School-based teacher collaboration: Different learning opportunities across various contexts

Abstract Teacher collaboration in secondary schools can form a fruitful context for teacher professional learning. The aim of this study is to understand collaboration in teacher groups given their teacher characteristics and school context. Using a cross case design, we study different teacher groups in multiple contexts. The findings confirm results of other studies on teacher collaboration, which argue that short-term collaboration initiatives are depending on the prior existence of collaborative cultures. Deprivatisation of practice provides opportunities to support professional learning in teacher groups, although more support is needed, especially when this is new to teachers.