Primary school teachers about collaboration with parents of children with learning disabilities

Učne težave oziroma učenci z učnimi težavami predstavljajo skupino učencev, ki zahtevajo posebno pozornost in obravnavo. Gre za zelo raznolik pojav, saj se za istimi učnimi težavami skrivajo različni vzroki. Učne težave se razprostirajo na kontinuumu od lažjih do težjih, od preprostih do kompleksnih, od kratkotrajnih do tistih, ki so vezane na čas šolanja ali trajajo celo življenje. Učenci z učnimi težavami imajo pri učenju večje težave kot večina njihovih vrstnikov, zato je za optimalni napredek in pomoč učencem z učnimi težavami nujno sodelovanje med učitelji ter starši. Sodelovanje med učitelji in starši kljub morebitnim oviram, s katerimi se pri tem srečujejo, prinaša veliko prednosti za vse vpletene (starše, učence, učitelje in ostale strokovne delavce). Učenci, čigar starši in učitelji dobro sodelujejo, dosegajo boljši učni uspeh, imajo višje cilje, so bolj motivirani za šolsko delo, samozavestnejši, imajo višjo samopodobo, redno obiskujejo pouk, so odgovornejši idr. Namen magistrskega dela je bil ugotoviti pogled osnovnošolskih učiteljev na sodelovanje s starši učencev z učnimi težavamikako pogosto sodelujejo z njimi, kako ocenjujejo pogostost sodelovanja, katere oblike sodelovanja uporabljajo, s katerimi ovirami se pri tem srečujejo in kako ocenjujejo svojo kompetentnost za sodelovanje z njimi. V raziskavi je sodelovalo 343 osnovnošolskih učiteljev. Rezultati so pokazali, da učitelji s starši učencev z učnimi težavami sodelujejo pogosto in svojo pogostost sodelovanja ocenjujejo kot zadostno. Učitelji so navajali več različnih oblik sodelovanja in ovir, s katerimi se pri sodelovanju srečujejo, pri čemer pa je najpogostejša oblika sodelovanja dopisovanje s pomočjo elektronske pošte. Pri sodelovanju se učitelji srečujejo z ovirami, kot so nerealna pričakovanja staršev glede učnih zmožnosti njihovega otroka, preobremenjenost in pomanjkanje časa staršev ter učiteljev itd. Skoraj polovica osnovnošolskih učiteljev se čuti kompetentne za sodelovanje s starši učencev z učnimi težavami. Learning difficulties, or rather, pupils with learning difficulties form a group of pupils who require special attention and treatment. Learning difficulties are a very diverse phenomenon as there are different reasons for the same learning difficulties. Learning difficulties span a continuum from mild to severe, from simple to complex, from short-term to those linked to schooling years or lasting throughout life. It can be said that pupils with learning difficulties experience significantly greater difficulties in learning than most of their peers. To achieve optimal progress and help pupils with learning difficulties, collaboration between teachers and parents is necessary. Despite possible obstacles collaboration between teachers and parents offers many advantages to everyone involved (parents, pupils, teachers and other education staff). The pupils whose parents and teachers work well together perform better academically, have more ambitious goals, are more motivated for schoolwork, are more self-confident, have higher self-esteem, attend school more regularly, are more responsible, etc. The purpose of this master’s thesis was to examine how primary school teachers view their collaboration with the parents of pupils with learning difficultieshow often they collaborate, how they assess the frequency of their collaboration, which forms of collaboration they use, which obstacles they face, and how competent they assess themselves to be to collaborate with these parents. There were 343 primary-school teachers participating in this study. Results showed that the teachers often collaborate with the parents of pupils with learning difficulties, and that they assess the frequency of their collaboration as sufficient. The teachers listed several different forms of collaboration and various obstacles, with e-mail correspondence being the most frequent form of collaboration, while the obstacles they face include unrealistic expectations of the parents regarding learning abilities of their child, too heavy workload and lack of time observed by the parents as well as the teachers, etc. Almost half of the primary-school teachers feel competent to collaborate with the parents of pupils with learning difficulties.