A state-of-the-art on team teaching practices in Flanders : results of a large-scale survey study

Team teaching is a promising strategy where teachers are collaboratively engaging in teaching activities. Based on the level of collaboration between the teachers, five team teaching models are distinguished in the literature (i.e., the observation model, the coaching model, the assistant teaching model, the equal status model, and the teaming model). Despite its promising character as a teaching strategy, like most other European countries, a state-of-the-art on team teaching practices in Flanders is still lacking. To address this gap, this study presents the results of a large-scale cross-sectional survey study completed. As such, the research question is: “How is team teaching implemented in Flanders?”.A total of 656 teachers experienced with team teaching from 86 schools completed the questionnaire. The findings show that when it concerns the use of the models of team teaching, most teachers report they use a mix of team teaching models (n=195; 33%). Also, the assistant teaching model – where one teacher assists the “responsible” classroom teacher – is a quite common practice (n=149; 25%). However, large, and significant differences were found for the level of education on the use of team teaching (with medium and large effect sizes). These, and other important relations related to the implementation of team teaching will be presented. Based on this survey study, measurement instruments are developed and validated to further grasp team teaching practices. In so doing, the utilization potential of both our findings and the developed instruments is high and evident.

Publication year:2023