The collaboration of university teaching staff: Critical aspects and challenges

Abstract

The learning of teachers through collaboration is undoubtedly a key factor for their professional development and thereby raises the quality of education. Thus, this research was carried out in a Mexican public university with the aim of knowing the ways in which teachers establish collaborative processes that favor their professional development. This research used a qualitative approach of descriptive type, with the participation of seven teachers. The data collected through observations, interviews and documents were analyzed inductively, resulting in two main categories: Collaboration for academic management and Areas of opportunity for collaboration. In these categories, the organization of collaborative work by academies stands out, where the teaching staff who teach subjects in the same area of knowledge participate as the only form of collaboration and where academic administration activities are predominantly carried out, thus limiting the possibilities of sharing and discussing knowledge and inquiry of their practice to enrich their professional development and teaching. As areas of opportunity, there are difficulties for collaboration that, when conceptualized as challenges, will allow the university and faculty to implement actions to construct a collaborative culture.