The work of a special and rehabilitation teacher is very diverse and closely connected with collaboration with other professionals at the primary school. In a primary school setting, a special and rehabilitation teacher provides additional specialized assistance for students with special needs and collaborates with teachers at both the classroom and subject levels. Team planning and evaluation of pedagogical work are of great importance, with factors such as trust, self-disclosure, motivation, and others influencing the quality of teamwork. Various factors, such as gender, age, work experience, belief in one's abilities, as well as leadership and organizational practices at the primary school, influence motivation for teamwork. In the empirical part of the master's study, we used a questionnaire to investigate motivational and demotivational factors for teamwork with teachers among Slovenian special and rehabilitation teachers. We examined the relationship between the frequency of various stages of teamwork and the educators' motivation, as well as their self-perceived effectiveness in teamwork. The sample consisted of 58 special and rehabilitation teachers, with 27 fully completed responses from those working in regular Slovenian primary schools, schools with adapted implementation and additional specialized assistance, and schools with adapted educational programs. Our findings showed that special and rehabilitation teachers more frequently engage in teamwork stages with teachers at the classroom level compared to the subject level. Among all three teamwork stages, the least frequently practiced stage was collaborative teaching with teachers from both levels. Overall, special and rehabilitation teachers displayed considerable motivation for teamwork with teachers at either the classroom or subject level. The highest motivation was observed for collaborative evaluation of the pedagogical process, followed by collaborative planning of the pedagogical process, and the least motivation was seen for collaborative teaching or implementation of the pedagogical process with teachers. The primary source of motivation for special and rehabilitation teachers in teamwork with teachers is their awareness of the benefits of teamwork, while the least influential factor is the fear of criticism from colleagues. Ineffective communication within the team and irresponsibility of individual team members were identified as the most significant demotivators for teamwork. Respondents also highlighted factors like a poor working environment, lack of personal compatibility among team members, and distrust in work by leadership as strong demotivational factors. The study concluded that the motivation for teamwork is not significantly linked to the frequency of teamwork stages with teachers at the classroom or subject levels, nor is work experience strongly connected to the motivation of special and rehabilitation teachers for teamwork. However, motivation for teamwork is positively correlated with perceived increased effectiveness in one's own teamwork.
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