Role: PhD student at the School of Education, Faculty of Education, Philosophy & Theology, University of Notre Dame, Australia. 

Project description: Jessica Raeside is a teacher librarian currently pursuing a PhD in Education. Her PhD project explores who works in Australian primary school libraries, their roles, and how they collaborate. Jessica seeks to investigate the evolving role of teacher librarians and the factors that enable or constrain successful collaboration in Australian primary schools.

Using a mixed-methods approach, the study includes a national survey in which participants will define collaboration and the role of the TL, and reflect on their current experiences to illustrate what collaboration looks like in practice. In the second phase, semi-structured one-on-one interviews with teacher librarians, classroom teachers, and principals will be conducted to explore collaboration in greater depth, including perceived challenges and the ideal conditions that support effective collaboration.

The findings will help develop solutions and recommendations to improve educators' pedagogical practices in Australian primary schools by providing new insights and offering strategies to strengthen collaboration, particularly to increase student engagement and improve academic performance.

Jessica hopes this research will inspire teacher librarians and library staff to assess the culture of collaboration in their school environment and empower them to enhance their collaborative efforts with colleagues. She looks forward to sharing her findings with the broader library community after completing her PhD.

Status: In progress

Contact: jessica.raeside@my.nd.edu.au

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/jessicalouiseraeside

Research Website: collaborationinaustralianprimaryschools.com