Browsing by Subject "erityisopettajan työnkuva"

Objectives. The purpose of this thesis was to examine the consultative approach of special education teachers. Consultation has also been studied in Swedish-speaking schools in Finland, but in Finnish schools the research has focused on the job description of special education teachers. A lot of research has been done on the job description of special education teachers after the amendment of the Basic Education Act, and several theses have also been written on the subject. According to studies, the job description of special education teachers has changed in Finland, and especially extracurricular work has increased. According to studies, special education teachers seem to be willing to take a more consultative approach to work. The research topic was approached through the office hours that special education teachers in Kotka reserve for consultation and other work outside teaching. The study is interested in the experiences of special education teachers and the meanings they give to office hours. Methods. The thesis was qualitative. The data was collected through thematic interviews held at the turn of the year 2023-2024. Six (6) primary school special education teachers from Kotka participated in the study. The interviews were recorded with the Microsoft Teams application and the transcript of the material could be downloaded through this. The analysis of the data was carried out with data-driven content analysis. Results and conclusions. According to the thesis, the office hours basically included recording, cooperation and other work, and the ratio of these varied according to need. Office hours were seen as valuing work outside teaching, enabling sufficient working hours and strengthening indirect support for pupils. The content of the office hours supported the consultative work approach, but the implementation of the consultative approach depended on the special education teacher and technical matters related to the timetable. Special education teachers emphasized the importance of teaching, but felt that office hours were a necessary part of their work.