Page 167 - Petelin, Ana, et al. 2019. Eds. Zdravje otrok in mladostnikov / Health of Children and Adolescents. Proceedings. Koper: University of Primorska Press
P. 167
Sample and data collection inclusion of children with special needs: collaboration with parents 165
We included 36 primary school teachers who were teaching year 1 to year 9
classes in regular schools. We conducted six focus groups, each group con-
sisting of 6 teachers. Focus group interviews lasted approximately 90 minutes
and were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. A week later, the author
purposefully selected two teachers from each focus group and conducted a to-
tal of 12 individual interviews. Each interview was approximately 30 minutes
long and was audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. During the interviews,
teachers were asked how they implemented inclusion in their classroom, how
they cooperated with parents, and if and how they collaborated with other pro-
fessionals.
The second part of the qualitative study included occupational therapists
working with children with special needs who were enrolled in regular school
programs. In Slovenia, the Ministry of Health finances 10.4 places for occu-
pational therapists in the Developmental Units of Primary Care Centers. We
aimed to include all occupational therapists who were employed for over 20
hours a week. We concluded that therapists working less than 20 hours a week
would not be able to provide data of the same quality and depth compared to
their colleagues who worked full time. Our final sample consisted of nine oc-
cupational therapists, which represented the majority of occupational thera-
pists in Slovenia working in the Developmental Units of Primary Care Centers.
Therefore, it was considered a representative sample. Individual interviews
were conducted with occupational therapists, and they were audio-recorded
and transcribed verbatim. An interview guide was used to ensure topics of in-
terests were covered. Some of the questions were: Based on your experience,
when does the collaboration between the school and the occupational therapist
usually develop? Could you tell us about your collaboration with the children’s
parents? How would you evaluate this collaboration?
Data analysis
We used qualitative content analysis (Strauss and Corbin, 1998) to analyze fo-
cus group interviews and individual interviews. The following six steps were
followed: (1) reading and re-reading the material to get familiar with it, (2) se-
lection of coding units, (3) open coding of the whole text, (4) choosing and de-
fining relevant concepts and categories in relation to research questions, (5)
axial coding - comparing categories and arranging them in proposed relation-
ships, and (6) developing the final theoretical formulation.
Results
Collaboration between teachers and parents
The teachers expressed that the relationship between them and the parents of
children with special needs was often ambivalent. On the one hand, there were
some difficult interactions that included irresponsible behaviors from the par-
We included 36 primary school teachers who were teaching year 1 to year 9
classes in regular schools. We conducted six focus groups, each group con-
sisting of 6 teachers. Focus group interviews lasted approximately 90 minutes
and were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. A week later, the author
purposefully selected two teachers from each focus group and conducted a to-
tal of 12 individual interviews. Each interview was approximately 30 minutes
long and was audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. During the interviews,
teachers were asked how they implemented inclusion in their classroom, how
they cooperated with parents, and if and how they collaborated with other pro-
fessionals.
The second part of the qualitative study included occupational therapists
working with children with special needs who were enrolled in regular school
programs. In Slovenia, the Ministry of Health finances 10.4 places for occu-
pational therapists in the Developmental Units of Primary Care Centers. We
aimed to include all occupational therapists who were employed for over 20
hours a week. We concluded that therapists working less than 20 hours a week
would not be able to provide data of the same quality and depth compared to
their colleagues who worked full time. Our final sample consisted of nine oc-
cupational therapists, which represented the majority of occupational thera-
pists in Slovenia working in the Developmental Units of Primary Care Centers.
Therefore, it was considered a representative sample. Individual interviews
were conducted with occupational therapists, and they were audio-recorded
and transcribed verbatim. An interview guide was used to ensure topics of in-
terests were covered. Some of the questions were: Based on your experience,
when does the collaboration between the school and the occupational therapist
usually develop? Could you tell us about your collaboration with the children’s
parents? How would you evaluate this collaboration?
Data analysis
We used qualitative content analysis (Strauss and Corbin, 1998) to analyze fo-
cus group interviews and individual interviews. The following six steps were
followed: (1) reading and re-reading the material to get familiar with it, (2) se-
lection of coding units, (3) open coding of the whole text, (4) choosing and de-
fining relevant concepts and categories in relation to research questions, (5)
axial coding - comparing categories and arranging them in proposed relation-
ships, and (6) developing the final theoretical formulation.
Results
Collaboration between teachers and parents
The teachers expressed that the relationship between them and the parents of
children with special needs was often ambivalent. On the one hand, there were
some difficult interactions that included irresponsible behaviors from the par-
