Enhancing teachers' collaborative teaching practices in a secondary school in Kenya

Date of Award

2011

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Master of Education (MEd)

First Supervisor/Advisor

Ruth Ombonya Otienoh

Second Supervisor/Advisor

Mary Oluga

Third Supervisor/Advisor

Dr. John N. Maundu

Department

Institute for Educational Development, East Africa

Abstract

The benefits of collaborative teaching cannot be overemphasized. Teaching collaboratively gives teachers an avenue to develop and strengthen their instructional practices. Two or more teachers team up to capitalize on their strengths on planning for their lessons and sharing the likely best approaches to teaching a certain content area. Teachers contact time with individual students in the classroom is reduced as the time for one lesson is shared among the collaborating teachers. Above all, the extra ordinary complexities of teaching are shared among the collaborating partners hence reducing the pressures of appearing alone in class. Understanding how to implement collaborative teaching practices in secondary schools, especially in private schools where teacher returns are strongly emphasized, will be beneficial to teachers. This action research study, therefore, explored various ways of enhancing teachers’ collaborative teaching practices in a private secondary school in Kenya. Data collection methods used were interviews, reflective conversations, and document analysis. Findings from the study suggest that having a shared purpose among a teaching team is important in establishing successful collaborative teaching practice. However, in realizing this success the team/school leader need to create opportunities that will enable teachers have adequate time for planning. Although effects of enhancing the teacher’s collaborative teaching practice were evident, existence of procedural structures still affected the smooth attainment of an enhanced collaborative teaching practice. Recommendations and implications for collaborative teaching in light of time constraints are discussed.

This document is available in the relevant AKU library

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