‘So Much Invisible Work’ – The Role of Special Education Teachers in Finnish Secondary Schools
Kotilainen, Ninnu; Takala, Marjatta (2024-02-19)
Taylor & Francis
19.02.2024
Ninnu Kotilainen & Marjatta Takala (2024) “So much invisible work” – the role of special education teachers in Finnish lower secondary schools, Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, DOI: 10.1080/00313831.2024.2317733
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
© 2024 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent.
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
© 2024 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The terms on which this article has been published allow the posting of the Accepted Manuscript in a repository by the author(s) or with their consent.
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:oulu-202402292041
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:oulu-202402292041
Tiivistelmä
Abstract
This study investigated special education teachers’ (SETs) work in Finnish lower secondary schools. We wanted to determine what is included in the work and what kind of knowhow is needed to manage it in the contexts of inclusion and the three-tiered support system. Our data consisted of 63 SETs’ answers to an e-questionnaire. Using content analysis, we found that work with students remains central, but collaboration with adults has become a big part of the work. The range of different challenges SETs help students with has become wide and duties concerning pedagogical documentation have been added to the work. Regarding work with students, subject content knowledge and knowledge of mental health related issues are accentuated at the secondary stage. Besides professional knowledge base, SETs need self-management skills and a critical but compassionate mindset. Time constraints, coupled with the absence of structures facilitating teacher collaboration, present notable challenges for SET work.
This study investigated special education teachers’ (SETs) work in Finnish lower secondary schools. We wanted to determine what is included in the work and what kind of knowhow is needed to manage it in the contexts of inclusion and the three-tiered support system. Our data consisted of 63 SETs’ answers to an e-questionnaire. Using content analysis, we found that work with students remains central, but collaboration with adults has become a big part of the work. The range of different challenges SETs help students with has become wide and duties concerning pedagogical documentation have been added to the work. Regarding work with students, subject content knowledge and knowledge of mental health related issues are accentuated at the secondary stage. Besides professional knowledge base, SETs need self-management skills and a critical but compassionate mindset. Time constraints, coupled with the absence of structures facilitating teacher collaboration, present notable challenges for SET work.
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