ABSTRACT
BARRIERS TO COLLABORATION AND CONSULTATION In Chapter One, we discussed various principles and practices regarding collaboration. Among those were several barriers that bring to mind pragmatic issues in implementing collaborative processes. Chapter Six included numerous examples of cross-grade level teams of teachers collaborating in various ways and overcoming barriers. In this chapter, we elaborate on these barriers, provide additional examples, and cite how these barriers might be overcome. Throughout the text, there are many specific examples of how those involved in collaboration can and have addressed various problems that have arisen. In this chapter, we discuss in general how educators, administrators, and community leaders might address these pragmatic issues. In Chapter One, we noted that Welch (2000) and Taylor, Smiley, and Richards (2015) identified several barriers to collaboration. These included:
• Conceptual barriers • Attitudinal barriers • Pragmatic barriers • Professional barriers
Within each of these categories, any number of issues and problems could arise, and of course these could arise in a combination of these categories simultaneously. Principles,
Stephen B. Richards
practices, and barriers influence collaboration such that it may occur in different forms in different schools. In some schools, more informal, spontaneous collaboration may be valued, while in others, formal, planned collaboration is the only successful model (Taylor et al., 2015). In some instances (e.g., IEP teams), collaboration is required by law, and this is when respect is required if congeniality is not achievable. So long as teams can focus on the more positive examples of the principles and practices of collaboration, the barriers will be diminished (Taylor et al., 2015). This is important to remember as we discuss each category individually for convenience.
