Crosscurricular teacher collaboration actualizing teacher professionalism: Revising a didactic model

This chapter examines crosscurricular teacher collaboration, meaning teachers with different subject affiliations teach together. The aim was to revise a didactic model for crosscurricular teaching developed by the authors in 2020. The model is framed by Didaktik theories, which respect teacher autonomy and cultural and political contexts of education but lack concepts for teacher collaboration. Based on previous research, we included teacher professionalism in the model as a conditional factor besides collaboration, the curriculum, and school culture. This chapter suggests that teacher professionalism affects the implementation and outcomes of crosscurricular teacher collaboration. Successful crosscurricular teacher collaboration is worth considering because it can reduce teachers’ workload; increase their professional wellbeing, motivation, and engagement; support their professional development; and improve education. The school should work toward a culture of collaboration that respects teachers’ professionalism, provides resources to transform the curriculum, and supports the development of new shared teaching practices. The chapter and the revised model suggest that crosscurricular teacher collaboration can be understood as Bildung-oriented collective processes.