ERIC Number: EJ953892
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2012
Pages: 18
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0031-3831
EISSN: N/A
Special Educators' Social Networks: A Multiple Case Study in a Finnish Part-Time Special Education Context
Tuomainen, Jenna; Palonen, Tuire; Hakkarainen, Kai
Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, v56 n1 p21-38 2012
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. (Contains 3 figures and 2 tables.)
Descriptors: Expertise, Network Analysis, Teacher Collaboration, Special Education Teachers, Social Networks, Special Education, Case Studies, Foreign Countries, Partnerships in Education, Educational Practices, Teacher Role, Part Time Faculty, Professional Identity, Communities of Practice, Questionnaires, Interviews, Teacher Attitudes
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: Elementary Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Finland
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A