Challenges experienced by teachers in implementing cooperative learning activities after brief in-service training

Educational research has for many years demonstrated that cooperative learning fosters the development of social and cognitive skills in students. In the Italian classroom, however, largely transmissive methods still prevail and teachers are faced with numerous challenges when trying to put into practice what they have learned in dedicated training courses. This research intends to explore the difficulties experienced in the classroom one year after a short (10-25 hours) experiential training course, through a quantitative survey that involved 102 elementary and middle school teachers, investigating their beliefs and perceived self-efficacy and discussing the main challenges that emerged at the relational and organizational levels.