Teamwork is an important part of the educational process. It is particularly necessary in the first grade, where two teachers - two class teachers or a class teacher and a preschool teacher teach together. The two professionals plan, teach and evaluate work in teams. The motivation of the practitioners to work as a team is crucial both for teamwork and for ensuring positive interpersonal relationships, as it also influences the effectiveness of teamwork. Teamwork is effective when team members actively communicate, respect each other and appreciate the opinions and suggestions of colleagues, consistently follow team rules and are active in carrying out their roles and tasks. The ability to identify and constructively resolve conflicts and problems within the team also contributes to the team´s effectiveness and development of the team. By resolving conflict situations, team members learn how to behave professionally and to cooperate actively. In this study we focused on the perception and experience of teamwork of professionals in the first grade. The study involved 111 female professionals who teach in first grade in different Slovenian public primary schools. The data were collected using an online questionnaire to explore different aspects of teamwork: frequency of teamwork stages – team planning, team teaching and team evaluation, motivation for teamwork and motivation factors, self-perception of own teamwork effectiveness, perception of barriers, problems and conflicts in teamwork, and conflict resolution strategies in teamwork. We were also interested in the statistical correlation between self-perceived effectiveness of one's own teamwork with motivation factors and the frequency of performing the stages of teamwork. Regarding the frequency of team planning, team teaching and team evaluation we found out that professionals in the first grade most often teach in teams. We also found out that there a moderately strong correlation between acquiring new knowledge from colleagues and team communication, which should be as open and relaxed as possible. Preschool teachers who teach in the first grade are more motivated to work as a team than classroom teachers. Professionals with more than 23 years' experiences are more motivated for teamwork than less experienced ones. The highest overall motivation for teamwork, as well as to perform all stages of teamwork, was found among female practitioners with 1-3 years' experience. Preschool teachers perceive their own teamwork as more effective compared to classroom teachers. Professionals with 1-3 years of experience perceive their teamwork as more effective than more experienced ones. The most common problems they perceived in their teamwork were problems with organising time or scheduling for team planning. First grade professionals usually resolve conflicts in teamwork by freely expressing their own agreement, seeking compromise, respecting their colleagues´ opinions, linking their own ideas with their colleagues´ ideas, exchanging information that leads to common solutions to the problem, and talking openly about the problem. The research confirms the positive connection of motivation for teamwork and the frequency of teamwork planning, team teaching and team evaluation with the effectiveness of teamwork.
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