Secondary school teachers' perceptions and experiences with collaboration

The purpose of this research was to understand secondary school teachers’ perceptions and experiences with collaboration in schools in order to make recommendations for future collaboration initiatives. To gather data and capture the essence of teachers’ perspectives on their experiences with collaboration, phenomenological interviews (Creswell & Poth, 2017) were conducted with three participants at the same secondary school in British Columbia, Canada. The results indicate a strong desire for collaboration amongst the participants, however this was hindered by organizational structures that worked to counter effective collaboration. Some of the most important factors identified by the participants that are needed for collaboration to be effective include: (1) the formation of trusting, supportive relationships with other collaborators, (2) the allotment of paid time during the school day, (3) teacher choice in what they are to collaborate on and who they are to collaborate with, and (4) running collaboration from the bottom up and being facilitated by the teachers. All these factors need to be considered when planning for collaboration in schools.