Effective collaboration among secondary school teachers. Ways and paths of development from a survey of needs in the province of Varese

Relational, dialogic, and systemic interaction among teachers in both secondary school and university contexts plays a crucial role in shaping students' educational experience (World Economic Forum, 2023; Unesco, 2015; Censis, 2023). This investigation examines, through a review of the literature (Siped-Perugia, 2023; Benvenuto, 2023; Batini, Agrusti, Falcinelli, Salvato, Vannini, 2022; Mulè, 2022; Zecca, 2021; Buber, 1993) and the use of a questionnaire addressed to secondary school teachers in the province of Varese, the implementation of training programs specifically geared toward preparing teachers for collaborative work. This initiative aims to enhance relational skills, which are considered essential for significant progress in teachers' professionalism (Salvadori, 2022; Cera, 2021; Fiorucci, 2022). The questionnaire, administered to a representative sample of teachers, focuses on their training needs, specifically investigating the importance teachers attach to collegial work at the formal and informal levels and how much this aspect afects their perception of their professionalism. The results, analyzed through Maxqda (Wenger-Trayner & al., 2017), indicate a significant awareness at the ideal level of the challenges related to collaboration, with a significant percentage of respondents attaching importance to collaborative work, but on the other hand, they show how the relationship between colleagues is not a foundational element of the teacher's professional perception, who sees himself or herself as autonomous or at best in relationship with students. After highlighting the main findings that emerged, the research proposes the adoption of systemic-relational methodologies in teacher education, enhancing the model of experiential and small-group learning through the activation of collaborative contexts for the development of skills such as Wenger's (1988) communities of practice, which provide a collaborative context for sharing knowledge and experiences, and change labs, proposed by Engeström (Virkkunen and Newnham, 2013), which present an innovative approach to educational transformation.