Extending teamwork in schools : Support and organisational consistency

There is widespread agreement that teams form an increasingly important part of life in schools. Whereas individuals used to assume responsibility for managing resources, planning the curriculum and organising major events, such responsibilities now fall often into the domain of groups of staff. But have schools given sufficient thought to what teamwork involves and how it must be nurtured? This article attempts to answer this question and to examines the benefits that might accrue from adopting team approaches to school management. It suggests there are several critical issues schools, as organisations, must address if they are to enable effective teamwork to take place. Without the right form of support, it is argued that teamwork can be little more than a token form of democracy, and if schools are to optimise their use of teams, they must face up to some of the inconsistencies evident in their structures, systems and processes.