Teachers as team players? Exploring the relationship between collaborative practice, professional development, and work-related stress using diary data
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Author (Corporation)
Publication date
23.06.2025
Type of student thesis
Course of study
Type
01A - Journal article
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Editor (Corporation)
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Parent work
Journal of Professional Capital and Community
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DOI of the original publication
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Issue / Number
Pages / Duration
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Publisher / Publishing institution
Emerald
Place of publication / Event location
Edition
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Abstract
Purpose
This study examines teachers’ collaborative practice during non-instructional work time. It aims to explore teachers’ collaborative practice using diary data, analyze daily and overall relations of collaboration to teachers’ professional development (PD) and work-related stress by disentangling between- and within-person effects, and investigate whether these associations are stronger when including only collaborative activities that focus on further developing educational practice.
Design/methodology/approach
The study employed an end-of-day experience sampling method to investigate collaborative activities among primary school teachers in 56 schools in the German-speaking part of Switzerland. Data was collected longitudinally over three weeks, with teachers (n = 559) completing daily online logbook entries (n = 7,110). Mixed-effects models were employed for data analysis, exploring between- and within-person effects.
Findings
On average, one-third of teachers’ non-instructional activities involved collaboration, but day-to-day variability and differences between teachers were high. Further, teachers who collaborated more overall did not report higher benefits of collaboration for PD or stress levels. However, these associations came to the fore on days when teachers collaborated more than usual. Moreover, favorable effects were identified for collaborative activities focused on advancing educational practices.
Originality/value
This study provides a differentiated overview of how teacher collaboration is associated with benefits for PD and work-related stress. It indicates that teachers do not perceive collaboration on exclusively organizational and administrative matters as valuable and beneficial for PD.
Keywords
Teacher collaboration, Professional development, Work-related stress, Experience sampling method, Multilevel analysis
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ISBN
ISSN
2056-9548
2056-9556
2056-9556
Language
English
Created during FHNW affiliation
Yes
Strategic action fields FHNW
Publication status
Published
Review
Peer review of the complete publication
Open access category
Hybrid
License
Citation
Rechsteiner, B., Compagnoni, M., Wullschleger, A., Grob, U., Gotsch, F., & Maag Merki, K. (2025). Teachers as team players? Exploring the relationship between collaborative practice, professional development, and work-related stress using diary data. Journal of Professional Capital and Community. https://doi.org/10.1108/jpcc-05-2024-0062