Teachers' Perceived Social Capital in Schools and Their Attitudes toward Professional Collaboration

This study seeks to examine the correlation between teachers' perceived social capital in their schools and their attitudes toward professional collaboration. Adopting a quantitative design, this study follows a relational survey model. The research sample is comprised of 456 teachers currently employed in Istanbul's district of Esenyurt during the second semester of the 2020-2021 academic year. Participants were selected through simple random sampling. Data from the study were obtained using the Scale of Social Capital in Schools developed by Polatcan (2018) and the Scale of Attitude toward Professional Collaboration among Teachers developed by Yilmaz and Çelik (2020). Data were analyzed using SPSS v.22. The analyses reveal that the participant teachers generally perceive moderate amounts of social capital in their schools and they regard professional collaboration in a very positive light. We furthermore found a moderate, positive, and significant correlation (r=0.404) between teachers' perceived social capital in schools and their attitudes toward professional collaboration. Finally, it has been found that the sub-dimensions comprising teachers' perceived social capital in their schools collectively explained 18% of the total variance in their attitudes toward professional collaboration and that two variables--commitment and social interaction bonds--were statistically significant predictors of professional collaboration.