Special Educators' Social Networks: A Multiple Case Study in a Finnish Part-time Special Education Context



: Tuomainen J, Palonen T, Hakkarainen K

Publisher: ROUTLEDGE JOURNALS, TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD

: 2012

: Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research

: SCANDINAVIAN JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH

: SCAND J EDUC RES

: 1

: 56

: 1

: 21

: 38

: 18

: 0031-3831

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00313831.2011.567394


This article explores the networking roles and practices of special educators with the methods of social network analysis. This multiple case study included three special educators in a Finnish part-time special education context. The results revealed that although the special educators had central positions in the formal teacher communities as knowledge sources and collaborators, they were at the periphery of the informal teacher communities. Moreover, the special educators' networking practices involved activating various outside professional relationships that provided expert resources needed in their profession. It was concluded that the special educators may be characterized as relational experts who, according to our evidence, work in the boundary zones between school communities and other organizations and have hybridized special education-related professional networks.



Last updated on 2024-26-11 at 12:48