Working Together in Primary Schools: Changing Relationships at Key Stage 2

Teacher collaboration and collegiality are often cited as encouraging teacher development and contributing directly to teaching quality and school effectiveness. Yet we know relatively little about the effect of recent education reforms in England on the extent and nature of such collaboration. This chapter explores the impact of the implementation of a National Curriculum and national assessment on the working patterns of teachers in the upper years of primary schooling. It focuses particularly on the ways in which teachers worked together as colleagues and on teachers’ perceptions of the importance of increased collaboration and interdependence.