Kamratrelationer i grundsärskolan

: En intervjustudie med sex speciallärare

Abstract

The curriculum for the special education points out that ”the school should strive to be a living social community that provides safety and a wish and longing to learn”. With this, and the authors coming work as special education teachers as background, the focus area of this study is peer friendships within the special education. The curriculum for the special education further stipulates that “the democratic principles to be able to influence, take responsibility, and participate, should include all students”. With Szöniy and Söderqvist Dunkers model of participation as a theoretic framework the aim of this study is to investigate how six special educators in three different special education schools view, and work with, their pupils access to peer friendship.
To meet this study´s aim a qualitative method using semi structured interviews with six special education teachers within special education was chosen. The qualitative method was chosen based on flexibility, whereby it was made possible to adapt the research design based on discoveries along the way.
The study shows a broad spectrum of views on pupils social skills, needs and interests. It also shows a big variation of strategies to support pupils access to peer friendships. Among these strategies mentioned by the teachers was social skills training, to “back off” to give pupils space to form their own relationships, and structured break activities as social support.
The study is delimited to six teachers within the special education in southern Sweden and can not give any general guidance to the school form in it´s whole. However, tendencies can be observed, and implications for further research can be made. The partly opposite answers coming from the informants concerning pupils skills and wants, and the special education teachers separate strategies to on one hand give the pupils space to form their own autonomy, on the other hand give them support in forming peer friendships, gives implications to the practice. The duality in itself implicates that special education teachers need to consider their acting in meeting the pupils.
The study shows that further studies are needed, preferably from a pupils perspective. Since the focus area is rather unexplored, a mixed method with surveys, in-depth interviews and observations of pupils is proposed by the authors.

Date of Award	2023-Jun
Original language	Swedish
Supervisor	Kamilla Klefbeck (Supervisor), Angerd Eilard (Assessor) & Helena Sjunnesson (Examiner)