Abstract
This chapter engages in a retrospective analysis of a teacher's previous teaching experiences at a Swedish special-needs secondary school for pupils with intellectual disabilities. The chapter aims to explore the potential of reflective practice in supporting the professional development of special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) teachers, with the goal of improving the education and outcomes of their students. The chapter evaluates lesson plans centered on democratic values and student agency, using critical reflection within a step-by-step approach. Through this evaluation, the chapter presents implications for practice that illustrate how self-reflection and teacher-researcher collaboration can serve as practical tools for sustainable improvements in special-needs schools for pupils with intellectual disabilities, particularly with a focus on advocacy and conditions for learning. Through this evaluation, the chapter presents implications for practice that illustrate how self-reflection and teacher-researcher collaboration can serve as practical tools for sustainable improvements in special-needs schools for pupils with intellectual disabilities, particularly with a focus on advocacy and conditions for learning.
TopIntroduction
Previous research has found that teacher education alone does not provide teachers with the necessary skills to manage the teaching situations that can occur in didactical encounters with students who have significant disabilities that require extensive and differentiated adaptation of the educational milieu (Bosma & Goei, 2021; Lindsay et al., 2013; Norwich et al., 2021; Roberts & Webster, 2022). Besides the learning-related issues, the teachers must cope with students’ behavior, social skills, and emotional well-being. The fact that educators may not always have the necessary training, resources, or support to meet the needs of their students effectively can lead to feelings of uncertainty, stress, and burnout, which in turn can impact the quality of education provided to these students (Carter, 2018). To create an inclusive environment that enables these students to access education and participate fully, teachers need didactic tools as well as mental spaces that allow them to reflect critically on their practices. Inclusive teaching means providing all students equal access to participation and learning opportunities. The teacher’s ability to critically reflect on his or her practice can be linked to what Schön (1983) defines as being a reflective practitioner. Schön highlights the importance of practical knowledge, which he believes differs from the knowledge presented in textbooks or scientific articles. The concept of reflection can be considered a process in which thoughts are analyzed in relation to particular events or situations, which can lead to greater awareness. Teachers’ self-reflection is defined as their ongoing reflective practice (Bie, 2014). The present chapter is written in the context of special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) teaching targeting teachers’ efforts to enable inclusive schooling for students with intellectual disabilities and co-occurring autism.
More specifically, I wrote this chapter a year after the finalization of my dissertation project. The thesis (Klefbeck, 2022) aimed to contribute knowledge about how teacher-researcher collaboration could encourage teachers to develop their practice, enabling students with intellectual disability (ID) and autism educational participation (Klefbeck, 2022). The narrative synthesis of the articles included in the thesis discerned six factors of importance to developing teaching practices in the Swedish special-needs compulsory school for pupils with learning disabilities, thereby promoting contextualized inclusion for pupils with ID and autism:
a. the importance of collaborative work, b. focus on the pupils’ participation in learning situations, c. distance to own teaching by video-based reflections, d. structured observations and analyses of how the design of lessons affects pupils’ learning, e. changed focus from pupils’ behavior to teaching and learning, and f. more generally, continuity regarding professional development over time. (Klefbeck, 2022, p. 1)
In this chapter, the dissertation project is in the background; instead, I look back at the struggles and shortcomings of my former assignment as a SEND teacher (1997–2017). The retrospective analysis focuses on the time span 2014–2017, when I had a teaching assignment in a Swedish special-needs secondary school for pupils with autism and intellectual disabilities. This specific period is the focal point of analysis because it co-occurred with a school reform in the Swedish special-needs secondary school (GySär13, 2013). The adjusted curriculum required decisive changes to existing teaching traditions because its formations required students to gain specific areas of knowledge, which the previous curriculum (Skolverket, 2002) had not demanded. The learning content in focus for the analysis was pupils’ agency and democratic values (GySär13, 2013), linked to the commitment to taking the “voice” of children/youth. Within this context, the concept of “voice” represents the ratification of the child’s participatory rights to express an opinion, remain silent, access information, and be included in decision-making on matters affecting them (United Nations, 2009). The perspectives of the learners’ civil rights and learning were comparatively vague in the previous curriculum (Skolverket, 2002), where aspects of care and understanding emerged.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Swedish Special-Needs Compulsory School: The Swedish educational system is divided into regular and special schools. Pupils with intellectual disability or significant and long-term cognitive disability owing to brain damage can be accepted in schools for pupils with special needs. Schooling of pupils with ID is primarily regulated in the Education Act (Public Law 800 2010).
Flanosaga: A technique initially used for preschool children. Flanosaga is a way of telling where you read a story and simultaneously set up the pictures on a flannel board. The images enable children with limited knowledge of verbal language to grasp the story and allow the pedagogue’s overview of the group of children.
Professional Uncertainty: A mental state that occurs in the teacher’s heart and mind when facing didactical dilemmas or situations without answers; the teacher copes with and accommodates the uncertainty that comes to the surface when facing the unpredictable.
Self-Reflection: In this chapter’s context, self-reflection should be understood as an activity that engages cognitive and emotional experiences; this does not mean that self-reflection needs to be unconscious or come by itself because even conscious efforts of self-reflection can lead to an increased ability for reflective thinking.
Visual Activity Schedule (VAS): A VAS uses visual clues, such as images or photographs, to visualize and prepare for the next step or activity during the school day.
Retrospective Analysis: In the retrospective analysis, measurement data are collected in forehand, through the teacher’s lesson notes, or in a database. It’s just a matter of exploring them.
Mental Space: Teachers can benefit from understanding the concept of mental space by considering factors such as the physical classroom environment, the emotional climate of the classroom, and the teaching strategies used to engage students. By being aware of the impact of these factors, teachers can create a more effective and enjoyable learning experience. Additionally, teachers can also work on developing their own mental space, thus enabling them to reduce stress and increase job satisfaction. One way of achieving mental space is through strategies such as mindfulness, self-reflection, and self-care.
Matching Card Exercise: An exercise in which the student places one picture on top of the other. The images that “match” can be identical, but the images may also resemble each other or be linked by a common theme.
Advocacy: The act of supporting, defending, or promoting a particular cause, issue, or group of people. In the present context it refers to teachers’ efforts to support pupils to have their voices heard.
Didactic Tools: Instruments or techniques that teachers use to facilitate learning and teaching. They can be physical tools, such as whiteboards, textbooks, and computers, or they can be instructional techniques, such as lecturing, group work, and problem-solving.
Special Educational Needs and Disabilities: ( SEND): The learning group of pupils who find learning harder owing to additional learning needs or disabilities.