04. Inclusive Education
Paper
The Soft Skill of Collaboration in General and Special Education Teachers: A Systematic Literature Review
Aikaterini Vrachna, Assimina Tsibidaki
University of the Aegean,, Greece
Presenting Author: Vrachna, Aikaterini
Research on teachers’ soft skills is an interesting and important field of research that has attracted the interest of experts in recent years (Vasanthakumari, 2019). An important soft skill that teachers should have been collaboration, which is one of the social skills. Collaboration refers to the action that is jointly planned (Vangrieken et al., 2015). A more recent definition of collaboration refers to the process of exchange in which individuals share information, material, or knowledge (Bush & Grotjohann, 2020). Through collaboration, teachers can observe and rethink everything that is done, change strategies, and aim to improve themselves, the students, and the school in general (Giakoumi & Theofilidis, 2012).
In the international arena, surveys focus on secondary school teachers and students (Onabamiro et al., 2014). In Greece, studies on social skills are limited. The present research investigates the skill of collaboration adopted by general and special education teachers, its contribution to the educational process, but also in the development of their own, as well as the ways of cultivating it. The research questions posed were:
- How do general and special education teachers conceptualize the soft skill of collaboration?
- In what ways does a general and special education teacher develop the skill of collaboration?
- How is the contribution of collaboration skills to the educational process assessed?
- How is the contribution of collaboration skills to the development and progression of general and special education teachers assessed?
Methodology, Methods, Research Instruments or Sources UsedThis study constitutes qualitative research, and particularly a systematic literature review. Regarding the sample, the literature search was focused on the following databases: Science Direct, Heal Link, Google Scholar, Research Gate, PubMed, Wiley Online Library, ERIC, Taylor & Francis, Elsevier, and the National Documentation Centre. The criteria for the inclusion of the studies in this literature review were the following: a) The language of writing should be one of the following: English and Greek, b) the articles should be published in reputable journals, c) the articles should focus on the soft skill of general and/or special education teachers’ collaboration, d) the access should be either open or through the University of the Aegean (academic access). The exclusion criteria were as follows: a) the articles to be duplicates, b) articles written in a language other than the above, c) unpublished studies, and d) the content of the studies should not be related to the research questions. Thirty (30) titles were identified in the international literature. However, seventeen (17) scientific articles were relevant to the topic in terms of content and the research objectives of the study. Therefore, the study constitutes a systematic literature review of seventeen (17) articles published in reputable international scientific journals during the period 1997–2020. The results were extracted using the PRISMA flow diagram (PRISMA Flow Diagram, 2009). The data analysis was qualitative, and it was a thematic analysis.
Conclusions, Expected Outcomes or FindingsThe purported outcomes of this study are to explore whether teachers perceive the importance of collaboration and to what extent. Additionally, to highlight its contribution, its development, and most importantly, its utilisation for the individual and professional development of teachers, but also the development of the educational process. Finally, to suggest ways of cultivating the skill of collaboration.
The findings of the study indicated that most research focuses on the fact that the skill of collaboration is valued as significant by general and special education teachers. Regarding the contribution of this skill to the educational process, teachers point out its importance as well as the difficulties that may arise from various factors that limit its implementation, such as the heavy workload of teachers, the large number of students in the classroom, the lack of awareness of the importance of collaboration, the lack of pre- and in-service training, and the negative attitudes of teachers. In most of the studies under review, collaboration is found to contribute mainly to the teacher’s professional development. In addition, teachers mention further training and the support required from the school environment and the students’ families as ways of developing collaboration. The general conclusion of the study is that teachers, overall, perceive the skill of collaboration as highly assessable.
According to the above findings, the need for more research on the soft skill of collaboration is underlined, focusing on general and special education teachers and the way it emerges between teachers, students, and families.
ReferencesBush, A., & Grotjohann, N. (2020). Collaboration in teacher education: A cross-sectional study on future teachers’ attitudes towards collaboration, their intentions to collaborate and their performance of collaboration. Teaching and Teacher Education, 88, 102968. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2019.102968
Giakoumi, S., & Theofilidis, C. (2012). Collaborative culture as a supportive tool in teachers’ work. Proceedings of the 12th Conference of the Cyprus Pedagogical Society (pp. 474 - 483). Cyprus Pedagogical Society. [in Greek]
Onabamiro et al. (2014). Teachers’ perception of teaching and assessing soft skills in secondary schools. Education, 4(5), 2014, 109-115. https://doi.org/10.5923/j.edu.20140405.01
Vangrieken, K., Dochy, F., Raes, E., & Kyndt, E. (2015). Teacher collaboration: A systematic review. Educational Research Review, 15, 17-40. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2015.04.002
Vasanthakumari, S. (2019). Soft skills and its application in work place. World Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews, 3(2), 66-72. https://doi.org/10.30574/wjarr.2019.3.2.0057
04. Inclusive Education
Paper
Fostering Professional Collaboration in the Education of Pupils with Severe Intellectual and Multiple Disabilities: an Action Research-inspired Project in Sweden
Thomas Barow1, Maria Sjölin3, Alexandra Jonasson3, Niss Kerstin Hallgren3, Shruti Taneja Johansson2
1Örebro University; 2University of Gothenburg; 3Lerum Municipality
Presenting Author: Barow, Thomas;
Sjölin, Maria
The education of children with severe multiple disabilities represents a significant challenge in inclusive education across many countries (cf. Agran et al., 2020; Kleinert, 2020; Cologon, 2022). Despite the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities, these children are often educated separately. The general school system frequently faces various obstacles, prompting Slee's question, "Who is in and who is out?" (Slee, 2013, 905).
While inclusive education is a central goal of Swedish school legislation, several pupils are outside the general education system. Currently, approximately 0.5 percent of all Swedish children attend compulsory school for pupils with severe intellectual disabilities. They follow a separate curriculum covering five areas: aesthetics, communication, physical coordination, everyday activities, and perception of reality. Many of these children rely on comprehensive aids, particularly in communication and mobility. Nursing assistance and care are essential in this context, often with a perceived tension in their relationship to curricular content. Overcoming the dichotomy between care and education is crucial in this regard (Östlund, 2015). The existence of different professions in educational practice must also be considered, such as special education teachers and teaching assistants in the classroom, the latter characterized by an intermediate position between the teacher and the pupils (Östlund et al., 2021). Additionally, the children are supported by habilitation and therapeutic professionals such as occupational and speech therapists.
The purpose of the presented project is to ensure the right to education for students with severe intellectual disabilities, often combined with neurodevelopmental and physical disabilities. The goal is to enhance students' opportunities for education, personality development, participation, and autonomy. The overarching research question is how the various professional groups involved can develop collaboration that benefits the students' education. This question has not been addressed in a Swedish context before, and the project may also provide new impulses for collaboration regarding other target groups in education, mainly within Sweden. Given the focus on the specific target group of children with severe intellectual disabilities, this research is also relevant to an international audience, highlighting the need for collaboration in an interdisciplinary educational context.
The study's theoretical foundation is based on a collaboration model that integrates horizontal and vertical forms of cooperation (Axelsson & Bihari Axelsson, 2013). All forms of collaboration occur within a social context where various domains interact and mutually influence one another. This can be elucidated through Bronfenbrenner's (1979) ecological approach, where the individual – in our case, the pupil – is placed at the center. Surrounding the pupil is a microsystem comprising, among other elements, family, and school, which, in turn, interacts within a mesosystem and is connected to a broader exosystem (social services, legislation, etc.) and an overarching macrosystem (attitudes, culture, etc.). This theoretical approach can be correlated with neo-institutional perspectives involving the four analysis levels of the political domain, professional domain, administrative domain, and the users' domain (Danermark & Kullberg, 1999). In our research, a clear understanding of the collaborative nature and collaboration factors and integration of systems-theoretical and neo-institutional perspectives contribute to a deeper understanding of the processes in education. These theoretical approaches assist in comprehending the interaction among various professionals and their relationship with pupils.
Methodology, Methods, Research Instruments or Sources UsedThe action research-inspired project and its methods are approved by the Swedish Ethical Review Authority. The ongoing research involves two schools in one municipality and is conducted across four phases, currently transitioning from phase 2 to 3. In phase 1, data was collected from practice to serve as a mapping for planning and identifying areas of development in the operation. Phase 2 involved planning interventions in consultation with stakeholders to enhance teaching practices. Phase 3 includes the implementation and documentation of the plan and intervention. The analysis and documentation of the change process take place in phase 4, with feedback provided to participants. The accumulated documentation serves as the foundation for ongoing collegial discussions and reflections throughout the process, and it will also be integrated into both schools’ systematic quality work.
In phase 1 of the project, three methods were employed: structured video observations, semi-structured interviews, and focus group interviews (Bryman, 2016). The data was collected by both researchers and students working on advanced-level theses, establishing a connection between research and education.
1. Structured video observations: This method aims to map pupils' instructional time, time spent on their care needs and on physiotherapy. Video observations are selected based on the complexity of the instruction, the effort to avoid influencing the proceedings through observation, and the possibility of using the recorded material as part of the action research process.
2. Semi-structured interviews: This method, conducted with pupils' caregivers and professionals from habilitation services, aims to provide interviewees with the opportunity to share their thoughts and perspectives on collaboration. The analysis involved coding themes raised by the interviewees.
3. Focus group interviews: These interviews were conducted with educators and teaching assistants, focusing on the shared meaning construction of the interviewed individuals who collaborate daily in the work team. The analysis also involves coding of themes.
Conclusions, Expected Outcomes or FindingsThe findings are based on the diverse empirical data collection methods outlined above. Given the ongoing nature of the project presented here, these outcomes should be regarded as interim steps toward a more comprehensive reporting of the results. On both the vertical and horizontal levels, factors that are either supportive or hindering were identified. Supportive factors included clear task distribution and the mutual complementation of competencies among professionals with diverse skills. Educational professionals highly positively evaluate the provision of adapted tools by habilitation staff. On the other hand, hindering factors include unclearly expressed expectations and everyday events that disrupt the learning process. These obstacles include interruptions due to treatments deemed unnecessary in the school routine (e.g., school dentist), time-consuming room changes, and unreliable student transportation. While these hindrances are attributed to the microsystem, other challenges lie in the meso- and partially in the exosystem, such as staffing shortages and the absence of training opportunities. On the macrosystem, hindering attitudes become obvious, in particular varying perspectives on educational needs. From a neo-institutional viewpoint, the results primarily touch upon the professional and users' domains, but issues in the political and administrative domains are also evident.
The limitations of this research and development project pertain to the limited empirical material based on the schooling of children with severe intellectual disabilities in one municipality. Simultaneously, it is assumed that in the further course of the project, ways will be developed to address the outlined challenges. The preliminary results extend previous Swedish research (Östlund, 2015; Östlund et al., 2021). At the same time, these first results are encouraging and indicate paths on how the educational processes of children in precarious life situations can be influenced in a way that strengthens their autonomy.
ReferencesAgran, M., Jackson, L., Kurth, J. A., Ryndak, D., Burnette, K., Jameson, M., Zagona, A., Fitzpatrick, H. & Wehmeyer, M. (2020). Why Aren’t Students with Severe Disabilities Being Placed in General Education Classrooms: Examining the Relations Among Classroom Placement, Learner Outcomes, and Other Factors. Research and Practice for Persons with Severe Disabilities, 45(1), 4-13
Axelsson, R. & Bihari Axelsson, S. (2013). Samverkan som samhällsfenomen – några centrala frågeställningar. Axelsson; R. & Bihari Axelsson, S. (eds.). Om samverkan – för utveckling av hälsa och välfärd (17-38). Lund: Studentlitteratur
Bradbury, H. (ed.) (2015). The SAGE handbook of action research (Third edition) Los Angeles, Calif.: SAGE
Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The ecology of human development: experiments by nature and design. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press
Bryman, A. (2016). Social research methods. (Fifth edition). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Cologon, K. (2022). Is inclusive education really for everyone? Family stories of children and young people labelled with ‘severe and multiple’ or ‘profound’ ‘disabilities’. Research Papers in Education, 37(3), 395-417
Danermark, B. & Kullberg, C. (1999). Samverkan: välfärdsstatens nya arbetsform. Lund: Studentlitteratur
Kleinert, H. L. (2020). Students With the Most Significant Disabilities, Communicative Competence, and the Full Extent of Their Exclusion. Research and Practice for Persons with Severe Disabilities, 45(1), 34-38
Östlund, D. (2015). Students with profound and multiple disabilities in education in Sweden: teaching organisation and modes of student participation. Research and practice in intellectual and developmental disabilities, 2(2), 148-164
Östlund, D., Barow, T., Dahlberg, K. & Johansson, A. (2021). In between special needs teachers and students: Paraprofessionals work in self-contained classrooms for students with intellectual disabilities in Sweden. European Journal of Special Needs Education, 36(2), 168-182
Slee, R. (2013). How do we make inclusive education happen when exclusion is a political predisposition? International Journal of Inclusive Education, 17(8), 895-907
04. Inclusive Education
Paper
The Significance of Collaborative Approaches in Organising Multilingual Students with Special Needs: An Investigation of Practices in light of Inclusion.
Anne-Kari Remøy
Volda University College, Norway
Presenting Author: Remøy, Anne-Kari
The presentation explores the education of multilingual students with special educational needs in Norway. It questions how the teaching is characterized and organised, considering the Education Act’s requirement for individually adapted teaching. The presentation highlights the importance of culturally responsive perspectives, recognizing students’ languages and backgrounds as resources, and discuss further the challenges in identifying factors that define good special education and the need for coherence between special and regular education for positive learning outcomes (Festøy & Haug, 2017). In a complementary understanding of teaching, the quality of the regular teaching procedures greatly influences both the need for extra measures, and also the value of these same accommodations (Haug, 2017, p. 386). The theoretical perspectives are drawn from multicultural pedagogy and special education. The research question I seek to answer is: “How does the organisation of multilingual students in special education affect the inclusion process?”
Identifying factors for effective special education remains challenging, leading to exploration of its pedagogic signature. Disagreements persist in literature regarding distinctions between special and regular education. The signature comprises three levels: surface structure, deep structure, and implicit structure (Haug, 2015). A culturally responsive perspective, recognizing students’ languages and cultures as resources, is central across all levels (Remøy & Skrefsrud, 2024).
Despite some adaptations, much of the teaching lacks sufficient adjustment, particularly in regular classes where their linguistic and cultural backgrounds are often overlooked. The premises for adapted teaching are minimally fulfilled, suggesting schools may lack awareness of the potential scope for action within their organisation. There is minimal difference between the content of adapted teaching, special education, and regular provisions. Special education methods often mirror regular teaching, leading to fragmented routines and lack of cohesion for students. Segregation from regular teaching for special education and language instruction can hinder both academic and social inclusion. Students can be excluded on several levels through active exclusion from the teaching in the regular class, but also through exclusion in the teaching that is part of the education offered (Nes, 2017).
The findings show that the school leaders care about the education as a whole and wish to build on the linguistic and cultural experiences that the students bring with them. Thus they base the school’s practice on a culturally sensitive pedagogy, in which adapted teaching also involves being aware of and using the linguistic and cultural accomplishments of the pupils (Ladson-Billings, 1995; Remøy & Skrefsrud, 2024). Although, however, the pupils’ experiences are highly valued, the language does not appear to function as a tool in the teaching, but instead is reduced to a transition ritual with a compensatory value. This is reflected in the various ways of organizing the education.Even though the administrations at the case-schools were mindful of the role of the first language in their education and claimed that they were very concerned about taking into account the culture and language the pupils brought with them to school, we see the gap between good intentions and what is actually possible to do on a daily basis at school (Remøy & Skrefsrud, 2024).
The lacking realisation in practice of the intentions weakens the long-term perspective that Paris (2012) speaks of as being necessary to anchor the culturally sensitive pedagogy in the school’s systems. This implementation depends on continuity and integration in the way school is conceived (Gay, 2013; Paris, 2012). However, when these intentions are not translated into practice, and the L1 is only used sporadically, the education of these pupils becomes random and can hardly be thought of as qualifying the multilingual pupils to participate in society (Remøy & Skrefsrud, 2024).
Methodology, Methods, Research Instruments or Sources UsedMy PhD-project is part of a research cooperation between Volda University College, Hedmark University College and the Norwegian Research Council (The Function of Special Education/ The SPEED project) . The project was conducted as a case study and focuses on four multilingual students with special needs. Data was collected through participatory observation and field conversations with key actors around the students. In this presentation I focus on interviews with the teachers and the principals. The intention is to gain further understanding about the phenomenon multilingual students in special education.
The design can be defined as exploratory. The case study is both descriptive in the way that I wish to describe a phenomenon in the real world, but also explanatory by focusing on explaining how and why something happened in the special way. The case-study is an intrinsic case-study in the way that each case is important in itself (Stake, 2000). Contextual understanding of each case is crucial for interpretation. Observations include both ‘thin’ (factual) and ‘thick’ (interpretive) descriptions. An experience-near approach was used for first-order interpretation, with more experience-distant forms of analysis for second-order interpretation. At the same time the analytical generalization depends on the theoretical framework of the study to establish a logic that can be relevant also in other situations (Yin, 2012).
Analysis was based on thematic network analysis, with recurring themes of teacher expertise, organisation, use of first language, and academic content. The study is registered with the Norwegian Centre for Research Data (NSD) and adheres to ethical guidelines for research on vulnerable groups.
Conclusions, Expected Outcomes or FindingsOrganisation of the students was explained on both academic and pragmatic grounds. Academically the multilingual students are continually assessed in relation to their Norwegian-language capabilities, which results in placement in various group constellations linked to different levels. At the same time, we find that it can be an untenable situation for the teachers to have the multilingual pupils in class. Those pupils who are taught outside the regular provisions thus serve a double function, whereby the teaching that is intended to accommodate these pupils, at the same time serves as a relief for the teacher. A pertinent question then is whether the level placement provides ideal circumstances for a dynamic differentiation of the adapted teaching, or whether it is more a static placement based on a snapshot of the Norwegian-language proficiency, or even a practical solution that shows more consideration for the teachers than for the multilingual pupils with special educational needs.
The organisation of special education can be built around different types of pedagogical support systems, (Nordahl & Overland, 2021), the same can be said about multilingual education. The need to look at the organisation of multilingual students who are learning Norwegian, requires increased competence among all the teachers in the school about inclusion (Hanssen et al., 2024, p. 273). The organisation of the teaching has a great significance for the content and the conditions for an inclusive education. The way the teaching is organized around one of the students in this study, it is easier to create coherence than is the case with the other students. However, the study shows that the services offered to the multilingual students who receive special education are shaped by the premises for the organisation of the teaching and by the enthusiasm and expertise of each individual teacher.
ReferencesFestøy, A. R. F., & Haug, P. (2017). Sambandet mellom ordinær opplæring og spesialundervisning i lys av inkludering. In Ordinær opplæring og spesialundervisning i lys av inkludering (S. 52-73. ed.). Samlaget.
Gay, G. (2013). Teaching to and through cultural diversity. Curriculum Inquiry, 43(1), 48–70.
Hanssen, N. B., Harju-Luukkainen, H., & Sundqvist, C. (2024). Inclusion and Special Needs Education for Immigrant Students in the Nordic Countries - what are the lessons? In N. B. Hanssen, H. Harju-Luukkainen, & C. Sundqvist (Eds.), Inclusion and Special Needs Education for Immigrant Students in the Nordic Countries (First edition. ed., pp. 270-287). Routledge.
Haug, P. (2015). Spesialundervisning og ordinær opplæring. Nordisk tidsskrift for pedagogikk og kritikk, 1. https://doi.org/10.17585/ntpk.v1.121
Haug, P. (2017). Kva spesialundervisning handlar om, og kva funksjon den har. In P. Haug (Ed.), Spesialundervisning. Innhald og funskjon (pp. 386-411). Samlaget.
Ladson-Billings, G. (1995). Toward a theory of culturally relevant pedagogy. American Educational Research Journal, 32(3), 465–491.
Nes, K. (2017). Mer ekskludering på ungdomstrinnet? In (S. 146-169. ed.). Samlaget.
Nordahl, T., & Overland, T. (2021). Tilpasset opplæring og inkluderende støttesystemer : høyt læringsutbytte for alle elever. Gyldendal.
Paris, D. (2012). Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy: A Needed Change in Stance, Terminology, and Practice. Educational Researcher, 41(3), 93–97.
Remøy, A.-K., & Skrefsrud, T.-A. (2024). Teaching multilingual learners entitled to special education.
Stake, R. E. (2000). Case Studies. In N. K. Denzin & Y. S. Lincoln (Eds.), Handbook of qualitative research (2 ed., pp. 435-454). Sage.
Yin, R. K. (2012). Applications of case study research. SAGE.
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