Strengthening Collaboration Among Secondary School Teachers: Insights for Future Training Pathways

Teacher collaboration is a cornerstone for enhancing both the educational environment and professional development. This paper explores how collegial interaction among secondary school educators can influence their sense of professional identity. Through a mixed-method study, incorporating a literature review and data from a survey of 488 teachers in the Varese province, we uncover a disconnect between the acknowledged importance of collaboration and its perceived relevance to professional self-conception. Our findings suggest that while collaboration is recognized, it does not play a central role in shaping teachers' professional identities. We propose the integration of collaborative frameworks, such as Communities of Practice and Change Laboratories, in teacher training programs to promote experiential learning and peer knowledge sharing, fostering enhanced educational outcomes.