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Philosophy of Collaboration

Samantha Hare

Department of Special Education, University of Kansas SPED 854: Family and Interprofessional

Collaboration in Special Education

Dr. Suzanne Robinson

May 16th, 2022

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Philosophy of Collaboration

As Rona Tutt states, “equality is not about giving everyone the same experiences, but

about recognizing that, while everyone is different, they should be equally valued and educated

in an environment where they feel they belong.” Without effective use of collaboration, students

with disabilities would not be given an equitable opportunity to learn in the general education

setting. Collaboration is defined as “a style of direct interaction between at least two coequal

parties voluntarily engaged in shared decision making as they work towards a common goal”

(Friend, M., & Cook, L., 2017, p.5). I believe that collaboration is essential in special education

because it is the driving force behind inclusive practices, the ability to provide modifications and

accommodations to meet the learning objectives, establish a sense of community within the

school, and enable students to be successful in their post-academic lives. “Knowing what

collaboration is and is not and how it applies to school initiatives and other applications can help

you articulate your practices, set appropriate expectations for yourself, and positively influence

others to interact collaboratively” (Friend, M., & Cook, L., 2017, p.5). Collaboration ultimately

leads to increased participation and educational outcomes for students with disabilities.

There are many key players involved in collaboration for students in special education, as

participants cannot work alone to achieve the goals or outcomes established. Special educators

need to work with the general education teachers, speech pathologists, service providers,

specialists, counselors, administrators, parents, and students themselves to provide an inclusive

education. As a special education teacher, I collaborate extensively with the general education

teachers and RTI providers to plan lessons, activities, and assessments. Combining my expertise

in the learning process with the general educator’s extensive knowledge of the academic content,

we can plan differentiated lessons with enough rigor for gifted students, while providing supports
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and accommodations for students with disabilities. Participating in collaboration also allows my

colleagues and I to implement many different types of co-teaching models. When providing

instruction, we found that we have different approaches to presenting the content, allowing

students of all abilities, and learning styles access to the content being taught. Collaboration is

also exhibited in PLCs with other service providers and administrators to discuss the data

collected and to determine the necessary interventions or accommodations needed to address

educational discrepancies. As learning and identity is interrelated, the need for student and parent

involvement is critical. To have culturally relevant practices, educators need to establish cultural

competency to understand the learning characteristics, cultural values, and attitudes of the

students they teach (Ford, D. Y. 2012).

It is imperative that we, as special educators, recognize the correlation between students

in special education and those that are culturally diverse. While many districts recognize the

importance of collaboration, many fail to enact programs and services recognized as inclusive

and culturally competent. According to Waitroller & Kozelski (2013), schools “need complex

services and practices in order to dismantle the barriers from learning and participating from the

general education classroom” (p. 36). The biases presented in the school systems lead to a large

disproportionality of minority students in special education programs. These biases are cultivated

when there is a “difference in values, beliefs, attitudes, customs, and traditions” (Ford, D. Y.,

2012, pp. 392-393) between educators and their students. Without a diverse group of

professionals collaborating in data collection, educator prejudice may interfere with student

rights for learning in the least Restricted Environment (LRE) (Friend, M., & Cook, L., 2017).

Despite having this knowledge, I recognize that there may be instances, particularly related to

behavioral needs, where my own assumptions can interfere with my ability to understand what
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students are trying to communicate. This reflection only reinforces my personal philosophy of

participating in expansive learning. Students will not only be given an opportunity to have a

voice in their own learning, but they will teach me to be a better, more inclusive educator.

Through my own heuristic development, I will be able to create differentiated activity systems

that allow for student representation. (Waitoller, F. R., & Kozleski, E. B., 2013). Representation

of student identities, inclusive practices, and effective communication will result in increased

engagement and higher academic outcomes.

After learning about all the key factors in place for successful collaboration, I realized

that I understood the term in a very broad sense. According to Friend & Cook (2017),

Collaboration must be voluntary, establish parity among participants, develop mutual goals for

the student, have a shared responsibility for participation and decision making, shared resources,

and shared responsibility for outcomes. First and foremost, participants should decide the

specific goal of what they would like to accomplish and how to design a program that alleviates

these concerns (Friend, M., & Cook, L., 2017). While the participants may not share all goals

related to a student, there should be a consensus about the most prominent goal needed to be

successful in the classroom. Once that is established, participants should begin to collaborate on

best practices, modifications, and supports with parity. For parity to exist, there must be diversity

in perspectives, a balance of power, regardless of position, and respect for all participants

(Friend, M., & Cook, L., 2017). When there is parity among special educators, general educators,

and administrators, appropriate decisions can be made about a curriculum that is inclusive for

students with disabilities and culturally different students. Furthermore, Waitroller & Kozelski

(2013) state that strong collaborative practices require educators to become effective boundary

brokers to create the connections necessary for cultural competency (p.40). Professionals need to
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establish trust through dialogue with culturally different families and the creation of a space to

negotiate respectfully and effectively.  Once trust is solidified, shared responsibility of

participation will increase to reach the common goal for that student. Shared responsibility does

not require all parties to have an equal number of undertakings, but appropriate ones. (Friend,

M., & Cook, L., 2017). While parents of low-income or minority students may not have physical

resources to contribute, they are able to provide educators with the cultural knowledge and

practices that have shown success in their home environment. As respect and trust is obtained,

collaborators can “learn from others’ perspectives, understand diverse communication skills,

interact in the processes of problem-solving, design programs and services needed to deliver

inclusive instruction, and scaffold the context of the environment, in regard to time and ethics”

(Friend, M., & Cook, L., 2017, pp.21-22).

In conclusion, collaboration in special education is vital to develop a concrete, unbiased

understanding of our students’ identities and their complex needs. It is important to reiterate that

without a diverse group of people collaborating, students with disabilities cannot receive a

comprehensive, inclusive education they deserve. I look forward to developing my collaborative

skills further to better meet the needs of my students. When we can effectively collaborate

among our co-workers, we will be more equipped to empower our students to do the same.
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Reference

Ford, D. Y. (2012). Culturally different students in special education: Looking backward to move

forward. Exceptional Children, 78(4), 391-405.

Friend, M., & Cook, L. (2017). Interactions: Collaboration skills for school professionals

(8th Edition). Boston, MA: Pearson. (Chapter 1).

Waitoller, F. R., & Kozleski, E. B. (2013). Working in boundary practices: Identity development

and learning in partnerships for inclusive education. Teaching and Teacher Education, 31,

35-45.