Soo Hoon Lee

Itinerant Specialist Support for Preschool Inclusion: a Qualitative Study in the Czech Republic Soo Hoon Lee

The area of support for students and teachers surrounding the implementation of inclusive schooling is a crucial one. Having accessibility to resource persons or specialists in special needs education provides assurance for general teachers in meeting the learning needs of all students, particularly students with disabilities. One way of addressing students? and teachers? needs for support is through itinerant specialist support. This qualitative study investigates four main aspects of itinerant specialist support in Czech preschools: the system of itinerant specialist support, its practicality and adequacy in promoting inclusion, the collaborative relationship between itinerant specialists and preschool teachers, and preschool changes as a result of itinerant specialist support and inclusion. The research findings showed that itinerant specialist support using a consultative model is effective in cultivating positive teacher attitudes and transferring knowledge and skills from itinerant specialists to preschool teachers. Additionally, specialist support also succeeded in bringing different aspects and levels of positive change in the preschools.