(Re)Thinking Teacher Networking in the Russian Federation

Abstract

This article presents the findings of research in Russia on the degree to which teachers and school principals are active and how they currently network with their colleagues. It builds on the work of David Frost and John Bangs (2012) on teacher self-efficacy using a survey and semi-structured interviews with teachers and principals to collect data. It defines active teachers as those who are committed to and take pleasure from teaching both in their work with individual students and as part of a larger education community, see a personal career trajectory, and take responsibility for their own professional development. We found that the factors that indicate a teacher is more likely to be active are: age, position, size of school, opportunities to participate in decision making, frequent collaboration with others, and networking both in person and online through social networking sites. Specifically, older teachers and teachers in smaller schools are more likely to be active, as are teachers who use the Internet daily. Active teachers are more likely to work in schools that allow teachers to influence policies and practices in the classroom and where teachers collaborate with their colleagues.