Abstract
This study explores trust and positive working relationships among teachers in communities of practice as an avenue for professional development in high schools in South Africa. A mixed methods research approach was employed for this study with the use of a semi-structured interview and semi-structured questionnaires as data collection instruments. Ten schools were purposively selected for this study and seventy-nine participants were selected as samples. The findings of the study show that teachers had good working relationships with their colleagues. The good working relationships they had enabled them to assist their colleagues, share their classroom challenges with them, confide in their colleagues, and they were able to get assistance from them. It was established from the study that a great number of teachers feel safe to be part of the communities of practice activities in the sampled high schools, thus, they engage in diverse of discussions with their colleagues and they were able to relate to their colleagues the difficulties they have in terms of their work. The study recommends that teachers should spend an adequate time in their meetings, see themselves as colleagues, interact as teams, and build strong ties to have good relationships and a strong level of trust among themselves.
Highlights
Communities of practice are one of the continuing professional teachers’ development (CPTD)models
The main research question guiding this study was how trust and positive working relationships among teachers in communities of practice are an avenue for professional development? The study was further guided by the following sub-research questions:
The study tries to find out how trust and positive working relationships among teachers in communities of practice are an avenue for professional development
Summary
Communities of practice are one of the continuing professional teachers’ development (CPTD)models. Communities of practice are one of the continuing professional teachers’ development (CPTD). Teachers need to work as groups and teams in communities of practice, this is important to enable them to develop professionally. This is done through collaboration by all the group members to see how and where to assist each other in areas they need help in terms of their professional development. Communities of practice are seen as an approach for enhancing continuing professional development of teachers in high schools. A lot of studies have shown that if communities of practice are well embraced, teachers in their various school communities see it as a means to share ideas, solve problems, and relate together in their subject matters [2,3,4,5]
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