Tensions affecting law teachers’ collaborative practice around teaching: a study of beliefs and practices

Abstract

ABSTRACT Collaborative practice among teachers, where teachers collaborate around their teaching practice, is known to optimise student learning in primary and secondary schools, where they are encouraged to create shared conceptions of vision, purpose and means. In higher education, however, studies on teachers working as teams and abandoning traditional norms of isolation and individualism around teaching are scarce. This study examines law teachers’ perceptions about teaching collaboration and the value of the collaborative process, as well as how and to what extent their beliefs are reflected in workplace practices. The study adopts a mixed method approach with a survey questionnaire and follow-up interviews with course directors at a large research university in Sweden. The findings show a mismatch between the espoused values and tacit assumptions regarding collaborative practice in relation to teaching, and they are discussed in relation to systems theory and literature on teaching teams and collaborative practice in higher education. The study provides important guidance for future leaders of higher education who are interested in the development of teaching and learning.