ABSTRACT

This chapter explores collaboration in Australian classrooms. It is framed around a study aimed at exploring the views and experiences of early childhood educators and speech-language pathologists with regards to collaboration. These professionals play an important role in supporting that diverse group of students described earlier; in particular, students with communication disorders. The chapter provides a description of the prevalence and impact of communication disorders to provide context to the study. A description of collaboration and communities of practice is then provided, with a review of national and international studies exploring collaborative practice with children who experience communication disorders. The chapter deals with a discussion of how research into collaboration, and collaboration itself, can inform learning and teaching, and a reflection on the use of evidence to guide professional practice. Communities of practices belong to the realm of constructivist learning theories, which posit that knowledge is expanded and refined through linking new information with existing information.