Title:
School-to-school collaboration enhancing teaching and learning: A case study in Zhejiang, China
Presenters:
Fang Guangbao, PhD student in Faculty of Education, Monash University
Dr. Penelope Kalogeropoulos, lecturer in Faculty of Education, Monash University
Email: Guangbao.fang@monash.edu
Abstract:
School-to-school collaboration has been widely implemented in mainland China to improve educational quality and reduce disparity between schools, and regions. However, surprisingly limited evidence-based research explored how and why school-to-school collaboration can achieve this result. This study tries to fill this gap by revealing how school-to-school collaboration would influence teachers’ teaching. Then, a qualitative case study was designed to answer this question. Specifically, 18 participants were interviewed, including 2 principals, 10 teachers, and 6 students who were from 2 primary schools in Zhejiang Province. By analyzing the policy documents and the interview data, this study found that: (1) the internal and external institutions shape the construction of collaborations between schools; (2) a new matrix governing structure was developed on the collaborated level; (3) the institutions, resources, and technologies provided by the external environment and the governing structure were influenced teachers’ teaching behaviors, and their identity.
Keywords:
Chinese school improvement, school-to-school collaboration, network governance, new institutionalism, teaching
Creating Education Futures: The Role of Teachers and Schools in the New Social Contracts 