Factors that Facilitate or Hinder Secondary School Teachers Collaboration

Abstract

The present study aimed at exploring the degree of secondary school teachers' collaboration with colleagues in the school context, the different forms of their collaboration, and the factors that, according to teachers' views, can facilitate or hinder their collaboration attempts. One hundred and forty three Greek secondary school teachers of both genders from different academic disciplines from secondary schools were participated in the study. They were asked to report via self-report questionnaires the degree and the form of their collaboration with colleagues in their schools, the factors that, according to their views, can facilitate or hinder their collaboration attempts and their self-efficacy beliefs. In accordance with previous international empirical evidence, principal support as well as close, friendly relations and a "culture" of collaboration in school were highly reported as facilitators of their participation in collaborative activities. As regards the factors that hinder their collaboration, even though they acknowledged the lack of time and the lack of trust in the effectiveness of collaboration as significant obstacles, the factor that affected negatively their reports for collaboration was that of lack of skills or training in designing and implementing collaborative programs or actions.