Browsing by Subject "vuorovaikutussuhde"

Objectives. The purpose of the study was to examine which factors affect the formation of the interactive relationship between a special needs assistant and a class teacher and to explore if there is multiprofessional co-operation and professional agency between a special needs assistant and a class teacher. The theoretical background of the study was the concept of professional agency (ammatillinen toimijuus) by Anneli Eteläpelto (2017) which refers to the possibilities of influence of an employee and experientiality of their job. Subject focused sociocultural approach i.e. the idea of selves–that are shaped by experiences and values–is also connected to professional agency. Methods. The material was collected in December 2017 in one of the comprehensive schools in Helsinki metropolitan area. Two pairs consisting of a third-class special needs assistant and class teacher were interviewed. The pairs did not work together or operate within the same cell of classrooms, but the special needs assistants worked as cell centred special needs assistants co-operating with the other class teachers of the same cell of classrooms although mainly they worked with the class teacher participating in the study. These pairs were coded as work pair 1 and work pair 2. The material was collected by pair interviews with the semi-structured theme interview and the material was analysed by using material-oriented content analysis. The material was coded by using the theory by Eteläpelto (2017) and the conclusions drawn on the material were based on the theme categories created with the same theory. In this study the theoretical background was supported by a previous literature review on the same topic. Results and conclusions. There are all dimensions of professional agency between the work pairs, and the subject oriented sociocultural approach is a significant part of the formation of an interactive relationship. In this study, the school building is not an influencing factor in the formation of interactive relationship, but the resources of the working environment advance the interactive relationship e.g. by alert phone system. The interactive relationships are advanced by time spent together, appreciation, the clarity of the work roles and multiprofessional co-operation. The interactive relationships are weakened by space planning, rush, incompatibility of the pairs, turnover of the staff and the unappreciation of the special needs assistant in the working community. The work pairs feel the relationship between them to be important because it has positive effects on the working community and the learning process of the children. The work pairs think that the school environment is not fit for working if one is unwilling to co-operate. The special needs assistants and class teachers feel that their interactive relationship should be improved considering the time resources by adding more time for them to spend together.