The Importance of Collaborative Culture at School

It's becoming more and more important to use innovative methodologies in education. For this reason, there needs to be more collaboration between schools and families.

In order to offer quality education, there is a need for participation and coordination between teachers, families and also other education professionals. It’s very important for there to be a collaborative culture at school and a willingness on all sides to work together.

In this way, all students can achieve the objectives set out for them. This is because the people in charge of their education will be maintaining good communication with each other. As a result, the children will develop intellectually at a much faster rate.

The importance of collaborative culture at school

In order for teachers to be involved in a collaborative culture at school, they’ll need to have adequate training and several areas of competence. According to the psychologist Gerardo Echeita, these are:

• Having a thoughtful and critical attitude
• Being curious and taking initiative
• Knowing how to search for and gather relevant information
• Being strategic
• Being able to work in a team
• Maintaining good communication, dialogue and listening guidelines
• Knowing how to ask and offer

• Showing empathy
• Establishing relationships of reciprocity and trust with fellow teachers and students
• Taking risks and being open to change
• Knowing how to set goals for self-improvement and wanting to continue learning

In this way, teachers should try to abandon traditional methodologies and individualism. In return, they should learn to carry out the educational work together with other professionals and also with the families.

To do this, it’s essential for the center to have a team that believes in educational inclusion. There must also be good organization and coordination among them, and a clear definition of the roles each one must perform.

In this sense, support teachers, counselors, tutors, and any other experts that may be necessary at school should work together in:

• Preparation of the teaching material
• The monitoring and evaluation of students
• The prevention, detection and assessment of students with learning problems
• Attention to diversity and offering educational support

Families and their duty to collaborate

The families must also make every effort to commit to the development of a collaborative culture at school. The quality of their interaction with the school is of great relevance in order for it to function correctly.

Therefore, mothers and fathers should be actively involved in the organization of the school that they want for their children:

• Participating in the activities offered by the center
• Attending meetings and also the individual or family tutor groups
• Filling in the questionnaires that the school sends them
• Reading the documents or information leaflets that the center considers necessary
• Collaborating in the programs of innovation and educational improvement.

In this way, the educational system will be able to get to know the parents’ opinions and perspectives and their ideas for improvements. There are benefits all round when the school listens to the parents and then involves them in the decision-making processes.

In doing this, parents can have a say in the way the school treats, deals with, and educates the students.

The benefits of a collaborative culture at school

When a school implements a collaborative culture, then it’ll have a positive impact on all students. This will be especially important for those who have special educational needs. In these cases, the teacher must try to maintain a good communicative relationship with the students and their families in the following areas:

• Behavior
• Needs
• Questions
• Conflicts
• Difficulties
• And, finally, achievements

In this way, participation and learning are promoted on all sides. In addition, the teacher, by following these practices, creates a spirit of collaboration and cooperation among the students in the classroom. The students benefit from the climate of diversity where respect is promoted and where they learn how to socialize with all types of children.

In short, having a culture of collaboration at school carries with it a series of commitments, implications and practical benefits that are positive for all concerned. Therefore, improvement and innovation in education can be achieved if all of us work together with effort and dedication.