Moral support and skills training. Depending on the context and setting, components for successful collaboration may vary. The five components that my study on collaboration in two secondary Malaysian schools revealed are moral support and skills training, relevance, structure and flexibility, room for spontaneity and pro-activity. One important component named by half the participants from School A and B are moral support and advice from leaders. Their belief is that the school leadership should be empathetic to teachers because empathy could encourage them to go the extra mile in integrating collaboration into the school culture. This is what one of the teachers said ‘‘Providing moral support and advice, help solve problems when they arise during collaborating projects’’ (Xxxx, 18.9.2021). Similarly, another teacher stated, “Providing training on how to collaborate, giving moral support… Appreciation, incentives are very important’’ (Xxxxxxx, 6.9.2022). A possible explanation for this finding could be that teachers are humans and, like any human, they long to be valued, recognised for their contributions and supported by people around them. In addition, successful collaboration also requires collaborative and communication skills. Five out of six participants believe that teachers lack them and that school leaders should provide appropriate training either for collaboration leaders or all teachers. This is what Teacher 3 from School B said, ‘‘Perhaps arrange for some training for collaboration leaders’’ (Xxxxxx, 19.9.2021). Another teacher echoed that teacher saying, ‘‘It would be good to receive some training on collaboration too’’ (Grace, 18.9.2021). It can be concluded that this specific Malaysian context is new to the concept of collaboration because, despite understanding collaboration generally and participating in it, most teachers neither have relevant skills nor have been helped develop them.
