Collegial collaboration when planning and preparing lessons: A large-scale study exploring the conditions and infrastructure for teachers’ professional development

This study explores how teachers perceive the working conditions for planning and preparing their lessons, focusing on collegial collaboration and systematic and formative teaching. The data were collected through a survey (n = 2285) on infrastructure for teaching development and time for planning and preparation. The results show a systematic correlation between a supportive, collegial structure for planning and preparation and teachers' validation of their teaching and working conditions. However, our findings also indicate that collaborative work is insufficient to support efficient formative teaching and that there are general shortfalls in the infrastructural settings around teachers’ planning and preparation. •Using an extensive survey, this study explores teachers' perceptions on planning and preparation in relation to aspects of structured collegial collaboration and professional development.•There are shortfalls in infrastructure on teachers' planning and preparation in relation to structured collegial collaboration.•There is a profound impact of a supportive collegial structure on teachers' descriptions of their working conditions. However the local infrastructures do not seems to support efficient formative teaching.•Our findings indicate that schools are typically not organised to support systematic formative teaching and assessment.