Collaborative Climate and Knowledge Sharing among ESP Teachers: A Mixed Method Study

Research on teacher collaboration emphasizes the key role of collaborative culture for teachers’ functioning;  however,  there  is  little  empirical  evidence  to  investigate  its  relationship  with knowledge  sharing  among  university  ESP  teachers.  In  the  present  study,  the  relationship between EFL teachers’ collaborative climate and knowledge sharing was sought. The data were collected through two surveys of 328 Iranian ESP teachers. A Pearson correlation was carried out to investigate the relationship between the two variables of the study. A multiple regression analysis was also run to examine if ESP teachers’ collaborative climate predicts their knowledge sharing. A follow-up interview with 13 ESP teachers was conducted to consolidate the findings and  explore  the  contribution  of  teachers’  collaborative  climate  to  their  knowledge  sharing. The  Pearson  correlation  coefficient  test  demonstrated  a  significant  positive  correlation  for four measures (organizational culture, the head of department, teachers’ attitude, workgroup support), and the collaborative climate. The results of the multiple regression also indicated that four subscales of collaborative climate were the predictors of ESP teachers’ attitude towards knowledge sharing. Analysis of the interview data, on the other hand, indicated how teachers’ collaborative  climate  contributes  to  their  knowledge  sharing  through  one  of  the  four  main sources, namely helpful atmosphere, encouragement received from the heads of departments, the expectation of reward, and work group support. In line with these findings, several practical recommendations were offered.