Pedagogue Collaboration in the Classroom for Inclusive Education: Analysis of the Practical Experience of a Class Teacher and a Speech and Language Therapist

Abstract

The article presents a qualitative study that investigates the real in-class collaboration experiences of speech and language therapists and classroom teachers and reveals the possibilities and challenges of applying co-teaching strategies to support the inclusion of students with speech and language disorders in six different schools across five municipalities in Lithuania. Semi-structured interviews were used for data collection. The data were analysed using thematic analysis, following the methodology of Braun and Clarke (2006, 2021) and adapted for the interpretation of qualitative data. The study involved 12 participants who met the established selection criteria – 6 speech and language therapists and 6 classroom teachers working in pairs in mainstream classrooms and applying co-teaching strategies. The study identified a positive impact of the strategy on the personal and professional growth of educators, on learners, and on the institution: personal and teamwork competencies improve; the inclusion of students with speech and language disorders increases; and a culture of inclusive education is fostered within the school community. However, challenges arise due to insufficient teacher competence in applying the strategy in practice, limited support from school leadership, and a lack of necessary resources (e.g., an adequate number of specialists).