Actual and Ideal Roles of School Staff to Support Students with Special Needs: Current Needs and Strategies for Improvement

Actual and Ideal Roles of School Staff to Support Students with Special Needs: Current Needs and Strategies for Improvement

Actual and Ideal Roles of School Staff to Support Students with Special Needs: Current Needs and Strategies for Improvement

Actual and Ideal Roles of School Staff to Support Students with Special Needs: Current Needs and Strategies for Improvements

| Ajouter

Référence bibliographique [21666]

Anaby, Dana R., Ianni, Lina, Heguy, Léa et Camden, Chantal. 2020. «Actual and Ideal Roles of School Staff to Support Students with Special Needs: Current Needs and Strategies for Improvement ». Support for Learning, vol. 35, no 3, p. 326-345.

Accéder à la publication

Fiche synthèse

1. Objectifs


Intentions :
«This study […] aims to determine the actual and ideal roles of educational stakeholders involved in the implementation of a tiered model in Quebec, and to understand factors influencing both the implementation process and the ideal roles from the perspective of school-based service providers.» (p. 328-329)

2. Méthode


Échantillon/Matériau :
In this present study, «[p]articipants were recruited from three different public elementary schools from 3 different school boards. […] Two of the participating public schools were francophone, situated in a metropolitan city and overseen by the city’s second and third largest school boards (overseeing 75 and 41 schools, respectively). The third school was an anglophone school situated in a rural city and affiliated with a smaller school board which oversees 20 schools in the area. […] All school staff were eligible to participate, including classroom and specialist teachers (e.g., physical education, music), administrators (e.g., school principals, vice-principals), non-teaching professionals (e.g. psychologist) and support staff (e.g., teaching assistant, librarian, caretaker).» (p. 329)

Instruments :
Questionnaires

Type de traitement des données :
Analyse statistique

3. Résumé


In order to better understand the actual and ideal roles of school staff in this study’s sample, «[t]hemes were created based on reoccurring ideas or topics which transcended multiple research questions […].» (p. 333) «Six common themes emerged from the data representing actual roles. Four were at the micro level and [two] were at the macro school-levels, including ‘teamwork’ and ‘family-school collaboration.’» (p. 333) Specifically, the theme “family-school collaboration” is referring to «[i]mplementing means of communication between the school and family in order to promote parent implication.» (p. 333) Results showed that 19% of participants reported “family-school collaboration” as one of their actual roles. Also, «[t]he regular contact between the home and school was described as a positive and important strategy across the schools, at a frequency of 14%. Participants appreciated this collaborative synergy between colleagues, professionals and parents, and highly regarded this as a contribution to student progress and to creating bonds with students.» (p. 334). Overall, «these findings can guide the development of effective intervention strategies for supporting school staff roles in the context of tiered models of service delivery. Understanding both macro-level and micro-level factors can assist in re-shaping school processes and in redefining role responsibilities of all stakeholders involved. This will eventually promote collaboration and build capacities among all school team members, with the ultimate outcome of better supporting students with special educational needs.» (p. 342)