US teachers continue to work in isolation

Teachers in the US continue to work largely in isolation, reporting they engage less often in collaborative efforts viewed as beneficial to both teachers and students, finds a survey.

The findings were based on the massive Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS) that involved over 100,000 teachers and principals from 34 countries.

"TALIS evidence on the US shows that high numbers of teachers are experiencing the impact of accountability for results but insufficient support to work together so they can achieve those results," said Andrew Hargreaves from the Lynch School of Education at Boston College.

Fifty-three percent of the US teachers reported they never teach with a colleague in the same classroom, compared to 42 percent of the international sample. Half of the US teachers said they rarely observed their peers teaching or providing feedback to colleagues.

Approximately 42 percent of the US teachers reported they never undertake joint projects across classes or grade levels, compared to just 22 percent of teachers internationally.

The findings were presented at American Educational Research Association annual meeting in Chicago which was held from April 16 to 20.