Speciallärare beskriver sitt arbete med elevers skrivsvårigheter

Sammanfattning

The aim of this research study was to increase knowledge of the relationship between the special educational needs teachers (SEN) work and writing difficulties for pupils in year 1–3. The need for the study is motivated by the lack of previous research regarding pupils with writing difficulties and the support they receive from the SEN teacher. The study is qualitative and the empirical data was composed by semi-structured interviews with SEN teachers. The interviews were analysed with a content analysis method. The results showed that SEN teachers can have a supportive function in the assessment of a pupils writing abilities. A pupil with writing difficulties were identified by the teacher through the obligatory assessment material provided by Skolverket. The teachers also identified the difficulties through assessment during the writing process in the everyday work in the classroom. When the teacher has identified signs of writing difficulties, they have a responsibility to inform the student health team. Due to the guarantee of early interventions the pupil is supposed to get additional adjustments which is mainly given within the classroom. The SEN teacher can support the pupil through arly intervention and by supporting the teacher in developing a writing environment based on success factors gained from research. Writing is a complex process that requires multiple functions for the pupil. The results of the study show that the teachers level of knowledge can affect the support given to the pupil. The results from this study show a discrepancy between those schools where support was given to the pupil from the SEN teacher and the extent of the support. One conclusion is that the school leadership has an important task in organizing support for pupils with writing difficulties and the SEN teacher has an important part to play in this support.