Collaborative work among teachers: a study developed at the Polytechnic Institute of Benguela

Abstract

As schools currently face increasing complexity, teachers' work requires the development and consolidation of collaborative work practices that contribute to more efficient and effective regulation of teaching and learning processes. Research carried out in the context of teachers' collaborative work has highlighted its importance as one of the factors of change, development and improvement of teaching organizations [1], [2], [3], [4]. Thus, teacher collaboration is urgent, and now is the time for teacher collaboration to be considered as an institutional objective. In this sense, the primary purpose of this paper is to raise awareness about the dynamics of collaborative work among teachers from the Polytechnic Institute of Benguela. In order to respond to the research problem, three objectives were outlined, namely: i) to identify teachers' conceptions about teachers’ collaborative work; ii) to characterize the work dynamics that teachers claim to develop and iii) to investigate factors that may facilitate or hinder the development of teachers' collaborative work. The methodology adopted in this research assumed a primarily exploratory nature. The empirical study took place in the academic year of 2018 at the Polytechnic Institute of Benguela. The main data collection technique was a survey by questionnaire, applied to all of the institution’s 94 teachers, with 76 validated answers. Descriptive statistical analysis was the data analysis technique used. The main results of the study point to the predominance of teachers' individual work at the Polytechnic Institute of Benguela. They also reveal that teachers are aware of the benefits that collaborative work can bring to their professional development and express a willingness to experience more opportunities to develop collaborative work with colleagues.