ERIC Number: EJ1173701
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2018-May
Pages: 17
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1741-1432
EISSN: N/A
Creating Organizational Structures to Facilitate Collegial Interaction among Teachers: Evidence from a High-Performing Urban Midwestern US District
Ford, Timothy G.; Youngs, Peter A.
Educational Management Administration & Leadership, v46 n3 p424-440 May 2018
Emerging from concerns about "contrived collegiality" in schools is also the recognition that breaking existing patterns of collegial interaction (or lack thereof) might necessitate some level of leader-initiated (or otherwise organizational) intervention. This paper presents the case of Middleville, a high-performing Midwestern US district, and changes in patterns of collegial interaction which occurred during their first seven years of implementation of the Success for All program--a program which employs a cohesive set of formal organizational controls. Utilizing qualitative data from interviews and focus groups with over 60 elementary school and district staff, we endeavored to better understand the ways in which the Success for All program and its various components have spurred collegial interaction and collegiality in Middleville. Findings reveal the utility of formal controls in pushing teachers to interact in ways which represent a break from past practice. Program facilitators, a unique teacher leader role within each school, played a key role in this process by mitigating the conflict and tension that invariably arises as a result of increased interaction. Findings also emphasize the importance of critically examining the purposes behind the cultivation of collaborative practice and the norms of collegiality to go along with it.
Descriptors: Teacher Collaboration, Collegiality, Urban Schools, School Districts, School Administration, Administrative Organization, Qualitative Research, Focus Groups, Elementary Schools, Elementary School Teachers, Principals, School Personnel, Central Office Administrators, Semi Structured Interviews, Case Studies
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research; Tests/Questionnaires
Education Level: Elementary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A