Tea2C – Empowering Teachers Through Collaboration?
A research study with primary school districts in German-speaking Switzerland
With society undergoing rapid transformations in an increasingly complex, volatile and uncertain world, the quality of education has emerged as a critically important asset. This makes the teaching profession the principal guardian of educational quality and thus a cornerstone of society. The expectations and demands placed on teachers have increased over the years. They have to deal with numerous issues and challenges in addition to their core task of instruction, and the role of the teacher has become more complex and less clearly defined.
Collaboration among teachers as well as conditions and modalities are of central importance so that together they can successfully meet the increasing demands and complex challenges of everyday professional life.
Research to date has shown that such collaboration can have positive effects on teachers, pupils and on how schools are organized. However, collaboration can also produce negative effects, especially on teachers in the form of increased stress or a higher workload. The aim of this study is to use quantitative and qualitative methods – including social network and event sampling analyses, as well as standardized surveys and interviews – to discover the conditions and modalities of professional collaboration which empower teachers, help them respond flexibly to change, promote their professional development and reduce perceived levels of stress.
The following research questions are investigated:
- Under what conditions and with what modalities of collaboration can teachers effectively meet increasing demands and complex challenges?
- How do teachers explain the ways in which collaboration supports or hinders their professional development?
The study will involve pedagogical staff (kindergarten to grade 6) from three or four large school districts. The planned study is highly relevant as it will provide a deeper understanding of the quality of collaboration and its impact on teachers. It will also generate very specific results for each school district, showing which aspects of collaboration are difficult and which should be encouraged.
The findings of this study will enable schools, school administrators and teachers to obtain valuable information on the optimal design of collaboration structures and processes.
We would like to thank the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) for its financial support.
More information
Project duration
2024 - 2028
Project partners
Prof. Dr. Katharina Maag Merki, Institute of Educational Science, University of Zurich, Switzerland
Prof. Dr. Alan J. Daly, University of California San Diego, USA
Prof. Dr. András Vörös, University of Birmingham, UK
Prof. Dr. Christian Rietz, University of Education Heidelberg, Germany
Financing
Project management
Chair of the Center for Research on Teachers' Professional Development
Research Associate, Center for Research on Teachers’ Professional Development, Institute for Research and Development, PH FHNW