Professional development and collaboration in school: two studies in dialogue

Abstract

In this paper, after discussing the conceptual positions on professional development and teaching collaboration, we report two studies in the area of language education, in the context of language departments: one, of a more longitudinal nature, aimed at understanding the dynamics of collaborative work in the context of curricular language departments in a region of Portugal; a case study focused on the analysis of a professional development community that aimed to promote collaborative practices based on the development of interdisciplinary projects in the context of the language department of a school. We conclude with the intersection of the two studies and a reflection on possibilities of promoting a professional development in language education based on teacher collaboration in a school context.

Keywords

• Formação de professores. Escola. Desenvolvimento profissional
• Educação em línguas.