Collaboration for education in compulsory school for pupils with intellectual disabilities
Short description
A research project with the aim of ensuring the right to education for students with severe intellectual disabilities in combination with neuropsychiatric and/or physical disabilities.
Collaboration for education in compulsory school for pupils with intellectual disabilities: In the tension field between teaching, care, physiotherapy, and occupational therapy
About the project
This research project is based on an initiative from the leadership of Lerum's compulsory school for pupils with intellectual disabilities, which has identified a tension field between teaching, care, physiotherapy, and occupational therapy, as well as a growing concern that students are missing out on teaching time. This can be said to represent a general difficulty highlighted in research on the concerned student group. The project is carried out through practice-based action research at the compulsory school for pupils with intellectual disabilities in Lerum, in collaboration with school staff, researchers, and external actors.
Research question and perspective
The overarching research question is how collaboration between the involved professional categories can be developed in a way that benefits students' education. The study is unique in that this issue for the target group has so far never been addressed in a Swedish educational context.
Forms of collaboration take place in a social context where different domains interact and influence each other, and therefore a systemic perspective is assumed in the study.
Four phases over two years
The project is divided into four phases and runs over two years. It begins with a mapping of students' teaching time in relation to their care needs and physiotherapy through observations in the school's everyday life, individual interviews with habilitation personnel and guardians, as well as focus group interviews with teachers, student assistants, and other educational personnel. Based on this, interventions are planned, implemented, and evaluated. Another goal is that the scientific approach initiated by the project will continue and be incorporated into the organizational structure of the compulsory school for pupils with intellectual disabilities, linked to the school’s systematic quality work.
About ULF-agreements
The ULF agreements aim to create long-term sustainable collaboration models that rest on three pillars: research, school activities and teacher education. The planned pilot activities will therefore be carried out in collaboration with the school principals.
Read more on the university's page about ULF agreements and on ULFavtal.se.
Participants
