Teacher collaboration networks as a function of type of collaboration and schools' structural environment.

This study examines teacher collaboration in nine German schools to identify factors that explain the structure of teacher networks in relation to specific types of collaboration and schools' structural environment. Using inferential network analysis, we find that teachers' individual attributes are important for collaboration in schools with basic collaborative environments, and for the exchange of material. By contrast, in schools with well-established collaborative structures, ties are formed predominantly based on prior relations. Our findings emphasize the importance of collaborative structures to lower the barrier for individual teachers to engage in collaboration and to bring together colleagues from different backgrounds. • Self-organizing structural processes influence the emergence of teacher networks. • Teachers tend to collaborate with similar colleagues. • Teacher networks differ according to specific forms of collaboration and schools' structural environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]