ABSTRACT

A growing number of countries have implemented the role of Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCo) as a strategy for providing quality inclusive education. While studies have examined general education teachers and/or special education teachers’ identities in inclusive educational settings, little research has investigated SENCos’ identities. Even fewer studies have examined SENCo identity through the lens of emotion. Hence, the aim of this study was to develop an in-depth understanding of how emotions contribute to SENCo identity construction. Adopting a qualitative multiple case study approach, data were collected from five primary school SENCos in Auckland, New Zealand, via semi-structured interviews, work shadowing and school documents. The findings showed that SENCos, despite dealing with a range of emotions from passion to frustration, all saw themselves as being advocates, problem solvers, learners, collaborators and fighters for children with special educational needs. Drawing on the findings, it is argued that emotions form an indispensable part of SENCo identity and also act as a vital means through which SENCo identity is constructed and enacted. Implications for policy and practice are suggested to inform the recruitment of SENCos and provide SENCos emotional support.

摘要

越来越多的国家已将特殊教育需求协调员 (SENCo) 的角色作为提供优质全纳教育的战略。虽然研究检查了全纳教育环境中普通教育教师和/或特殊教育教师的身份，但很少有研究调查 SENCos 的身份。更少的研究通过情感的镜头来检验 SENCo 的身份。因此，本研究的目的是深入了解情绪如何有助于 SENCo 身份构建。采用定性多案例研究方法，通过半结构化访谈、工作跟踪和学校文件从新西兰奥克兰的五所小学 SENCo 收集数据。研究结果表明，尽管 SENCos 处理了从激情到沮丧的一系列情绪，所有人都认为自己是有特殊教育需要儿童的倡导者、问题解决者、学习者、合作者和斗士。根据研究结果，有人认为情绪是 SENCo 身份不可或缺的一部分，也是构建和制定 SENCo 身份的重要手段。建议对政策和实践的影响为 SENCo 的招募提供信息并提供 SENCo 的情感支持。