Laugh so you don't cry: teachers combating isolation in schools through humour and social support

“OMG can I have your meme lesson? TY”: Affective literacies and collegial meaning-making in digitally-mediated participatory networks

“…Mawhinney (2010) discusses collegiality as coping, humor, social support, and knowledge-sharing in unstructured, informal, congregational spaces such as teacher lounges. Collegial educator relationships have been shown to have an important role in lower teacher attrition, positive school climate, and higher student outcomes in schools (Berry, Daughtrey, & Wieder, 2009;Mawhinney, 2008;Goddard, Goddard, & Tschannen-Moran, 2007). Recognizing that all learning is relational (McDermott, 1977), this study incorporated a view of collegiality that centers the relationships for meaning-making among teachers as they developed their teacher identities, while simultaneously developing literacy pedagogy and content through immersion in digital technologies.…”

The Creation of Restorative Places for Teachers in an Urban School

“…(506) Applied to the school context, teachers often pick restorative places that are connected to the people within it. The people and interactions create meaning and value, and the psychological support to cope with the profession (Abrahams 1997;Mawhinney 2008Mawhinney , 2010Paine, Fang, and Wilson 2003;Woods 1984). Thus, it is important to understand how teachers use these places restoratively.…”

“…First, educators use teachers' lounges as a place to gossip, share stories, and interact personally (Kainan 1997(Kainan , 2002McGregor 2003). Second, the people in these places use humor to cope with the stresses of the profession (Mawhinney 2008;Woods 1984). Lastly, educators use teachers' lounges as a place to share professional ideas (Abrahams 1997;Mawhinney 2010;Paine, Fang, and Wilson 2003) and discuss with colleagues about supports for classroom instruction (Ben-Peretz, Schonmann, and Kupermintz 1999).…”

Understanding the impact of collaboration on group learning on an international school teaching team

“…While lawyers seek input from peers to strengthen cases, doctors seek specialist colleagues to diagnose and treat patients, and thankfully there is always more than one pilot in the cockpit, the teaching profession largely remains one of isolated individuals working with students separate from their colleagues (Cookson, 2005). Isolation has long been a cultural component of the teaching field (Cookson, 2005;Furlong, 2008), and there is evidence that it impedes professional growth (Boone, 2014;Mawhinney, 2008). Teacher professional growth is further negatively impacted by top down reform initiatives that disrupt existing practice, increase teacher workload and reduce professional satisfaction and efficacy (Day, 2002).…”