Collaboration and Contrived Collegiality

Upon the suggestion of Garth to examine some of the obstacles when developing a collaborative culture I began to look at the work by Andy Hargreaves around collaboration and contrive collegiality. Although this work was originally published in 1990 it is still very relevant today and I think that it speaks to the notion that it was actually maybe even a little ahead of his time.

In looking at some of some of the more recent research in this area I found two journal articles: From Crayons to Perfume: Getting Beyond Contrive Collegiality By Beatty  (2011) and Collaboration and contrive collegiality: Revisiting Hargreaves in the age of accountability.

While reading them I felt like I was reading something that I hadn’t fully been able to express myself but had experienced both situations and knew the personal difference in outcome of both. Developing a collaborative culture is definitely not an easy task and I now have a deeper appreciation for when I am able to be a member of that community and the careful planning/un-planning that is involved in establishing the culture.

I think the most important thing that I was able to take away from reading these articles was the characteristics of both collaborative and contrived environments and how we can work through contrived collegiality to develop a collaborative culture. Teaching is a highly emotional profession and by nature we are attached and invested in our professional practices (Beatty, 2011). Therefore, it is only natural for professions to be attached to their current way of teaching and at some level resist collaboration.

Characteristics of Collaborative Environments From Hargreaves
– relationships between teachers tend to be spontaneous
– participation is voluntary
– development-oriented
– pervasive across time and space
– unpredictable

Characteristics of Contrived Collegiality From Hargreaves
– administratively regulated
– compulsory
– implementation-oriented
– fixed in time and space
– predictable

One thing that I personally found very interesting is that in some cases collaborative environments are actually developed through working through the contrive collegiality phase. Initially programs can be very directed by an administrative body but through proper design (time, spaces for teachers to meet) can be molded into a collaborative culture through leaders who demonstrate the an honest openness to learning themselves, a belief that good can come from change, and a willingness to support innovation and out of the box thinking and ideas.

Beatty (2011) spends a lot of time discussing how there is a restorative power to collaborative cultures and I think that this has been the biggest force for me when I look at my use of Twitter. Teaching can be difficult some days and at times we all need reminders of the bigger picture. The confluence of information that flows through my Twitter feed on a regular basis, restores me in my practice as an educator in fulfilling my professional interests and goals. There are always people sharing resources, having discussions, milling over ideas, looking for better ways to do something, reaching out for assistance. It is very spontaneous – you never know what you might find!

Now – if only the staff rooms at all schools had the collaborative culture of my Twitter feed!