| Summary: | Discussions within the literature on education have presented conflicting definitions
of the term collaborative cultures. Nonetheless, a general sanctioning of teacher
collaboration has predominated. With the intent of evaluating that advocacy and developing
a better understanding of the notion itself (collaboration), this study examines
collaborative relationships in public schools. Specifically, an analysis of the literature
has been undertaken to comprehend more fully collaborative associations between
teachers, and teachers and administrators.
The many conceptual notions of collegiality and collaboration were considered
when choosing a method of analysis, and an attempt was made to identify recurrent
themes within the literature. The following were felt to be most prominent: cultural
requirements of collegiality, structural requirements of collegiality, curriculum development
and evaluation, instructional innovation, and conceptual models of teaching.
The frequency with which researchers have discussed collaborative teaching
prompted a number of queries, including those concerning teacher development. This
study set out to answer the following questions:
1. What behaviours define collaboration?
2. How do conceptions of collaboration found in the literature compare?
3. Is collaboration a behavioural goal (end) or a means to some other
purpose(s), or, is it an indicator of the effectiveness of personnel practices?
4. Is collaboration a meaningless slogan, or, behaviour worth dedicating sparse
educational resources towards?
The findings include those that indicate the term collaborative cultures is often
employed as a catch phrase. However, they also show that teacher collaboration
holds significant promise for educational practice. As well, collaboration may be a frequently
ignored but valuable tool for educational reform.
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