Date of Conferral

2015

Degree

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

School

Education

Advisor

Christopher Godat

Abstract

Currently in secondary education, there is an impetus to have educators collaborate; however, teaching has often been perceived as a solitary occupation, and often logistics prevent collaboration from occurring. Furthermore, the stress of the job, teaching of different disciplines, and low morale can often prevent teachers from collaboration. The research problem addressed in this study reflects the challenges that teachers have with engaging in collaboration. The purpose of the qualitative case study was to understand how teachers are affected by collaboration, the barriers that prevent collaboration, and the possible benefits of collaboration. This case study is grounded in the constructivist theory, which holds that people learn from sharing in social settings. A qualitative case study design focused upon interviews with 18 educators, observations of collaborative sessions, and document analysis. Textual analysis of the interviews and documents through a taxonomic system of coding helped to generate themes about collaboration. Furthermore, these interview data were triangulated with observations and collaborative documents and showed consistent themes. This resulted in an aggregate of five themes including consistent definitions of collaboration and morale, an understanding that collaboration has positively affected the morale of these teachers in terms of more planning time, and a more collegial atmosphere; however, barriers such as time , which was still perceived as preventing the collaborative process. Implications for positive social change include a higher morale throughout the school that will foster a greater sense of community and environment more conducive to learning as teachers are better able to dedicate themselves to their profession, colleagues, and students.

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