Abstract:

Lack of teamwork is one of the most common challenges in school self-assessment. The lack of cooperation and motivation in schools often exists in all levels of the community, however, a certain work group is responsible for the school's self-assessment, and therefore, cooperation and teamwork inside this work group are of the foremost importance. The problem of the study assumes that only a small number of Lithuanian schools are successfully carrying out the evaluation process, and an effective implementation team can contribute to its success. It is therefore important to analyse the processes of organising the working groups that implement the process and the factors that limit teamwork in them.

The study aims to reveal the views of the members of the school self-assessment working group about motivation and communication as the main aspects of teamwork.

With the help of qualitative research access, the analysis of the content of legal documents and semi-structured interviews of the members of the school self-assessment working groups in Lithuania and school administration enabled objective and systematic investigation of the features of the text, generalisation of information, and formation of appropriate conclusions. The research was carried out from March 2022 to May 2022. The content of the school self-assessment working group members' reflections was transcribed in separate protocols. The analysis has been conducted by consistently analysing the content of a text, dividing the content under investigation into analytical units, i. e. categories, and sub-categories.

The results of the study reveal several factors that interfere in creating teams during the school self-assessment process. The lack of financial and verbal incentives, the lack of focus in the evaluation, the complexity of the data analysis process, and the lack of visibility of the evaluation results, all undermine the motivation of team members to achieve the objectives set for them. Unconstructive, distrustful interpersonal relationships and communication breakdowns between members of the working groups are difficult to manage due to the lack of clear agreements and rules or their adoption after the work process is well underway. This leads to mistrust between members of the working group, conflicts, redistribution of work, and delays in completion.

Keywords:

School self-assessment, performance, teamwork, group work, motivation, communication.