The ultimate responsibility? The analysis of the position of special education teachers when the child is left without support in early childhood education.

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Title: The ultimate responsibility? The analysis of the position of special education teachers when the child is left without support in early childhood education.
Authors: Heiskanen, Noora1 (AUTHOR) noora.heiskanen@uef.fi, Saha, Mari2 (AUTHOR), Pesonen, Henri3 (AUTHOR), Viljamaa, Elina1 (AUTHOR), Poikola, Mirva4 (AUTHOR), Nevala, Piia5 (AUTHOR), Karna, Eija1 (AUTHOR)
Source: Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs. Jul2025, Vol. 25 Issue 3, p460-472. 13p.
Subject Terms: *Special education teachers, *Early childhood education, *Child support, Interprofessional collaboration, Well-being
Abstract: In this paper, we investigate the discursive positionings of early childhood special education teachers (ECSETs) in situations where they describe challenges in organizing the support for a child in interprofessional collaboration. Relaying on research on occupational well‐being of teachers, we state that such situations where professionals experience insurmountable challenges in organizing proper support for a child are potentially burdensome to ECSETs. However, because of ECSETs unique and ambivalent role as part of inclusive early childhood education and care (ECEC) system in Finland, they are in a particular risk to get burdened by the increasing demands of coordinating and organizing support. In the study, we utilized the writings of 55 ECSETs, collected using empathy‐based method and analysed them with position analysis methodology to investigate how ECSETs position themselves in such challenging situations. As a result, we show how ECSETs positions include (1) reflective controller of coping, (2) burdened support organizer, and (3) self‐blaming survivor. As a conclusion, we illustrate that while ECSETs hold no official or managerial positions in ECEC community, they strongly position themselves as the ones ultimately responsible for supporting the child but also other ECEC professionals, as well as maintaining their own wellbeing and coping in difficult situations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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  Data: The ultimate responsibility? The analysis of the position of special education teachers when the child is left without support in early childhood education.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Heiskanen%2C+Noora%22">Heiskanen, Noora</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> noora.heiskanen@uef.fi</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Saha%2C+Mari%22">Saha, Mari</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Pesonen%2C+Henri%22">Pesonen, Henri</searchLink><relatesTo>3</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Viljamaa%2C+Elina%22">Viljamaa, Elina</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Poikola%2C+Mirva%22">Poikola, Mirva</searchLink><relatesTo>4</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Nevala%2C+Piia%22">Nevala, Piia</searchLink><relatesTo>5</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Karna%2C+Eija%22">Karna, Eija</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Journal+of+Research+in+Special+Educational+Needs%22">Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs</searchLink>. Jul2025, Vol. 25 Issue 3, p460-472. 13p.
– Name: Subject
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  Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Special+education+teachers%22">Special education teachers</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Early+childhood+education%22">Early childhood education</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Child+support%22">Child support</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Interprofessional+collaboration%22">Interprofessional collaboration</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Well-being%22">Well-being</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: In this paper, we investigate the discursive positionings of early childhood special education teachers (ECSETs) in situations where they describe challenges in organizing the support for a child in interprofessional collaboration. Relaying on research on occupational well‐being of teachers, we state that such situations where professionals experience insurmountable challenges in organizing proper support for a child are potentially burdensome to ECSETs. However, because of ECSETs unique and ambivalent role as part of inclusive early childhood education and care (ECEC) system in Finland, they are in a particular risk to get burdened by the increasing demands of coordinating and organizing support. In the study, we utilized the writings of 55 ECSETs, collected using empathy‐based method and analysed them with position analysis methodology to investigate how ECSETs position themselves in such challenging situations. As a result, we show how ECSETs positions include (1) reflective controller of coping, (2) burdened support organizer, and (3) self‐blaming survivor. As a conclusion, we illustrate that while ECSETs hold no official or managerial positions in ECEC community, they strongly position themselves as the ones ultimately responsible for supporting the child but also other ECEC professionals, as well as maintaining their own wellbeing and coping in difficult situations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
  Group: Ab
  Data: <i>Copyright of Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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        Value: 10.1111/1471-3802.12737
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        Text: English
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      – SubjectFull: Special education teachers
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Early childhood education
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      – SubjectFull: Child support
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      – SubjectFull: Interprofessional collaboration
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      – SubjectFull: Well-being
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      – TitleFull: The ultimate responsibility? The analysis of the position of special education teachers when the child is left without support in early childhood education.
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              M: 07
              Text: Jul2025
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              Y: 2025
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