Teaching and supporting students with special-educational needs at distance during the COVID-19 school closures in Finland : Special needs teachers’ experiences

Abstract

The aim of this research is to increase knowledge on how special education and special-educational support can be arranged at distance during crisis situations and to clarify what type of challenges special needs teachers might face when teaching and supporting students with special-educational needs at distance. To serve the purpose of the study, two research questions were defined:

1) What teaching and support arrangements for comprehensive school students with special-educational needs were made during the COVID-19 school closures in spring 2020?

2) What challenges did Finnish comprehensive school special needs teachers face during the COVID-19 distance education period in spring 2020?

The empirical data for this study was collected through twelve semi-structured video interviews during May, June, and August 2020. The interview questions mapped out Finnish comprehensive school special needs teachers' experiences of distance learning during the exceptional time period from mid-March to mid-May 2020, during which all schools in Finland were closed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Thematic analysis was used to systematically structure the data set and analyse the emerging themes.

The research results revealed that special needs teachers’ experiences of the COVID-19 distance education period varied to a great extent. Still, it is possible to distinguish some general features across the data set. Looking at the first research question – teaching and support arrangements for students with special-educational needs during the COVID-19 school closures – three main themes were identified within the data: Use of educational technology and distance learning materials, Implementation of special education through flexible learning solutions and special-educational guidance and Providing special-educational support through differentiation, interaction, and technology.

The results to the second research question show that Finnish comprehensive school special needs teachers faced a multitude of challenges during the COVID- 19 distance education period. Four main themes emerged from the thematic analysis: Changes in everyday working life, Increased workload, Challenges in remote communication and cooperation and Structural and organisational issues affecting special education.