| Much is documented about school improvements efforts underway in urban schools, from the nature of school change to the role of teachers in school effectiveness. Teachers are consistently identified as key factors in the reform and restructuring process, and what they think of their work and how schools can be made better are views constantly put forward. What is less frequently reported is the web of interpersonal relationships that often dominate school culture and how the attitudes and actions of teachers can shape the direction of school improvement efforts. This study offers a snapshot of one school's efforts to change organizational structures at their school, while altering relationships between colleagues that create and sustain educational change and school improvement over a three-year period.; An institutional study was conducted which included interviews, meetings, participant observation, documents relevant to this study, and a review of related literature. The literature informing the study was interdisciplinary and evolved around notions of school improvement as it relates to school culture, school restructuring, and teacher collegiality. In considering how such an environment is created this paper focuses on school improvement, as it relates to school organization, teacher collaboration, and school culture based on the perceptions of teachers taking part in the restructuring process. Its intent is to offer responses about the respondent's views on the effect of the school's organizational structure and culture on teacher collaboration, as well as their views on the effect of the school's day to day work environment on collaboration. |
