Abstract:

The number of students presenting with Speech, Language and Communication Difficulties (SLCD) represents a significant cohort of the student population nationally and internationally. These students require specialised in-school support from school staff as well as support from external professionals such as Speech and Language Therapists (SLTs). This research set out to investigate the nature and extent of collaborative practice in Irish primary schools to identify and meet the needs of students with SLCD.

A social constructivist paradigm was adopted for the investigation to ensure that the various perspectives and multiple realities of key stakeholders were identified and validated. The study adopted a qualitative approach and the researcher employed semi-structured interviews as her primary data collection method. The research was conducted in four main cluster groups in the greater Dublin area, which enabled the researcher to examine the lived experiences of principals, class teachers, special education teachers (SETs) and SLTs in different settings. The researcher utilised the theoretical framework of Lave and Wenger’s Community of Practice (CoP), as a lens for analysis.

Many interesting findings emerged with implications for policy and practice, but this paper primarily focuses on the value of collaboration and the development of Communities of Practice (CoP) to effectively meet the needs of students with SLCD so that they can access, participate in and benefit from the curriculum. It highlights the importance of interprofessional collaboration to enhance student learning opportunities and outcomes, and the need for effective partnerships to be established among key stakeholders.

It is hoped that this research will contribute to the field internationally and to the dearth of research in the Irish context in relation to interprofessional collaboration to support inclusive practice.

Keywords:

Inclusion, Communities of Practice, Collaboration, Interprofessional Collaboration, Speech Language and Communication Difficulties, Special Educational Needs.