Hi Lennart, I'm anything but an expert in collaboration between teachers, but I have been a school governor for eight years and facilitate collaboration projects between industrialists. So... I'd like to make a general observation... you mention Gove's intervention and I'd suggest that governmental and regulatory interventions frequently lead to motivation to collaborate. In industry, changes in regulation lead to all businesses having to adapt and it is often very helpful for managers to discuss the impacts of the change in a safe environment. Establishing that environment between individuals from different organisations who might otherwise be seen in competition is an enabling skill, perhaps best provided by an independent individual or team. My experience in schools is: despite a feeling of principle that the organisations should not be in competition, the facts, including school league tables create an impeding competition.

I hope these rather naive observations contribute something in answer to your question, and as someone highly interested in the art of facilitation collaboration, I look forward to following the thoughts of others.

Kind regards, Robin

Thanks Robin!

I appreciate and fully agree that much collaboration has to be established by the market - whoever are responsible for that. Perhaps the example in England (Gove's intervention) is such one, where hey have identified a market together with BCS - the computing industry in need of manpower and offering in-service training for the teachers. The question therefore becomes if the industrial companies involved are independent enough to offer a safe environment for teachers to change?

I think this is a hot topic, as the idea in England of curriculum development is based on the work conducted by Master Teachers who receives special treatment. Even in Sweden this idea is alive as a solution for change in schools didactical approach (~experienced curriculum) towards computer technology. But, does it always have to be controlled or facilitated by the market or the Board of Education? It will become interesting to study how for instance British Computer Society (BCS, with its industrial members) will respond to teachers' pedagogical/didactical needs for enhanced learning.

During the 70s and 80s teachers association (TA) networks in Sweden were organised based on the need to lower the prices on hardware, share software and in manufacturing educational software. The TAs worked commonly with some computer manufacturer who understood the technology. It would therefore be exciting to read if the teacher training institutions or other constellations in the school system will take the lead, to fulfil the educational needs for use in learning computer technology. I like your statement that it has to be some in an independent position or in a team, for a non-competitive situation. I agree!

Hi Lennart, I'm glad some of my thoughts ring true. Thank you for your observations. Do you know of others working in this area?

Hi Lennart, It seems surprising to me that your question has not led to more interest, either amongnst educationalists or researchers interested in projects and collaboration in general. Why do you think this might be?

Regards, Robin

I would say it is summer;-) and much of socializing on the net has to be in real time. Thanks for your encouragement. Perhaps I shall re-publish the question in August.

Thanks Devendar!

I seems to me you are writing from your own experience. Do you have any written material explainint how you do or other researchers?

When reading your answer I can see a lot of mine methodlogy when offering regular seminars for teachers. I therefore enjoyed reading your answer because it confirm my work, but I often felt unsure about the ethical parts and different incitaments in the forming of a TA. A question of concern is therefore about the incitaments for teachers' proffessional development(PD). It would therefore be great to measure and monitor their experience of PD in the seminars.

I'm sorry my former question came out so unclear. It concern any research authorities or references usefull for getting further. I found it interesting as it is useful for my own research and work.

Hi Both,

Devendar seems to have brought up the key incentive of 'what's in it for the teachers', the benefits. It is common in business negotiations to say: what's in it for me! as you have both probably heard. So I think he has a strong point.

On the research and publications side, If I understand Lennart, you may be looking for case studies or published results of surveys of teachers stating what they want as benefits from a TA and associated collaborations. Or similar data on the results from the work of a TA.

Such results would be interesting indeed, especially if they lead to conclusions on how best to deliver against member requirements.

Regards both,

Robin

@Robin There is a reference summarizing how teachers could be involved in curriculum change. See

Aikenhead, G.S. (2003, August). Review of research on humanistic perspectives in science curricula.

A paper presented at the European Science Education Research Association (ESERA) Conference,

Noordwijkerhout, The Netherlands. Available at:

http://www.usask.ca/education/people/aikenhead/ESERA_2.pdf