Same Same But Different? Analyzing the structure of teacher collaboration with regard to contexts of school-related and instructional improvement

In this study, we present a survey measure to assess teacher collaboration. Based on existing research, we distinguish two forms (exchange/low cost and co-construction/high cost) as well as two themes of collaboration (school-related and instructional improvement). In a sample of 773 teachers from 16 high schools from several German federal states, we investigate the structure of the new measure by confirmatory factor analyses. These analyses reveal that a model which simultaneously considers forms and themes of teacher collaboration fits best to the data. Teacher collaboration thus can be described best as a multidimensional construct. In line with previous research, descriptive analyses suggest that high cost activities regarding teachers’ instructional practices happen less frequently than low cost instruction-related collaboration. Concerning school development collaboration, differences between the two forms seem to be smaller. These findings imply that teacher collaboration can be assessed as being situated in specific themes for collaborative practices with regard to instruction and school improvement. © 2020, The Author(s).