Another element of a PLC that helps to foster changes in teaching cultures is teacher authority. By teacher authority we mean the ability of teachers to make decisions regarding both the processes of their learning communities and aspects of school governance. A specific example demonstrating the importance of teacher authority in the overall success of a learning community came in a case study reported by Englert and Tarrant (1995). In this collaborative endeavor between three special education teachers and seven university researchers to provide ‘‘meaningful and beneficial’’ (p. 325) literacy instruction for students with mild disabilities, the researchers encouraged the teachers to take control of the curriculum. ‘‘Teachers were given leadership in their choices about curriculum development, so that the power over the topics and change agenda might be shaped by the teachers’ concerns, interests, and questions’’ (p. 327). In the end, at least one teacher noted the significance of being given this authority when she spoke of how it transformed her sense of ownership over the curriculum.