COLLABORATIVE CULTURE AS A CHALLENGE OF CONTEMPORARY SCHOOLS

Different authors stress that traditional culture is still the most common culture in schools. This culture prefers high educational goals, high expectations and productivity. Under such circumstances, there is no room for cooperation and helping each other. On the contrary, these stimulate competitiveness that causes tension between the participants. One of the fundamental aims of today's and future education is also to stimulate cooperation that provides each individual with the strength to come to known him or herself and to behave in accordance with his or her tradition and beliefs, while at the same time staying open to other and different people. This can be achieved only in a culture of good relationships that includes the values of tolerance, solidarity, critical thinking and independence. Research has shown that collaborative culture also has many other benefits over traditional culture reflecting itself in the well-being and effectiveness of teachers and students and also in the development of the institution as a whole. Nowadays, it is impossible to imagine effective schools without cooperation at all school levels. Since school culture is a relatively stable phenomenon, it takes a long time to change and such a change cannot be achieved with external orders. The most important initial step towards changing school culture is that all school staff realise its importance, influence and extent in creating an effective school. This can be a starting point and encouragement to think about the existing school climate, make plans for the future and find ways to change it.