Pedagogical Collaboration for Language and Knowledge Development of Second Language Learners—From the Perspective of Teachers in the Early Years of Schooling

Schools in Sweden support multilingual students’ language and knowledge development in various ways, including through pedagogical collaboration among multiple professionals. Despite the recognized benefits, however, little is known about how such pedagogical collaboration is understood and practiced by classroom teachers in Sweden. The purpose of the present study is to deepen the understanding of how teachers in the early years of schooling collaborate with heritage language teachers, Swedish as a second language teachers, and special educational needs teachers, in order to support language and knowledge development in second language learners. Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 Swedish teachers working in the early years of schooling, i.e., from reception year to Grade 3. The interviews were analyzed thematically. Results showed that teachers generally perceive collaboration with other professionals as beneficial. They conceptualized varying forms of pedagogical collaboration, encompassing frequent and flexible collaboration with close colleagues, interdependent collaboration with heritage language teachers (often complicated by structural constraints), and regular, structured collaboration within the student health team. Identified opportunities associated with pedagogical collaboration included the provision of holistic support for second language learners, as well as opportunities for professional development and collegial support. At the same time, several challenges were highlighted, including time-related and structural constraints that hinder collaboration, as well as language barriers and the influence of individual characteristics. Student health teams were highlighted as important for integrating expertise; however, limited teacher insight and the infrequent inclusion of Swedish as a second language teachers were reported to result in multilingual perspectives being overlooked. This study therefore recommends greater consideration of multilingual expertise in assessments of special educational needs and calls for further research on the role of student health teams in supporting second language learners.