Effective staff collaboration in schools maximizes educators’ collective capacity, improves educator and student outcomes, and facilitates school-wide improvement efforts. Yet, many school team members struggle to collaborate effectively. Previous studies have demonstrated individual and school-level factors that influence school-based collaborations. This study expands former research by comparing the varying administrative and environmental tools employed by two schools to shape relational networks and foster interpersonal capital. Specifically, this case study explores how school-level factors shape the development of school social networks and staff collaborative behavior. We use comparative case study analysis to explore how differences in individual-level and system-level factors influence educator collaboration in two schools. Social network analysis describes each school’s collaborative connections, while staff interviews provide detailed accounts of the individual and systemic processes related to collaborative behavior. Social network plots illustrate how educators’ interpersonal connections differ in each school setting. Staff interview data revealed three common influential factors affecting collaboration and culture in both programs, including: 1) leadership efforts, 2) environmental context, and 3) barriers to collaboration. Data also reveal unique factors in each school. Implications about how school leaders can facilitate or manage these factors to promote effective collaborations are discussed.
Valenti et al. (Wed,) studied this question.