Special needs educators’ roles and work in relation to recently arrived immigrant pupils in need of special educational support

Migration to Europe in recent years has made the issue of educational support for recently arrived immigrant pupils critically important, and, especially for pupils who are in need of special educational support. Schools in Sweden have special needs educators (SNEs) supporting pupils in need of special education, but little is known about the work of SNEs in regard to special educational support for recently arrived immigrants. This article reports the results of 483 SNEs answering a survey on their views of their role and work tasks in relation to recently arrived immigrant pupils in need of special educational support in Swedish compulsory schools. SNEs report that their actual tasks include compiling individual educational plans (IEPs), developing learning environments, and supervising staff. Less than 50% of the participants responded that they work directly with the pupils, and around 19% of the SNEs wanted to do more of such work. Class and subject teachers and mother tongue tutors are the occupational groups seen as providing the most support for recently arrived immigrant pupils. The empirical results are discussed from different theoretical perspectives on special education (Emanuelsson, 2001; Persson, 1998), Hughes’ (1958) concept of ‘dirty work’ and Abbott’s theory of profession (1988)