Team teaching and teacher orientation to work: implications for the preservice and inservice preparation of teachers

Abstract

Teachers in closed classrooms generally support an individualistic approach to their work. Constraints associated with traditional closed classrooms, in addition to prior dispositions, encourage teachers to place high value on the privacy, autonomy and individualized practices associated with these settings. Team teaching in open plan classrooms, however, requires a quite different orientation to teacher work. Specifically, in order to realize the progressive potential of this organizational form, a corporate approach to teacher work is necessary. This paper reviews teacher orientation to work in open plan settings through the interrelated concepts of privacy, autonomy and individualized practices. The implications of this review of teacher orientation for preservice and inservice preparation of teachers are discussed.