The Future of Education

This work aims to study the concepts and collaborative working practices between teachers, in particular  access the thinking a group of teachers on collaborative work, the factors that promote or hinder collaboration and examine the practices of these teachers in their work context. This investigation started in the professional context and the conviction that collaborative work between teachers can bring them numerous benefits in different areas, providing added value to their learning and subsequent professional development. In this regard, Roldão (2007, p.27) points out that the collaborative work " is structured essentially as an articulated work process and thought together, allowing better achieve the desired results, based on the enrichment brought by the dynamic interplay of several specific knowledge and various cognitive processes in collaboration." This approach to the study was carried out taking into account two dimensions: A)The conceptions of collaborative work, in order to characterize the conceptual universe of teachers about collaboration, specifically access to teachers who understand for collaboration, the requirements set by the collaborative work and the consequences of it. B). Collaboration practices, in order to describe existing practices in school and identify aspects facilitators or inhibitors collaboration between teachers. With reference to the object of study, we adopted an interpretative qualitative methodology and design of this research as a case study. The techniques used for data collection were semi-structured interviews and documentary research. Study participants expressed a suitable collaborative design arguing that this is how it should guide their work. Nevertheless, the results suggest that the collaborative practices of the group of teachers studied are still not adequately confirmed and situations of sharing and reflection are a systematic practice. Emerging data also indicates the need to promote collaborative work by mobilizing reflective processes with the involvement of teachers, which share materials, processes and strategies, in order to develop the critical skills and self-reflexive teachers. Finally, the coordinator is indicated as an element that plays a key role as supervisor and facilitator of collaborative work between groups of teachers.

Keywords: Collaborative Work, Individualism, Collaborative Cultures, Professional Development;

References:
[1] Roldão, M. C. «Colaborar é preciso: questões de qualidade e eficácia no trabalho dos professores», in Dossier: Trabalho colaborativo dos professores, Revista Noesis. 2007.