Browsing by Subject "yhteisopettaja"

Special needs education has undergone ideological changes over the past decades. The inclusive education system has become the new ideal. Its main idea is that all pupils learn together from the start, and that pupils with special needs are not relegated to their own classes. An increasing proportion of pupils with special needs are in mainstream classes. At the same time, the number of pupils with special needs has increased. Studies also show that teachers’ burnouts are ever more common. Previous studies have suggested co-teaching as a possible solution to these challenging trends. For teachers, it has been seen as a way to better meet the needs of a heterogeneous class. In co-teaching two or more teachers together plan, implement and evaluate the teaching of a group of pupils together. In this study, I have wanted to find out what kind of to experiences teachers have concerning co-teaching. More specifically, I am interested in what exactly are the circumstances, that from teachers’ experience have influence to the success of co-teaching teachers think influences the success of co-teaching. I also wanted to know what kind of benefits and challenges teachers perceive to come with co-teaching, both for themselves and for their pupils. As my research is focusing on the personal experiences of teachers, the analysis has phenomenological features. The data was collected by interviewing 13 classroom teachers remotely in September and October 2021. Seven of the interviews were conducted as individual interviews. In addition, my data includes a group interview with six teachers. I analysed the data using theory-driven content analysis. Teachers felt that the two most important preconditions for the success of co-teaching are finding a suitable teaching partner and administrative support. Teachers felt that the practice of co-teaching had many benefits for themselves and their students. The benefits of co-teaching that emerged from my data were a lighter workload, increased sense of community, improved quality of teaching, normalisation of diversity and a safer learning environment. Interviewees had also recognized challenges in using this form of teaching. The main challenges cited were mismatched teaching pairs, uneven distribution of responsibilities and lack of administrative support. Teachers also felt that co-teaching was not suitable for all pupils because of its variable elements. These included changing classrooms and teachers. However, all the teachers interviewed reported, that their job satisfaction improved as a result of co-teaching. They felt that pupils received more help and individual support through co-teaching. Thus my study strengthens the earlier views, that co-teaching is a possible way to reduce teacher fatigue and to support pupils with special needs.