Team entitativity and teacher teams in schools: Towards a typology

In this article we summarise research that discusses ‘teacher teams’. The central question guiding this study is ‘What types of teacher teams are there in schools and can they rightfully be called ‘teams’ or are they merely groups?’. We attempted to answer this question by searching literature on teacher teams and comparing what these articles present as being teacher teams. We attempt to further grasp the concept of teacher teams by creating a typology for defining different types of teacher teams. Overall, the literature pertaining to teacher teams appeared to be characterised by a considerable amount of haziness and teacher ‘teams’ mostly do not seem to be proper ‘teams’ when bearing the criteria of a team as defined by Cohen and Bailey (1997) in mind. The proposed typology, characterising the groups of teachers by their task, whether they are disciplinary or interdisciplinary, whether they are situated within or cross grades en by their temporal duration, seems to be a useful framework to further clarify different sorts of teacher ‘teams’.

Group, team, or something in between? Conceptualising and measuring team entitativity

The main aim of this study includes bridging the gap between strict team and broader group research by describing the distinction between strict teams and mere collections of individuals as the degree of team entitativity or teamness. The concept of entitativity is derived from social psychology research and further developed and integrated in team research. Based upon the entitativity concept and the core team definitions, the defining features shaping teams’ degree of entitativity are determined: shared goals and responsibilities; cohesion (task cohesion and identification); and interdependence (task and outcome). In a next step, a questionnaire is developed to empirically grasp these features. The questionnaire is tested in two waves of data collection (N1=1320; N2=731). Based upon a combination of Classical Test Theory analyses (exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses) and Item Response Theory analyses the questionnaire is developed. The final questionnaire consists of three factors: shared goals and cohesion, task interdependence, and outcome interdependence. Further psychometric analyses include the investigation of validity, longitudinal measurement invariance, and test-retest reliability. This manuscript describes frontline research by: (1) developing a novel conceptualisation bridging groups and teams based upon two research traditions (social psychology and team research) and (2) combining two methodological traditions regarding questionnaire development and validation (Classical Test Theory and Item Response Theory)

Experiences of Relatedness during Enforced Remote Work among Employees in Higher Education

The aim of this study was to investigate experiences of relatedness among higher education staff during enforced remote work caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Experiences were investigated both at the earliest stages of enforced remote work (April 2020) and in November/December 2021. Remote work experiences were analysed through the lens of Deci and Ryan’s self-determination theory, especially through the concept of relatedness. Within this framework, relatedness is described as one of three basic psychological needs affecting health, well-being, and productivity. The main research focus includes ascertaining which factors affect experiences of relatedness among employees in higher education at work at the beginning of enforced remote work and at the end of it. The study uses qualitative data collected from Finnish university employees, analysed using theory-driven content analysis. The analysis of the two datasets enabled us to identify three categories of relatedness: (1) interaction among co-workers, (2) feelings of care and (3) experiences of connectedness. The results showed that the experience of relatedness was severely challenged during the enforced work period. In the future, the need for relatedness needs to be addressed more deliberately in multi-locational work conditions because remote work is especially affecting the experiences of relatedness. Positive experiences of relatedness can be achieved even in remote work conditions with deliberate and thought-out actions, for example by developing good remote interaction practices within the team and remote leadership practices that convey care for the employees.publishedVersionPeer reviewe

Schoolteamvragenlijst: Resultaten maart 2016

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The Teacher as an Island? A Mixed Method Study on the Relationship Between Autonomy and Collaboration

This study assessed how teachers understand and value autonomy, collaboration and the relationship between both. Quantitative analyses (N1 = 1610, N2 = 1408) included a multilevel SEM model and identifying teacher profiles based upon perceived autonomy (curricular, didactical-pedagogical) and autonomy attitude (individualistic/reactive, collaborative/reflective). Interviews (N = 17) were analysed using qualitative content analysis. Three teacher profiles were identified: autonomous collaborative, autonomous individualistic and low curricular autonomy collaborative. Teachers in the first profile reported most collaboration. Results demonstrate the need to take the interaction between autonomy and attitude into account. However, small effect sizes and qualitative results indicate that other factors play an important role. Didactical-pedagogical autonomy should be split up into content-related and classroom teaching–related aspects (demonstrating higher sensitivity to external influences). Moreover, while quantitative results demonstrate a unified collaborative attitude, qualitative findings indicate that openness towards deep-level collaboration differs depending on the domain of autonomy. Finally, besides individual autonomy, autonomy at the level of collaboration is influential.status: publishe

Teacher or Team? The Role of Individual and Team Resources in Collaborative Professional Development

In line with the importance of teacher teamwork, collaborative professional development (CPD) becomes more important. However, teacher collaboration often seems difficult to achieve because of its complex relationship with individual autonomous work. This tension is central to this study, integrating an individual and team perspective on CPD by investigating how individual resources (autonomy, collaborative attitude, teacher efficacy) and team resources (team entitativity, psychological safety) foster CPD. 731 teachers participated in two waves of data collection. The influence of the resources varied depending on which CPD activity was included as dependent variable (exchange activities, professional collaboration, constructive conflict). Overall, collaborative attitude, teacher efficacy, and team entitativity positively predict CPD, autonomy shows mixed results and psychological safety only fostered constructive conflict.status: publishe

Team learning in teacher teams: Team entitativity as a bridge between teams-in-theory and teams-in-practice

This study aimed to investigate team learning in the context of teacher teams in higher vocational education. As teacher teams often do not meet all criteria included in theoretical team definitions, the construct team entitativity was introduced. Defined as the degree to which a group of individuals possesses the quality of being a team, this makes it possible to extend team learning research from strict teams-in-theory to various types of teams-in-practice, including teacher teams. The team learning beliefs and behaviours model, including team entitativity, was applied to teacher teams, assessing whether it still stands in these non-strict teams. Data were collected from 105 teams and analysed using multilevel analysis. Results showed that team entitativity, psychological safety and group potency were related to the occurrence of team learning. The latter appeared to be significantly related to team effectiveness, and the formation of mutually shared cognition was found to be a mediating variable in this relationship.status: publishe

Contagion of engagement in teacher teams: The role of team resources and team learning

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Team creativity versus team learning: transcending conceptual boundaries to inspire future framework building

The purpose of this study was to compare team creativity and team learning – approached as interpersonal processes – conceptually and empirically and thereby inspire future framework building on team creativity. First, both concepts were compared based on present literature. In the next – empirical – step, a questionnaire consisting of a range of team creative and learning processes was developed and validated among 112 design teams, encompassing 540 employees. By means of a questionnaire validation protocol, this study assessed the empirical similarities and interrelation between team creative and learning processes. Several conceptual similarities in both frameworks were identified. The theoretically expected difference between team creativity and team learning (i.e. the aspect newness) was not supported by our empirical results. A five-factor model – consisting of team creative efficacy, facilitating team processes, basic team processes, error communication, and co-construction was validated. This study contributes to the present literature by showing that future theorising on team creative processes can certainly draw inspiration from the team learning literature in several ways.peerreview_statement: The publishing and review policy for this title is described in its Aims & Scope. aims_and_scope_url: http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?show=aimsScope&journalCode=rhrd20status: publishe