Collaboration between team members in inclusive educational settings

Area of Science:

• Special Education
• Inclusive Education
• Interprofessional Collaboration

Background:

• Inclusion necessitates collaborative service delivery models.
• Theoretical literature on collaboration is extensive, but empirical data is scarce.
• Understanding practitioner perspectives on collaboration is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the perspectives of regular and special educators, and therapists on collaboration.
• To identify definitions, nature, extent, advantages, barriers, and strategies for collaboration.
• To gain insight into the practical implementation of collaborative models in schools.

Main Methods:

• Exploratory study utilizing semi-structured interviews.
• Participants included regular educators, special educators, and occupational, physical, and speech-language therapists (n=51).
• Questions focused on collaboration definition, activities, benefits, barriers, and promotion strategies.

Main Results:

• Collaboration was often defined by activities rather than problem-solving.
• Participants perceived collaboration as mutually beneficial for students and professionals.
• Lack of administrative approval for planning time was the primary barrier; therapists had less access to collaborative planning time than educators.

Conclusions:

• While collaboration is increasingly adopted, its implementation is challenging.
• Barriers include insufficient administrative support for dedicated planning time.
• Professional and preservice education on collaboration is recommended to facilitate its effective use and validate its efficacy through further research.