Better together: evidence from TALIS 2018 that professional networks and business engagement support US teacher improvement

Teacher collaboration has well-established benefits for teachers, but the specific mechanisms by which school leaders can promote quality collaboration remain difficult to discern. We used data from the 2018 Teaching and Learning International Survey to examine how characteristics of teacher collaboration are associated with teacher outcomes related to their practice. Our findings show that educator membership in a teacher network is more connected to teaching outcomes than hours spent in collaboration. Business engagements are also associated with some, but not all, teaching outcomes. These findings suggest school leaders may be able to support their teachers in building collegial networks as a way to promote higher quality collaboration.