Co-teaching in early childhood education and care: A unique handbook published in Vaasa

Co-teaching refers to an early childhood teacher and a special education teacher working together to instruct the same group of children at the same time. Co-teaching is one of the ways to promote inclusive education and teaching.

– The threshold between special education and general education is lowered when pupils in need of support receive support within their own group. This also promotes the inclusion of children with support needs, says Service Manager Towa Silander from the City of Vaasa Early Childhood Education and Care.

Research and project collaboration with Åbo Akademi

Co-teaching is already a common practice in primary education, but it is still relatively rare in early childhood education and care.

– However, co-teaching is becoming increasingly common in early childhood education, and Vaasa is leading the way with both a study and a handbook on the topic. Something like this has never been done before in Finland or anywhere else in the Nordic countries, says Silander.

Both the handbook and the preceding research and project work were conducted in collaboration between the City of Vaasa’s Early Childhood Education and Care, and Åbo Akademi. Two master’s theses have already been written on the subject at Åbo Akademi, and a scientific article is on the way.

Read more on the project (in Finnish and Swedish)

Practical guidance, examples, and tips for teachers

The co-teaching handbook is designed to support early childhood and special education teachers in implementing co-teaching and offers practical guidance, examples, and tips.

The handbook also aims to spread knowledge of co-teaching and inspire teachers to engage in co-teaching.

The handbook (in Finnish and Swedish) is freely available for reading and downloading on the City of Vaasa’s website.

Incorporating co-teaching into practical work

Previous studies on co-teaching have primarily focused on its application in primary education. Co-teaching in early childhood education and care has mainly been studied in a few international studies, but none have been conducted in Finland or the Nordic countries.

– There is a significant lack of research in the field both nationally and internationally. Our handbook contributes to filling this gap, says Silander.

The aim of the City of Vaasa’s Early Childhood Education and Care is for every special needs teacher to co-teach at least one group in their area during the current operating year. The City of Vaasa Early Childhood Education currently employs 20 special education teachers.

– We want co-teaching to gradually become a natural approach in our activities, within the available resources, says Silander.