An investigation into collaborative practice between the class teacher, special education teacher (SET) and speech and language therapist to identify and meet the needs of students with speech, language and communication difficulties (SLCD) in Irish primary schools

Abstract

The number of students presenting with Speech, Language and Communication Difficulties (SLCD) represents a significant cohort of the student population nationally and internationally, according to the literature. These students require specialised in-school support from school staff as well as support from external professionals such as Speech and Language Therapists (SLTs). This research set out to investigate the nature and extent of collaborative practice in Irish primary schools to identify and meet the needs of students with SLCD.

A social constructivist paradigm was adopted for the investigation to ensure that the various perspectives and multiple realities of principals, class teachers, SETs, and SLTs were identified and validated. The study adopted a qualitative approach and the researcher employed semi-structured interviews as her primary data collection method. The research was conducted in four main cluster groups in the greater Dublin area, which enabled the researcher to examine the lived experiences of the participants. The researcher utilised the theoretical framework of Lave and Wenger’s Community of Practice (CoP) (1991), as a lens for analysis. Thematic analysis of the dataset, guided by the theoretical framework, unveiled a number of significant findings.

In summary, findings suggest that while the value of collaborative practice is acknowledged as necessary in meeting the needs of students with SLCD, participants reported common issues that challenge effective collaborative practice. The nature of these challenges was identified as being a lack of time to engage, the absence of a shared knowledge and the limitations of current Continued Professional Development (CPD) around curricular change, such as the introduction and implementation of the Primary Language Curriculum, by the Department of Education in 2019. The study suggests that due to these impediments, effective collaborative practice has been hindered and thus, the needs of students with SLCD are not being appropriately identified or addressed. Finally, this study argues that collaborative practice and the development of CoPs are required to effectively meet the needs of students with SLCD in inclusive classrooms, which are increasingly diverse.

This study offers some key recommendations which may inform future policy and practice, in relation to multidisciplinary collaboration in schools, approaches to Initial Teacher Education and CPD. Frameworks, emerging from the data, are provided which may usefully guide the establishment of meaningful CoPs, enhanced ITE and approached to CPD, so that stakeholders can effectively identify and meet the needs of all students, particularly those with SLCD in their own context of practice.