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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:

  1. Under what conditions and with what modalities of collaboration can teachers effectively meet increasing demands and complex challenges?
  2. 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

www.tea2c.ch

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

Project management

Prof. Dr. Andrea Wullschleger
Prof. Dr. Andrea Wullschleger

Chair of the Center for Research on Teachers' Professional Development

Telephone +41 56 202 83 14 (direct)
Franziska Widmer, PhD
Franziska Widmer, PhD

Research Associate, Center for Research on Teachers’ Professional Development, Institute for Research and Development, PH FHNW

Telephone +41 56 202 89 05 (direct)