Chinese School Principals Explore the Fifth Discipline Fostering a Learning Community in a High School in Beijing.

This qualitative case study examines Chinese secondary school principals' experiences in building a learning community through the Five Disciplines—shared vision, personal mastery, mental models, team learning, and system thinking—as conceptualized by Peter Senge, to enhance student engagement, teacher commitment, and parent involvement for school improvement. The study identifies three main challenges faced by principals in China's high-power distance, exam-oriented private school context: prioritizing test scores over community building, budget constraints limiting the hiring of highly qualified teachers, and high parental expectations contributing to student dropout. Principals employ communication, self-improvement, and self-reflection strategies grounded in the Five Disciplines to foster collaboration among stakeholders and nurture school capacity through visibility, core educational values, and lifelong learning. The findings suggest that applying the Five Disciplines can guide principals in leading sustainable school reform beyond test preparation toward holistic student development, with further research proposed to develop a leadership framework for 21st-century school change in China.