Collaboration, Communication, and Connection: Collegial Support and Collective Efficacy among Health Science Teachers

The social and collaborative aspects of work settings are becoming increasingly important. For example, recent research has placed emphasis on the social nature of learning. In addition, many authors have suggested that 21^st century skills that will be required in future work and professional environments will involve collaborative skills, making them essential for competitive careers. Currently little is known about how networks of professional teachers operate, especially those based on newer technologies. Given the importance of this issue, this study investigated the support networks and collegiality of career technical teachers working in the area of health science. Participants included 317 educators (secondary educators and individuals from the career technical sector), all part of a statewide health science career pathway program. The results indicated that most of the teachers reported having access to some type of support network. The results of a structural equation modeling analysis indicated that respondents who reported having more teachers in their programs were more likely to report higher levels of collegial support and collective efficacy. Similarly, teachers who reported working more with other teachers on interdisciplinary curriculum projects tended to report higher levels of collegial support and collective efficacy.