If collaboration is a necessary component of PLC, a school structure
where it is easier to have coffee and professional discussions in a
subject workroom rather than go to the staffroom located in another
building, is likely to inhibit school-wide collegiality. While contrived
collegiality (Hargreaves, 1994) – forcing teachers to plan and work
together – may be unproductive, opportunities for teachers to work
and explore their teaching together appear to be key components of
learning-centred schools (Dimmock, 2000). Opportunities for professional
exchange appear to be further facilitated by physical proximity
(e.g. teachers in a department having neighbouring classrooms)
and interdependent teaching roles (e.g. team teaching; joint lesson
planning). McGregor (2003, p. 54) found that, over the course of
break times, the majority of the 25 staff of a secondary school science
department visited ‘‘the tiny office, providing the opportunity for
casual, serendipitous contact as well as more focused social or workrelated
conversations’’.