Multidisciplinary collaboration and inclusive education of children with complex additional support needs in a scottish primary school

There is a consensus among researchers and policy makers about the usefulness of multidisciplinary collaboration for children with additional support needs, their parents, and the educators and professionals around them. However, there is a significant gap between the policy and practice of multidisciplinary collaboration, especially regarding the collaborative practices between different agencies and its impact on inclusive education. The aim of this research is to develop understanding on how collaboration among professionals, educators and parents can support the social and educational inclusion of children with complex additional needs in primary/preschool settings in Scotland. This paper shares one part of this work – an exploratory case study of multidisciplinary collaboration for the inclusive education of one child in one primary school. Critical Communicative Methodology (CCM) was used to generate findings using communicative observations and reflective conversations. In line with the principles of CCM new knowledge was constructed through egalitarian dialogue between the researcher and the participants. Findings further knowledge on the features of multidisciplinary collaboration that facilitate the child’s inclusion in the mainstream class; features of multidisciplinary collaboration that impede the child’s inclusion in the mainstream class; and ways to overcome the barriers. CCM will be discussed as an alternative approach to understand and transform participants’ social reality.