The overall aim of this licentiate thesis is to increase knowledge of the special educators’ professional role and work in relation to special educational support for recently arrived immigrant pupils. The need for the study is motivated by the immigrant pupils’ low achievement of goals and schools responsibility to adapt education to each pupil’s needs in a school for all. The first study examines special educators’ role and work in relation to special educational support for recently arrived immigrant pupils and the professional group's view of the reasons for special educational support for these pupils. The results are based on responses in a questionnaire directed to 483 special educators. The results show that the special educators state that the reasons why recently arrived immigrant pupils are in need of special educational support are that the knowledge requirements are too difficult for the pupils to achieve or that the pupils have individual shortcomings. The occupational group's tasks consist of administrative work and the development of learning environments. According to the special educators, most often class and subject teachers and mother tongue tutors provide special educational support. The special educators collaborate to the greatest extent with class and subject teachers and with the pupils, while they want more collaboration with mother tongue tutors. The results of the study are interpreted and discussed based on Abbott's theory (1988) reasoning about professional groups’ claims of jurisdiction, Persson's (1998) categorical and relational perspectives and Hughes' (1958) concept of dirty work. In the second study, free text answers (n = 451) from the questionnaire are examined, where the special educators describe how they and their schools have developed learning environments for recently arrived immigrant pupils in need of special educational support. The free text answers are analyzed using a qualitative content analysis (Hsieh & Shannon, 2005). This analysis is then theorized based on Skrtics´ (1991; 2005) concepts of the school system to interpret obstacles and opportunities in the development of the learning environments. The results show that the development have mainly taken place through general adaptations (one size fits all solutions), language-adapted solutions and special solutions. The analysis based on Skrtics’ concepts shows how the machine and professional bureaucracy can act as an obstacle to the development of learning environments for recently arrived immigrant pupils in need of special educational support. The thesis helps to bring together the results from the two studies. A developed contextualization is made, and the results from the two studies are discussed in relation to previous research and theoretical points of departure. Abbott's (1988) reasoning on claims of jurisdiction and Skrtics’ conceptions of the school system (1991; 2005) are combined to get a deeper understanding of the deadlocks that may exist in the bureaucratic system.

Inclusion has been introduced throughout the educational community as a method to increase math and reading scores of underachieving schools on standardized tests. The problem was that teachers were not effectively implementing inclusion. Guided by Bandura's (1994) self-efficacy theory, which hypothesizes that a person's sense of efficacy provides information of their capability and the ability to assess their performance, the purpose of this quantitative quasi-experimental study was to determine if there was a significant difference in attitudes on inclusion between regular and special education teachers using the 4 subsections of the Scale of Teachers: Attitudes Toward Inclusive Classrooms through an online survey program. A t test was used to examine the attitudes of 50 regular and 50 special education teachers on inclusion in an elementary charter school after the special education subgroup failed to show progress on standardized tests over a 5 year period. Overall, the data indicated significant differences between regular and special education teachers' attitudes on inclusion. Both regular and special education teachers did not agree on Factor 1: advantages and disadvantages of inclusion and Factor 2: teacher feelings on inclusion. However, the teachers did agree on Factor 3: philosophical beliefs on inclusion and Factor 4: administrative issues on inclusion. This study's implications for social change included evidence to incorporate a unified vision for best practices for professional development as well as the importance of collaborative teaching at the undergraduate level, and a working knowledge of various learning disabilities, which may be used by school principals, teachers, parents, and policy makers to create an effective inclusion program.

Studiens syfte är att undersöka låg- och mellanstadielärares uppfattningar avseende faktorer som de anser kan främja elevers intresse för matematik. Vidare ämnar studien belysa hur lärare ser på specialpedagogens roll och samverkan i det arbetet. Lärarens stöd i matematikundervisning är oerhört viktigt för att bibehålla elevers intresse menar Jakobsson och Nilsson (2012). Utifrån det påståendet valdes ett relationellt perspektiv ut, för denna studie. Studien har en kvalitativ metodansats, där semistrukturerade intervjuer med 10 låg- och mellanstadielärare från fyra kommuner i Sverige, genomfördes. Då svenska elevers resultat i matematik sjunker alltmer (Skolverket, 2022a; Skolverket, 2022b) och särskilt stöd för elever ofta sätts in så sent som i årskurs 9 (Skolverket 2022c; Wallström, 2022) är det angeläget att undersöka hur lärare ser på dilemmat, och hur specialpedagoger kan bidra till detta viktiga arbete. Studiens viktigaste resultat visar att en varierad undervisning i matematik är kritisk för att få elever intresserade av ämnet. Vidare synliggjorde resultatet att det behövs goda relationer mellan lärare och elever. Med relationen som utgångspunkt kan lärare individanpassa innehåll, metod och uppgifter utifrån varje elevs kunskap och förmåga. Alla informanter uttryckte ett behov av mer stöd från specialpedagogen på skolan, både i klassen och i samtal. Detta då deras nuvarande organisation gällande specialpedagogik inte fungerar väl. Slutsatsen från studien är att det relationella arbetet är en grundpelare som behöver fungera om lärare ska kunna skapa ett intresse för den matematiska undervisningen. Vidare visar resultatet att specialpedagogens yrkesroll behöver tydliggöras i praktiken. / The purpose of the study is to examine primary and middle school teachers' perceptions regarding factors that they believe can promote students' interest in mathematics. Furthermore, the study aims to shed light on how teachers view the special education teacher's role and collaboration in that work. According to Jakobsson and Nilsson (2012), the teacher's support in mathematics is extremely important to maintain the students' interest. Based on that statement, a relational perspective was selected for this study. The study has a qualitative methodological approach, where semi-structured interviews with 10 primary and middle school teachers from four municipalities in Sweden were conducted. As Swedish students' results in mathematics are increasingly decreasing (Skolverket, 2022a; Skolverket, 2022b) and special support for students is often introduced as late as in year 9 (Skolverket 2022c; Wallström, 2022), it is urgent to investigate teachers standpoint regarding this dilemma, and how they believe that special educators can contribute to this important work. The study's most important results show that varied teaching in mathematics is critical in getting students interested in the subject. Furthermore, the results highlighted the need for good relationships between teachers and students. With the relationship as a foundation, teachers can individually adapt content, method and tasks based on each student's knowledge and ability. All informants expressed a need for more support from the special education teacher at school, both in class and in a deeper dialogue between teachers and the special education teacher. This is because their current organization regarding special education isn't really as high functioning as they would like. The conclusion from the study is that relational work is an important foundation that needs to be in place if teachers are to be able to create an interest in mathematics. Furthermore, the results show that the special education teacher's professional role (in Sweden) needs to be clarified in practice.

Riishøj, Camilla och Lindoff, Josefin (2023). Ett, två, tre - alla ska mé. Effekten av den tillgängliga lärmiljön med koppling till den tidiga läsinlärningen. Speciallärarprogrammet, Institutionen för skolutveckling och ledarskap, Fakulteten för lärande och samhälle, Malmö universitet, 90 hp. Studien förväntas bidra med djupare kunskap och förståelse gällande att utveckla och organisera en tillgänglig lärmiljö utifrån varje individ samt hur den tillgängliga lärmiljön kan påverka den tidiga läsinlärningen på ett gynnsamt och positivt sätt. Vidare syftar studien till att skapa insikt och kunskap kring hur speciallärarens arbete kan organiseras och planeras på olika sätt, för att påverka och utveckla den tillgängliga lärmiljön och på så sätt den tidiga läsinlärningen. Syftet är att undersöka några lärare och speciallärares uppfattningar och definitioner kring vad en tillgänglig lärmiljö innebär, både ur ett specialpedagogiskt och ur ett lärarperspektiv. Vidare syftar studien till att relatera den tillgängliga lärmiljön med elevens tidiga läsinlärning. Häri kommer fokus ligga på hur specialläraren kan bidra till att utveckla samt påverka, den tillgängliga lärmiljön för eleven, med koppling till den tidiga läsinlärningen. I studien kommer den sociala, den pedagogiska och den fysiska lärmiljön att undersökas.  Följande frågeställningar har använts för att besvara studiens syfte: Hur definierar några lärare och speciallärare begreppet tillgänglig lärmiljö och hur kan den gestaltas?Vilka uppfattningar finns gällande, hur den tillgängliga lärmiljön påverkar elevers tidiga läsinlärning?Vilka uppfattningar framträder gällande, hur specialläraren kan bidra till att utveckla en tillgänglig lärmiljö med fokus på tidig läsinlärning? Studien utgår ifrån Vygotskijs (1999; 2001) sociokulturella teori, med fokus på den närmaste utvecklingszonen, även kallad den proximala utvecklingszonen. Vidare belyses det specialpedagogiska teoretiska perspektivet med hjälp av Nilholm (2020), Ahlberg (2017), Aspelin (2013) samt Rubin (2013). Slutligen tas specialpedagogiska modeller i beaktning. Studien är baserad på sex semistrukturerade intervjuer med fyra lärare och två speciallärare. Intervjuerna har utgått ifrån en intervjuguide med möjlighet till följdfrågor och djupare utveckling av svar. Intervjuerna genomfördes digitalt och har spelats in med digitala hjälpmedel. Samtliga intervjuer har transkriberats och därefter analyserats för att säkerställa största möjliga trovärdighet i resultatet. Studiens resultat visar att samtliga informanter har god kännedom kring vad en tillgänglig lärmiljö innebär samt hur den bör vara utformad och organiserad för att möta varje elevs enskilda behov och förutsättningar. Vidare visar resultatet ett tydligt samband mellan en välorganiserad och planerad lärmiljö som bedöms vara tillgänglig, kopplad till den tidiga läsinlärningen. Utifrån detta har speciallärarens påverkan på och utveckling av, den tillgängliga lärmiljön kopplat till den tidiga läsinlärningen undersökts. Resultatet visar att speciallärarens arbete har stor påverkan på den tillgängliga lärmiljön och således den tidiga läsinlärning, detta i samarbete med lärarna. Viktigt att lyfta fram är de resonemang vad gäller utveckling av speciallärarens roll och arbetsuppgifter för att kunna möta lärarens behov av stöd, handledning, samtal och diskussioner. I speciallärarrollen är det av stor vikt att tillgodose alla elevers behov utifrån deras individuella förutsättningar. En avgörande del i detta, är att specialläraren handleder lärare samt för samtal och diskussioner kring hur lärmiljön byggs upp på bästa sätt för att gynna den tidiga läsinlärningen. Specialläraren bör även vara delaktig och närvarande i klassrummet på olika sätt, samt vara flexibel och tillgänglig. Nyckelord: Anpassningar, förutsättning att komma till lärande, speciallärare, tidig läsinlärning, tillgänglig lärmiljö. / Riishøj, Camilla and Lindoff, Josefin (2023). One, two, three - everyone on board. The impact of an accessible learning environment in relation to early literacy development. Special Teacher Programme, Department of School Development and Leadership, Learning and Society, Malmö University, 90 credits. The study is expected to contribute with deeper knowledge and understanding regarding developing and organising an accessible learning environment based on each individual and how the accessible learning environment can influence early literacy in a beneficial and positive way. Furthermore, the study aims to create insight and knowledge about how the special education teacher’s work can be organised and planned in different ways, in order to influence and develop an accessible learning environment and thus early literacy. The aim is to examine some teachers' and special education teachers' perceptions and definitions of what an accessible learning environment means, both from a special education perspective and a teacher’s perspective. Additionally, the study aims to link the accessible learning environment with the pupil's early literacy. The focus will be on how the special education teacher can contribute to developing and influencing the accessible learning environment for the pupil, with a link to early reading acquisition. The study will examine the social, pedagogical, and physical learning environment.  The following research questions have been used to answer the objective of the study: ·       How do some teachers and special education teachers define the concept of an accessible learning environment and how can it be designed? ·       What are the perceptions of how the accessible learning environment affects pupils' early literacy? ·       What perceptions emerge regarding how the special education teacher can contribute to the development of an accessible learning environment with a focus on early literacy?  The study is based on Vygotsky's (1999, 2001) sociocultural theory, with a focus on the zone of proximal development. Furthermore, the special education theoretical perspective is highlighted with the help of Aspelin (2013), Rubin (2013), Ahlberg (2017), and Nilholm (2020). Finally, special education models are considered in this study.  The study is based on six semi-structured interviews with four teachers and two special education teachers. The interviews were based on an interview guide with the possibility of follow-up questions and deeper development of answers. The interviews were conducted digitally and recorded with digital aids. All interviews were transcribed and subsequently analysed to ensure maximum credibility of the results.  The results of the study show that all informants have a knowledge of what an accessible learning environment means and how it should be designed and organised to meet the individual needs and conditions of each student. Furthermore, the results show a clear relationship between a well-organised and planned learning environment that is deemed accessible and linked to early literacy. Based on this, the impact of the special education teacher on, and the development of, the accessible learning environment linked to early literacy learning has been investigated. The results show that the work of the special education teacher has a major impact on the accessible learning environment and thus on early literacy learning, in collaboration with the teachers. Important to highlight are the arguments regarding the development of the role and tasks of the special education teacher in order to meet the teacher's needs for support, guidance, conversation, and discussion. In the role of the special education teacher, it is essential to meet the needs of all pupils based on their individual circumstances. A crucial part of this is that the special education teacher supervises teachers and leads conversations and discussions on how best to structure the learning environment to promote early literacy learning. The special education teacher should also be involved and present within the classroom in various ways and be flexible and accessible.  Key words: adaptations, prerequisite for learning, special education teacher, early literacy, accessible learning environment.

The purpose of this study is to identify assistant principals' self-reported levels of preparedness to support special education teachers and programming. "Special education is a federal mandate that is governed by state and local policies. For schools to provide a free and appropriate public education to students with disabilities, school leaders must be competent in order to effectively lead these programs" (Thompson, 2017, p. 46). In Virginia, special education is the highest critical shortage category of the top ten academic disciplines identified in the annual survey and has been since the 2006 published report (Virginia Department of Education, 2020). This quantitative study, may help to identify strengths and areas for growth for assistant principals in one school division and guide professional learning experiences for administrators moving forward. The study will include a purposeful sample of school based, Pk-12 assistant principals. Participants were invited to complete a three-part electronic survey questionnaire. The survey tool, developed by the researcher, aligned with the Council for Exceptional Children Initial and Advanced Preparedness Standards (2015). Participants provided demographic information, a Likert scale rating of their perceptions of preparedness to support special education teachers and programming, when considering eighteen job related statements, and recommendations for professional learning. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data and identify findings and implications. Results of the study indicated that assistant principals agree they are prepared to support all areas of special education teachers and programming with the exception of post-secondary transition planning for students with disabilities. Results also indicated that assistant principals with an endorsement in special education agreed at a higher rate that they are prepared to support special education teachers and programming. Assistant principals identified professional learning needs in the areas of post-secondary transition opportunities for students with disabilities, support in understanding and implementing new law and policy related to special education, and support in the area of development of new programs, supports and services for students with disabilities. Findings and related implications were discussed and recommendations for future research were identified. / Doctor of Education / The purpose of this study was to investigate assistant principals' self-reported preparedness to support special education teachers and programming. The study results identify responsibilities related to special education and relevant topic areas where assistant principals are prepared to support teachers and programming as well as areas where they do not agree they are prepared. The study also identifies areas where participants report they need additional professional learning opportunities, provided by the school division and outside of the school division. This study, using quantitative methodology, included a purposeful sample of school based, Pk-12 assistant principals. The research questions guiding the study were: (1) What are the self-reported perceptions of assistant principals' levels of preparedness to support special education teachers and programming? (2) What professional learning do assistant principals report that they need to increase their levels of preparedness to support special education teachers and programming? Participants were invited to complete a three-part electronic survey questionnaire. The survey tool was developed based on the Council for Exceptional Children Initial and Advanced Preparedness Standards (2015). Participants provided demographic information, a Likert scale ratings, and recommendations for professional learning. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data. Results of the study indicated that assistant principals agree they are prepared to support all areas of special education teachers and programming with the exception of post-secondary transition planning for students with disabilities. Results also indicated that assistant principals with an endorsement in special education agreed at a higher rate that they are prepared to support special education teachers and programming. Assistant principals identified professional learning needs in the areas of post-secondary transition opportunities for students with disabilities, support in understanding and implementing new law and policy related to special education, and support in the area of development of new programs, supports and services for students with disabilities. Findings and related implications were discussed and recommendations for future research were identified.

The purpose of this master thesis is to investigate the role of special education teacher at elementary school in the present condition. It's concerned especially with the position at school, with the activities and methods of the work and with the professional relationships. The theoretical part focuses on the development of the special education and mainly on the contemporaray special arrangements. This master thesis describes the groups of pupils who need the arrangement from the school and other school institutions. The text shows the charakteristics of individual eduactional plans and of school consultancy services, including the special education teacher and the particular aspects of this profession, based on scientific literature. The empirical part is based on the mixed research. It schows the examples of the practice, the issue is the analysis of five interviews with special education teachers from the basic schools. These interviews illustrative the current role and activities of this profession. Subsequently I analyse data of the questionnaire of forty respondents, directors of basic schools, who described their experience with special school teachers. The master thesis tries to show the objective point of view of the special education teacher at basic schools. The present text can be...

The purpose of this diploma thesis is to investigate the advisory role of an elementary school special education teacher. The theoretical part of the thesis focuses on the activities and methods of the teacher's work, his position at school and his cooperation with other entities in supporting pupils with special education needs. The special activities are described in favour of pupils, groups of pupils and teachers. The purpose of this thesis is also to describe the development of the special education discipline, documentation and ethical aspects of this profession. The practical part is focused in the form of qualitative research on the Prague elementary school teacher's view of the special education teacher. The core of the research consists of analysis of five interviews with teachers at Prague school. Subsequently, the importance of the individual work in the form of intervention and therapeutic to be evaluated on basis of five case reports.

Federal mandates ensure that each and every child regardless of race, national origins, and socioeconomic status, is entitled to a high-quality education. Reports from the Department of Education have stated that over 80% of exceptional students receive their academic instructions within general education classrooms. There is limited research on exceptional students learning outcomes in general education classrooms with general education curriculum. The purpose of this quantitative study was to test the theory of self-determination that explains the impact of teacher characteristics (N = 85 educators) on the academic outcomes of exceptional students in the special and general education classrooms. Teacher characteristics such as, experience, training, and attitude were measured by the Teacher's Attitude Towards Inclusion scale (TAIS) scores, and student learning outcomes, were reports of student performance ratings and standardized scores, of the exceptional students. Results revealed significant correlations between specific inclusive TAIS attitudes and student learning outcomes. The independent sample t test results indicated that the years of experience and student outcomes of students of general education teachers were significantly higher in comparison to special education teachers. Availability of Instructional Options was also measured; it did not moderate the relationship between teachers' characteristics and academic outcomes of exceptional students. Positive social change thus can be initiated by training teachers in the instructional practices, identified by this study, who deliver the optimal academic outcomes for the exceptional students. This will initiate positive social change for the special child, their families, and the community as a whole.

Abstract The aim of the study is to investigate how three pedagogues with different orientations work with reading and writing difficulties in the same school. A qualitative method with interviews and observations of the teachers was applied to investigate the methods used by a special education teacher, a class pedagogue and a special education pedagogue, and the needs for support in the teaching of pupils with reading and writing difficulties. In the design of interview questions and observation protocols and the processing of the collected data, the research method has been deductive, which means that themes based on the aim of the study and previous research were the starting point for the categorization of the data. The results of the study show that the group of pupils with reading and writing difficulties is problematic because the needs for support vary greatly and because, according to the pedagogues, the iPad was the device that contained the alternative tools that were able to give the pupils the best support. It is important to have variation in the teaching, and different apps can offer this. The theoretical premise of the study is the socio-cultural perspective which revealed itself in the way that, no matter what difficulty the pupil has, support from the pedagogues is needed to advance in the learning process, and this should take place in social interaction between pedagogue and pupil.

The diploma thesis is focused on providing support to pupils with specific behavioral disorders at ordinary primary schools. Its aim is to find out how support is provided to pupils with specific behavioral disorders at ordinary elementary schools, what are the potentialities for providing optimal support to these pupils and suggest possible measures and procedures to improve them. The thesis consists of theoretical and research part. The theoretical part characterizes specific behavioral disorders, education and support for pupils with these disorders. The research part of the thesis focuses on the implementation of support measures for pupils with specific behavioral disorders at selected elementary schools. This problem is solved in two levels. The first plane is qualitative, it is a case study of the school (author's workplace). The basis for the preparation of case report are interviews with school special pedagogues and unstructured observations. The second part is aimed at supporting pupils with specific behavioral disorders on a wider scale. The basis for the data is the questionnaire survey, which was attended by teachers and teacher assistants from other schools. According to the results of the research, the pedagogical staff focuses mainly on the attentiveness and behavior of pupils with...