Group Goals in Teacher Team Meetings

Abstract

This study explored the phenomenon of group goals in teacher team meetings using questionnaires (n = 795) and in-depth interviews with teachers (n = 20). Drawing on achievement goals theory, we mapped the various types of group goals teacher teams may collectively pursue, uncovered their unique characteristics, estimated their prevalence, and investigated teachers’ stances towards them. We found that teacher group goals included establishing a sense of belonging (social goals), learning from colleagues (mastery goals), completing tasks (work goals), and demonstrating compliance with external agendas (performance approach). Social and mastery goals were the most prevalent goals and correlated with teacher satisfaction from their meetings. Work and performance goals were less prominent and correlated with teacher dissatisfaction.