Teacher collaboration and professional development in the workplace: a study of Portuguese teachers

TLDR

The study is based on a broader investigation conducted in a Northern Portuguese school, with implications for teacher collaboration and professional development. The study investigates teacher collaboration and professional development within the workplace. Data were gathered via questionnaires, semi‑structured interviews, reflective accounts, and an intervention/training project involving 80 teachers, 11 key informants, and 10 teachers. Findings indicate that organisational constraints such as time and working conditions, insufficient collaboration training, and personal challenges hinder collaboration, while teachers value interpersonal relationships and formal meetings like department gatherings and centrally driven projects.

Abstract

This article reports on findings from research aimed at investigating teacher collaboration and professional development in the workplace. It draws upon a broader study carried out in a school in Northern Portugal. Data were collected through questionnaires, semi-structured interviews and written reflective accounts. In total, 80 teachers participated in phase 1, 11 key informants participated in phase 2 and 10 teachers participated in an intervention/training project (phase 3). Findings suggest that problems and limitations in relation to collaborative work are situated at the organisational level, such as time and working conditions. Lack of training in collaboration, and issues such as motivation and personal difficulties, also emerged from the data. Teachers tend to stress the importance of interpersonal relationships at school, but they also identified formal meetings when they described the contexts and opportunities to work collaboratively in the workplace, namely department meetings and projects driven by central government or school administration initiatives. Implications for teacher collaboration and professional development are discussed.