Teacher collegiality and electronic communication: A study of the collaborative uses of email by secondary school teachers in Uruguay

Jorge Grünberg, Cesar Alejandro Armellini

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Teacher collegiality has been consistently highlighted in recent years as a crucial factor in the success of processes of educational change and professional development. Consequently, there is considerable interest both from researchers and practitioners, in investigating strategies capable of supporting interactions and collaborations between teachers.

Research, mostly carried out in industry, suggests that computer‐mediated communication (CMC) technologies may support collegiality in a diversity of contexts. Following the technological developments of the last few years, which have driven down the costs and complexity of computers and telecommunications, CMC technologies are becoming increasingly available to schools around the world. One of the more widespread of these new CMC technologies is electronic mail.

The aim of this article is to discuss some of the results of a research project that investigated the potential of electronic mail for supporting the development of collegiality and professional exchange among secondary school teachers in Uruguay. At the time of this study, relatively little research had been carried out into the use of electronic mail for professional purposes by schoolteachers, especially in Latin America.

The evidence suggests that email may support the formation of communities of highly committed users, where seeking and sharing professional resources are accepted behaviours.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)597-606
Number of pages10
JournalBritish Journal of Educational Technology
Volume35
Issue number5
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Sept 2004

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Teacher collegiality and electronic communication: A study of the collaborative uses of email by secondary school teachers in Uruguay'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this