7 Conclusion, Limits and Recommendations
7.3 Suggestions for Further Research
The aim of the current study was to explore the views of the general and special education teachers about their collaboration when there is a student with ASD included in the
classroom. Therefore only their subjective opinions were taken into consideration. Further research could include the views of the children themselves (both the children with ASD and their “typical” peers) about their teachers’ collaboration, or even the perceptions of the parents or/and the administration. Apart from the participants views, there could also be examined the actual practice of collaboration, through observation of the collaborative relationship and how it works during the teaching time.
Since the sample size is small and restricted geographically, the same research could be repeated with a larger and more geographically spread sample, for drawing conclusions and generalize them in a broader, even national, level. Additionally the participants can be
interviewed, in order to gain a more thorough insight in their thoughts and beliefs and be able to express more freely and share the sheer range of their reflections upon the matter.
Moreover a comparative study would be highly recommended between Greece and a country more experienced in collaboration and co-teaching among teachers. The information that would arise from the data could be useful for the improvement of the current collaboration practice in Greece by detecting the structural gaps in comparison with a more advanced country in this field and by learning from the other country’s successes.
77 The conclusion of the study implies that there is a gap between the supports the co-teachers should receive for facilitating their collaboration and the support they actually obtain. Thus the state should take these findings into consideration and improve the support services which enhance the collaboration practices. That can result in providing the co-teachers with a more clear framework for their collaboration relationship, by administering to them extra time in the curriculum for mutual planning, motivating them to continue their training by offering education services on collaboration and co-teaching concepts so they would be more prepared and familiarized with those terms and their mechanics and supplying the schools with the appropriate teaching aids for the different learning levels of the students.
Moreover the state should reconsider the practice of relocating the special education personnel every year. The collaboration relationship needs time to thrive, time that the teachers do not have in their disposal in the present situation. Even in the cases where the co-teachers achieve to build a good collaboration relationship, they are forced to separate and start again from the top, with different partners the next year. Under these circumstances neither sustainable collaboration relationships can grow, nor it is beneficial for the educational and social progress of the children with ASD, who are in need of stable environments for their advancement.
Additionally, the survey showed that even though all the special education teachers are educated within the field of special needs education, which does not apply in the case of the general education teachers. On the contrary the general education teachers of the sample have no former training within the field of special needs. In that case how can they be competent to implement the concept of inclusion, not only for the students with ASD and other form of disabilities, but also for other minority groups of student?
Overall, education is the key element for the development of the competence level of the teachers both in the field of collaboration and in the field of inclusion. Access to education services and field practice can contribute significantly towards the empowerment of the teaching staff and reinforce the endeavor towards the inclusion of the children with ASD in the mainstream school environment.
78
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