Supporting the educational progress of children in care: a qualitative exploration of primary special education teachers’ views and experiences in the Republic of Ireland

Teachers have the potential to play a powerful role in the educational progress of this group by providing high quality learning opportunities and a source of high expectations, advocacy and support. Special education teachers have a particularly important role to play given the high rates of special educational needs and disability experienced by children in care.

This thesis explores primary special education teachers’ views and experiences of supporting the educational progress of children in care. Adopting a qualitative research design guided by an interpretivist framework, 11 online and seven in-person individual, in-depth, semi-structured interviews were conducted, transcribed and thematically analysed. Participants were primary special education teachers in the Republic of Ireland with current or recent experience (within the past 3 years) of working with children in care.