Abstract:

The cooperative teaching and learning model (CTL) has developed as a student-centred approach in the field of school pedagogy, with benefits on students’ social, emotional and cognitive development. With theoretical reference to social constructivism the present study aims to record and analyze the views of primary school teachers from Greece and Poland concerning the effects, opportunities, and challenges associated with implementing CTL within their classrooms. The research further seeks to explore whether the barriers and facilitators of CTL are universal, such as time constraints, training deficiencies, or curriculum rigidity, or whether they reflect culturally embedded factors, including local educational traditions, hierarchical attitudes toward authority, or varying conceptions of teacher and student roles. Greece and Poland were selected as comparative contexts due to their participation in European policy frameworks promoting inclusive and cooperative pedagogies that underpin the development of 21st-century skills, including communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity. The sample consisted of nine primary school teachers from various regions of Greece and eight teachers from the city of Krakow in Poland. A qualitative research approach was adopted using semi-structured interviews. The thematic analysis of the data indicates that the CTL model has a significant and predominantly positive impact on students. Furthermore, the multidimensional role of the teacher is highlighted, as well as the importance of developing students’ cooperative skills. Finally, it is observed that although in Greece the cooperative learning method is applied across a wider range of curriculum subjects; in contrast, in Poland its implementation appears more more subject-specific and contingent on individual teacher initiative and school culture. These findings suggest that while CTL shares core benefits and challenges across borders, its enactment is shaped by local pedagogical beliefs, institutional structures, and cultural attitudes toward collaboration and authority. This study can bridge the gap between Mediterranean and Central/Eastern European educational research and contribute to the limited existing research directly comparing these two specific pedagogical landscapes regarding CTL. It underscores the need for targeted professional development, institutional support, and cross-national dialogue to enhance teachers’ capacity to implement cooperative pedagogies effectively. Ultimately, this research provides empirical evidence and practical insights that may inform European educational policies and teacher education programs aimed at strengthening cooperative learning practices in diverse classroom settings.

Keywords:

Cooperative teaching and learning, Primary education, Teachers’ perspectives.