment of the school, their self-efficacy, such as \"I can improve teaching through research\", is significantly enhanced, thereby driving them to actively initiate teaching and research projects or lead action research (Pyhalto et al., 2015). For example, self-efficacy can prompt teachers to formulate collaboration rules, resolve teaching disputes, and optimize collective practice through reflective dialogue (Vahasantanen, 2015). Teachers are not only adaptors of the environment but also active constructors of the community (Toom et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR89\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e). Therefore, schools need to empower teachers through emotional support (such as trusting leadership) and instrumental support (such as flexible working hours) to unleash their professional agency (Voelkel \u0026amp; Chrispeels, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR96\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e). However, it is worth noting that the exertion of teachers' agency is not isolated from the school culture. In a hierarchical education system, teachers may suppress their willingness to actively influence their peers due to role conflicts (teachers vs. leaders) (Hairon \u0026amp; Dimmock, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR38\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2012\u003c/span\u003e). For instance, non-confrontational culture may undermine the effectiveness of teachers' leadership (Lee \u0026amp; Li, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR57\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e). Therefore, organizational support needs to be synchronized with the reform of school culture, break the binary opposition of \"leaderer-teacher\", construct a parallel leadership model, and enable teachers to exert influence independently in the field of teaching (Crowther et al., 2002).\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec16\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e4.3 Mediating effect of teachers\u0026rsquo; scientific research ability\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis study suggests that teachers\u0026rsquo; scientific research ability could be a significant mediator in the association between perceived organizational support and professional learning communities. For one thing, effective perceived organizational support can motivate teachers to carry out research activities (Hord, 1997; Timperley, 2008). For another thing, teachers with high-level scientific research ability could further promote the construction of professional learning communities, providing further evidence for the previously discussed relationship between teachers\u0026rsquo; scientific research ability and professional learning communities (Vescio et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR95\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2008\u003c/span\u003e; DuFour \u0026amp; Eaker, 2009).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn this study, the mediating role of teachers' scientific research ability is rooted in the social cognitive theory and further realizes collective efficacy through the collaborative dynamics of communities of practice. Social cognitive theory emphasizes that the improvement of scientific research ability depends on the interaction between environmental support (such as methodological training) and individual efficacy (such as \"I can produce high-quality research\") (Bandura, 1997). This study shows that organizational support prompts teachers to generate evidence-based solutions by helping them master scientific research ability(Cochran-Smith \u0026amp; Lytle, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR18\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e). For instance, teachers who have participated in scientific research training are better at transforming classroom observations into shareable research reports and disseminating knowledge within the community through symbolic representations (such as visual charts) (Vescio et al., 2020). This mechanism is further highlighted under the communities of practice framework: After teachers possess scientific research ability, they can gradually become core members of the professional learning communities through \"legalized marginal participation\" and lead knowledge co-creation activities (Hairon et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR40\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e). Teachers may construct shared assessment toolkits by systematically organizing classroom data, while members of the professional learning communities optimize their applicability through collaboration (Wenger, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR103\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1999\u003c/span\u003e). This cycle of \"individual innovation \u0026rarr; collective verification \u0026rarr; practical iteration\" not only strengthens the collective wisdom of the professional learning communities, but also promotes teaching improvement through the closed loop of \"practice - theory - practice\" (Darling Hammond et al., 2017).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis study indicates that teachers' scientific research ability plays a mediating role between organizational support and professional learning communities, which is inconsistent with the findings of researchers such as Antinluoma (Antinluoma et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR4\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e). This might be attributed to the insufficient matching between the dimensions of organizational support and scientific research capabilities. If organizational support only focuses on the supply of material resources (such as equipment and funds), while neglecting the systematic support for the development of scientific research ability(such as professional guidance and collaborative research opportunities), it will be difficult to activate the mediating effect of scientific research ability. For instance, research in resource-poor areas has found that when schools only provide basic hardware support, teachers tend to allocate more resources to cope with teaching pressure, such as the preparation of lesson materials rather than converting them into scientific research practices. This kind of \"survival-oriented\" resource utilization model leads to the inability of scientific research ability to serve as a bridge between organizational support and community collaboration (Ebersohn \u0026amp; Loots, 2017; Change, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR13\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2001\u003c/span\u003e). Furthermore, there is a one-sidedness in the measurement of scientific research ability and a disconnection from practice. Some studies adopt outcome-oriented indicators of scientific research ability, such as the number of papers and project initiation, while neglecting the ability of teachers to transform scientific research into practice, such as problem-solving and knowledge sharing. The scientific research ability measured by the publication of papers has no significant correlation with the effectiveness of the professional learning communities. This indicates that if the \"academic\" and \"practical\" aspects of scientific research ability are not distinguished, their actual role may be underestimated (Cochran-Smith \u0026amp; Lytle, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR18\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e; Levin \u0026amp; Rock, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR58\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2003\u003c/span\u003e). In addition, there is also the interference of school culture and institutional constraints. In an education system dominated by standardized assessment, teachers may apply their research ability to individual competition due to performance pressure rather than community knowledge sharing. In a highly competitive environment, even if teachers have research ability, they are more inclined to independently optimize teaching strategies rather than participate in collective reflective dialogues (Yoo \u0026amp; Jang, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR105\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e). At this point, the relationship between scientific research ability and professional learning communities has been weakened by individualistic culture. Furthermore, administrative-led scientific research tasks may be alienated into formal burdens, suppressing teachers' active collaboration (Hargreaves \u0026amp; Fullan, 2012).\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec17\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003e4.4 Chain-mediating effect of professional agency and teachers\u0026rsquo; scientific research ability\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eOne of the meaningful findings of this study is the chain-mediating effect. This study finds that professional agency and teachers\u0026rsquo; scientific research ability co-mediate the perceived organizational support and professional learning communities, which is consistent with previous conclusions (Wang \u0026amp; Lam, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR98\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e; Hsieh et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR45\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e). The synergistic mediating effect of professional agency and scientific research ability is in line with the systematic explanation formed by the integration of organizational support theory, social cognitive theory and communities of practice. Organizational support lays the resource foundation for the synergy effect. Schools activate the agency and research potential of teachers through material support (such as research funds and collaboration platforms) and emotional support (such as leadership trust and achievement recognition), and meet their needs for belonging and self-actualization (Kurtessis et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR54\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e). On this basis, in accordance with the \"ternary interaction model\" of social cognitive theory, the above-mentioned organizational support will further drive individual transformation. Teachers will transform organizational support into specific collaborative actions through self-efficacy and scientific research ability (Wang \u0026amp; Lam, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR98\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e). This transformation process reflects the core mechanism of social cognitive theory, namely the dynamic interaction among the environment (resource input), individuals (efficacy and ability), and behaviors (collaborative practices) (Bandura, 2001). Ultimately, based on the theory of community practice, teachers can achieve collective effectiveness by sharing knowledge and making role transitions, and transforming participants into core contributors. For example, teachers with scientific research ability systematize the classroom observation results into shared toolkits, while professional agency drives them to optimize their practical applications through organizing reflective dialogues, forming a cycle of \"individual innovation \u0026rarr; collective verification \u0026rarr; iterative promotion\" (Hargreaves \u0026amp; O 'Connor, 2018; Vescio et al., 2020). Overall, when organizational support provides trusting support, teachers actively attempt innovative teaching methods based on self-efficacy and transform practical experience into structured achievements through scientific research ability (Eisenberger et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR30\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1986\u003c/span\u003e; Vanblaere \u0026amp; Devos, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR93\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2016\u003c/span\u003e). These achievements are further diffused into shared resources in the professional learning communities through the collaboration mechanism, promoting the closed loop of \"resource empowerment \u0026rarr; individual transformation \u0026rarr; collective construction\" (Vescio et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR95\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2008\u003c/span\u003e; Wenger, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR103\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1999\u003c/span\u003e). During this process, organizational support provides the initial impetus, activates the individual active mechanism, and ultimately achieves knowledge integration with the help of professional learning communities. This also provides a theoretical basis for educational managers to design an integrated system path of \"support - ability - collaboration\". It highlights the key role of the collaborative mediating effect in cracking the problems of \"resource islands\" and \"practice disconnection\" (Gulmez,2019).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eMore precisely, this implies that if teachers can obtain resource support, emotional support and peer help from the organization as much as possible, they will have more sense of belonging, happiness and enthusiasm in their work, thereby continuously improving their professional agency (Wang \u0026amp; Zhou, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR100\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e; Kachchhap \u0026amp; Horo, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR55\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e; Hsieh et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR45\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e; Oubibi et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR68\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e). And professional agency will help teachers better construct their own cooperative concept, so that teachers can find more practical problems and think out corresponding countermeasures in the interaction with colleagues (V\u0026auml;h\u0026auml;santanen, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR91\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e; Molla \u0026amp; Nolan, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR64\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e). With the influence of professional agency, teachers\u0026rsquo; scientific research ability and problem awareness can be enhanced through cooperation, so that teachers can better cooperate with colleagues in organizations and collective activities. Overall, perceived organizational support is the diversified motivation and emotional support for teachers\u0026rsquo; professional development, and it will continuously help teachers deepen their recognition of the professional learning communities and devote themselves to its construction. Meanwhile, they will also deepen their cooperation in the process of building the professional learning communities and further promote their own development in the cooperation. (Guskey, 2000; Bryk \u0026amp; Schneider, 2002; Darling-Hammond, 2006).\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"5 Conclusions, Limitations and Practical Implications","content":"\u003cp\u003eThis study, by integrating the theory of organizational support, the theory of social cognition and communities of practice, constructed a chain-like mediation model and systematically revealed the dynamic path by which perceived organizational support promotes the construction of professional learning communities through the synergy of teachers' professional agency and scientific research ability. Based on the survey data of 4,010 teachers from three provinces in China, the research found that: The multi-dimensional support provided by schools (including material resources, psychological care and achievement recognition) can significantly enhance teachers' sense of organizational belonging and mutual benefit motivation, directly driving their participation in collaborative behaviors such as collective lesson preparation and interdisciplinary discussions. This finding not only verifies the \"principle of reciprocity\", but also further emphasizes the key role of emotional support in reducing the psychological cost of teachers' collaboration. It has broken through the single focus of traditional research on material support. More importantly, professional agency and scientific research ability exhibit a synergistic mediating effect - the former transforms organizational support into teaching innovation and rule-making behaviors initiated by teachers through the social cognitive path of \"environmental support \u0026rarr; self-efficacy \u0026rarr; collaborative behavior\". The latter relies on the practice community cycle of \"knowledge production \u0026rarr; sharing \u0026rarr; iteration\" to promote the transformation of teachers from \"marginal participants\" to \"core contributors\". The chain effect of the two forms a closed loop of \"resource empowerment \u0026rarr; individual transformation \u0026rarr; collective construction\", providing a theoretical framework for schools to design an integrated support system of \"resources - ability - collaboration\", and also offering new ideas for solving practical predicaments such as \"resource islands\" and \"disconnection from practice\".\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis study also has several notable limitations that should be taken into account for future research endeavors. Firstly, participants were selected from only 3 regions, which may may restrict the applicability of the findings in informing the construction of professional learning communities for teachers in other regions. To enhance representativeness, future studies should include participants from a wider variety of districts and schools. Secondly, the cross-sectional design of this study explored and demonstrated the relationships between the relevant variables, but failed to conduct follow-up studies to further determine the stability of these relationships. Therefore, future research should measure the development of the relationship between perceived organizational support, professional agency, teachers\u0026rsquo; scientific research ability, and professional learning communities over time.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis study presents three practical inspirations for educational administrators and teachers. First of all, schools need to build a multi-dimensional organizational support system. At the level of integrating resources and providing organizational support, in addition to offering complete material and information resource support, teachers should also be empowered at the psychological and emotional levels. Teachers' sense of belonging and efficacy can be enhanced through achievement recognition and emotional care. Secondly, it is necessary to promote the positive interaction between teachers' ability and collaboration. On the one hand, \"problem-oriented\" school-based research and training projects should be designed to help teachers master practical research skills such as classroom observation and data visualization, and encourage them to transform research results into shared achievements. On the other hand, it grants teachers the decision-making power in curriculum design and teaching and research activities, and stimulates their agency to actively participate in the construction of professional learning communities. Finally, efforts should be made to create a sustainable cultural ecosystem of professional learning communities, cultivate the habit of knowledge sharing among teachers, and avoid the individualistic tendency caused by performance competition. In resource-weak areas, a \"collaborative resource regeneration\" model can be constructed to guide teachers to maximize the utilization of limited resources through teamwork and form a low-cost development path for professional learning communities. In conclusion, this study indicates that the construction of professional learning communities should start with organizational support and achieve sustainable development through the two-way interaction of ability enhancement and cultural transformation. This path not only provides a theoretical basis for educational equity and quality improvement, but also offers a practical framework for school administrators to design systematic support plans and for teachers to break through the predicament of \"isolated teaching\", ultimately promoting the paradigm transformation of the education system construction from \"resource dependence\" to \"endogenous ability\".\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Declarations","content":"\u003cp\u003e6 \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;Conflict of Interest\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e7 \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;Author Contributions\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eJ.G.: Conceptualization, validation, supervision, project administration, writing\u0026mdash;review and editing, funding acquisition;\u0026nbsp;M.S.2: Conceptualization, methodology, validation, formal analysis, data curation, writing\u0026mdash;original draft preparation, writing\u0026mdash;review and editing, visualization;\u0026nbsp;T.J.: Writing\u0026mdash;original draft preparation, writing\u0026mdash;review and editing;\u0026nbsp;C.Z.: Validation, investigation, resources, project administration, funding acquisition, writing\u0026mdash;review and editing.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e8 \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;Funding\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis research was funded by\u0026nbsp;\u0026ldquo;the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities\u0026rdquo;, grant number 2022NTSS17.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e9 \u0026nbsp; \u0026nbsp;Acknowledgments\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe are grateful to all participants in this study.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e10 \u0026nbsp;Ethics Approval and Consent to Participate\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe research protocol was approved by the Biological and Medical Ethics Review Committee of Minzu University of China (Approval No. ECMUC2024011CO). This study was conducted in accordance with the principles of the Declaration of HelsAinki. Informed consent was obtained from all participants prior to their enrollment in the study.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e11 \u0026nbsp;Consent for Publication\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eInformed consent was obtained from all participants, which included consent for the use of anonymized data in academic publications. As the study does not contain any individual person\u0026rsquo;s data in any form, no separate consent for publication is required.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e12 \u0026nbsp;Data Availability Statement\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe raw data supporting the conclusions of this article will be made available by the authors, without undue reservation.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"References","content":"\u003col\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAdmiraal W, Schenke W, De Jong L, Emmelot Y, Sligte H. 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Educational Manage Adm Leadersh. 2019;47(6):843\u0026ndash;59.\u003c/span\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/ol\u003e"}],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":true,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":false,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":false,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"bmc-psychology","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"psyo","sideBox":"Learn more about [BMC Psychology](http://bmcpsychology.biomedcentral.com/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"BMC Psychology","twitterHandle":"BMC_series","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"BMC Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"perceived organizational support1, professional agency2, teachers’ scientific research ability3, professional learning communities4, chain-mediation model5","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8512548/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8512548/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eExisting studies focus on the institutional and material support in the process of building professional learning communities, while neglecting the psychological needs and subject efficacy of teachers. This study integrates organizational support theory, social cognition theory and communities of practice, constructs a chain-like mediation model, and analyzes the collaborative path in which multi-dimensional organizational support, especially psychological support, influences community construction through teachers' professional agency and scientific research ability. Based on the data of 4,010 teachers in three provinces, it is indicated that organizational support enhances teachers' sense of belonging through resource supply and emotional empowerment, professional agency drives the social cognitive cycle of \"environmental support - sense of efficacy - knowledge production\", and scientific research ability promotes the community iterative mechanism of \"problem identification - knowledge sharing - practice optimization\". The two form a two-way reinforcing effect. The research breaks through the single mediation paradigm, proposes the \"resource - capability - collaboration\" system support framework, and clarifies the transformation logic of organizational support from individual cognitive reshaping to collective knowledge construction. The results show that: (1) Perceived organizational support, professional agency and teachers' scientific research capabilities significantly affect the construction of professional learning communities; (2) Professional agency and teachers' scientific research capabilities play a mediating role in the influence of organizational support perception on the construction of professional learning communities; (3)Active organizational support is related to the development of perception and professional learning communities. The research results have enlightening significance for the construction of professional learning communities.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Improvement Strategies for Professional Learning Communities：the co-mediating role of professional agency and teachers’ scientific research ability","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-01-19 19:56:12","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8512548/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"decision","content":"Revision requested","date":"2026-03-13T12:38:48+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-03-05T15:43:50+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"136611411459575424100238736541953408258","date":"2026-02-24T14:29:45+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-02-24T13:36:06+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"157609512946368993343339601134437650645","date":"2026-02-24T13:14:52+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2026-02-23T08:29:06+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"40479999164104414290200655866278030732","date":"2026-02-20T17:13:38+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"263248839002101446033864976584639197751","date":"2026-02-19T13:00:33+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2026-01-14T07:44:01+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2026-01-14T07:42:11+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvited","content":"","date":"2026-01-13T20:38:26+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2026-01-13T15:58:10+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"BMC Psychology","date":"2026-01-13T15:45:14+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"bmc-psychology","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"psyo","sideBox":"Learn more about [BMC Psychology](http://bmcpsychology.biomedcentral.com/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"BMC Psychology","twitterHandle":"BMC_series","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"BMC Series","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"3acc9593-3f34-478e-90d9-786f307979e8","owner":[],"postedDate":"January 19th, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"under-review","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-04-16T07:41:32+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-01-19 19:56:12","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-8512548","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-8512548","identity":"rs-8512548","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}