Abstract
This study aimed to clarify the practices and perceptions of itinerant teachers of students with visual impairments (TVIs) in inclusive education following three different types (i.e., school-based, school-based single role, and centre-based), identifying the salient factors that enable them to fulfil their roles. To date, the majority of the existing research has focussed on centre-based itinerant TVIs, with scant attention paid to the other itinerant types. This study mitigates this lack of research. Designed as an exploratory study to provide a useful reference for future research, the study employed a qualitative research design using semi-structured interviews with nine German TVIs. The results showed more similarities than differences among the three types of TVIs in their daily tasks, needed qualities and skills, and overall perceptions of the job. Two crucial elements enabled these TVIs to work effectively: the existence of a large community of TVIs and TVIs possessing good ‘collaborative skills’. The school-based dual role seemed to provide much-needed emotional and technical support. Further investigations are needed on the factors that contribute to a good ‘team’ or a ‘community’ of TVIs and on the effectiveness of the school-based dual role.
Keywords
Introduction
With an increasing international focus on inclusion, the importance of pupils with visual impairment (VI) in the mainstream schools being supported by certified teachers of the pupils with visually impairment (TVI) is widely acknowledged. One of the common support models established in many countries is the itinerant model. This is where TVIs, in contrast to typical classroom teachers, visit mainstream schools to provide direct and indirect support. TVIs who are involved in itinerant models are known as itinerant teachers, visiting teachers, or peripatetic teachers, depending on the region or a country. By using the itinerant model, pupils with VI attending their neighbourhood schools can experience normal educational, social, and recreational opportunities with support in their community (Swenson, 1995). In the United States, where more than 80% of pupils with VI learn in local mainstream schools, the majority are served using this model (U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2017). This model is also acknowledged in low- and middle-income countries, such as Kenya and Malawi, as a practical way of promoting Education for All, a global movement led by UNESCO (Lynch & McCall, 2007).
The itinerant model is commonly established in different parts of the world. Although it is impossible to generlise the types of services globally implemented, two of the common types of itinerant service are the ‘school-based’ and the ‘centre-based’ type.
The school-based service is where TVIs are affiliated with a school for the blind and are dispatched to the local schools. This type of service can be found in Japan and some parts of the United States. For example, it has been reported that, as of 2014, over 80% of schools for the blind provide some level of outreach services including itinerant teaching service (McMahon, 2014). The differences between what is employed in Japan and the United States is that, in the United States, most schools for the blind employ TVIs who are designated for the itinerant service (hereafter, ‘school-based single role’). In Japan, TVIs are usually in charge of both the itinerant service and teaching class lessons at the school for the blind (hereafter, ‘school-based dual role’) (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, 2017).
In contrast, the centre-based type is where TVIs are employed by the government sector (state or districts) as full-time itinerant teachers and are not affiliated with schools for the blind. Their offices are usually situated in public buildings and not in or adjacent to schools. Along with Australia, Great Britain is one of the countries that employ this model, and of the 152 local authorities, most are reported to have their own regional VI services with TVIs delivering the itinerant service (Edwards & Crawley, 2019). Germany is a country where all three types of itinerant services are found. For this reason, the present research project focussed to examine the perceptions of German itinerant teachers to find out about the parallels, differences, and challenges of the three service types.
Based on the research available, TVIs who work as itinerant teachers are known to have unique experiences that are different from those of general education or special school classroom teachers. This is because the pupils they work with are situated within a complex educational setting, which can be explained using ‘bioecological systems theory’ (Bronfenbrenner, 2005). According to McLinden and McCracken (2016) and; McLinden et al. (2017), pupils with VIs are regularly influenced by multi-layered factors with complicated and sophisticated relationships between them, as explained by this theory. Itinerant TVIs are present to act as a leading ‘agent’ that can facilitate change by working within and between these systems.
One example is, where classroom teachers are engaged in direct teaching pupils for 98% of their working time, itinerant teachers spend an average of 48% or even less on direct teaching (Correa-Torres & Howell, 2004). They are known to be engaged in non-teaching responsibilities such as consulting and writing reports (Griffin-Shirley et al., 2004; Swenson, 1995). Travelling is another aspect unique to itinerant teachers; according to Griffin-Shirley et al. (2004), up to 20% of their working time is spent just travelling.
Because of the multifaceted tasks required, the knowledge, skills, and qualities needed in itinerant teaching are also known to be unique. For instance, Correa-Torres and Howell (2004), Sharma et al. (2010), and McLinden et al. (2017) have noted the necessity of these teachers to possess knowledge not only on how to work with pupils with VI on academic subjects and disability-specific skills, but also non-teaching related skills such as flexibility, communication, and professional association skills.
Itinerant teachers are also known to face distinctive challenges. One frequently expressed difficulty is large caseloads of diverse population of pupils with VI (Griffin-Shirley et al., 2004; Morris & Sharma, 2011). Another common challenge is that itinerant teachers work in isolation. Itinerant TVIs often travel from school to school without any real ‘home’ or sense of connection, having to adjust their attitude depending on the different school culture.
However, the great majority of the existing research focusses upon itinerant teachers who are ‘centre-based’. A plausible reason for this is that much of the English written research often reflects the condition of the English-speaking countries that widely adopt the ‘centre-based’ type. In other words, research results exploring the experiences of itinerant TVIs may be different between those working in different types – such as the ‘school-based single role’ and the ‘school-based dual role’ – thus making some of the findings limited in their generalisability or transferability. Itinerant TVIs play an essential role in promoting the inclusive education of pupils with VIs at both the micro and macro level (McLinden & McCracken, 2016). By increasing our understanding of the practises and perceptions of itinerant teachers who work in three main types of workplaces, not only will be able to accumulate practical knowledge in the field for better quality support but also help build a healthy working condition for itinerant teachers around the globe. This is important as global shortage of qualified teachers in the field is apparent and difficult working conditions are known to cause burnout, especially in special education (Kirchner & Diament, 1999; Mason-Williams et al., 2020; Soini et al., 2019).
Because of the lack of research focussing on different types of itinerant models, this research was designed as an exploratory study to provide a useful reference for future research. The goal of this exploratory research was to clarify the practice and perception of itinerant TVIs who work in the three different itinerant types (school-based dual role, school-based single role, and centre-based) in Germany and identify salient factors for these TVIs in fulfilling their roles. Specific research questions were as follows:
What are the job responsibilities of itinerant teachers?
What are the perceptions of itinerant teachers on their job?
What are the needed qualities and skills to be effective itinerant teachers?
In what ways are being affiliated to a centre or a school affecting itinerant teachers?
What are the essential factors needed in TVIs fulfilling their role?
This study was part of a 4-year project (led by the first author) that aimed to propose support delivery models for successful inclusion in Japan by analysing existing models in countries, including Germany.
Methods
A qualitative research design using semi-structured interviews with nine TVIs was conducted. To supplement the information on the three types of services, three people in an administrative position in each type were also interviewed. Using a purposeful sampling method, three different types of schools from three different regions were selected. These regions were recommended by two researchers and two practitioners in the field of VI in Germany based on the service quality and comprehensiveness of the service content. All three services have been running for more than 30 years. The participants were recruited by the head administrator of the school.
The interviews were conducted by the first author in English and took approximately 45 min. Interview questions were adapted from Luckner and Howell (2012) and Correa-Torres and Howell (2004), previous studies on itinerant teachers with modifications developed specifically for this research. That is, in addition to their basic demographic information, the participants were asked about their daily tasks, the things they most and least enjoy, and the skills/qualities they felt are important for being an effective itinerant TVI and their reasons. Interviewees were also encouraged to share their opinions on their current position and the resources they had. Interviews were recorded and transcribed. The data were analysed qualitatively using inductive methods (Corbin & Strauss, 2015; Marshall & Rossman, 2015). Through comparative analysis, data were examined across the sample for common themes. The study was conducted under the guidelines for human participants, as established within the first author’s affiliated university. Before conducting the interviews, the first author read a consent form and participants were given an opportunity to ask questions.
Results
Participants
Of the nine TVIs, one was male and eight were female, with three from each type of service (Table 1). The three teachers in a school-based dual-role position worked 2–3 days a week as itinerant teachers and the rest of the days as classroom teachers at the school for the blind. The remaining six teachers worked full time as itinerant teachers.
Profile of the nine TVIs.
SS = school-based single role. b SD = school-based dual role. b C = centre based.
The nine participants represented a broad range of teaching experience, with an average of 7.87 years (range: 1.5–26 years). Three of the TVIs affiliated in a school-based dual role part-time position and one TVI in a school-based single role position had worked previously as classroom teachers at a special school (school for the blind or other special school), with an average of 6.25 years (range: 1.5–14 years) experience. The remaining five TVIs had only been involved in itinerant teaching.
The TVIs worked in a team with other itinerant TVIs, which consisted of 14 to 80 people. The total number of pupils with VI that were served by these itinerant services varied from 100 to 1000. The centre-based itinerant service had the largest number of TVIs working for the service and serving the largest number of pupils. Within the team of TVIs, they were given their speciality range for supporting pupils and were divided based on age (primary, secondary and adolescence) and learning medium (Braille or print). The centre-based itinerant service also had a team for pupils with multiple disabilities. Both centres and schools for the blind offer short-term courses wherein pupils can strengthen disability-specific skills, such as Braille, assistive technology use, and across certain academic competencies, such as math.
Job responsibilities
The number of caseloads varied depending on the TVI; however, the average caseload per week was nine for the centre-based, and eight for school-based types (both double and single role). About 90% of the caseloads they held were pupils with low vision and 10% were those using Braille as their learning medium. Pupils these TVIs served did not have impairments other than VI.
Table 2 indicates a list of tasks and the amount of time allocated within their working time in percentage. Regardless of centre-based or school-based, TVIs spent around 30% of their working time teaching pupils with VI. Travelling via car was another task that TVIs spent a good amount of time on. Although centre-based TVIs spent more time driving (30%) compared with the school-based TVIs (18%), the centre-based TVI who had the largest percentage allocated within the nine people interviewed had more blind children on caseload as the teacher was in charge of the Braille users within a team. Since blind children are low in number and are scattered in the region, this was inevitable. Overall, similar tasks and time were allocated by both centre-based and school-based TVIs.
Tasks and amount of time (%) allocated within the total amount of working by centre-based and school-based itinerant teachers.
When teachers were asked to describe what they do while they worked directly with the pupils, TVIs from all three types answered that they spent about 10% on doing assessments, 5%–10% on instructing academic subjects, 20% on counselling and guidance, and 50% of their time teaching disability-specific skills such as Braille and use of assistive technology/low vision lenses. Two TVIs (one from school-based dual role and one from school-based single role) were involved in supporting pupils in the upper secondary grade and they took longer time than others on giving guidance and counselling on social relationships and career paths. Regarding instructing in academic subjects, although all TVIs mentioned how their role was not to instruct in subjects, a few TVIs mentioned how occasionally they had to do a ‘pull-out’ to offer direct instruction in certain subjects such as geometry and mathematics.
The perception of the job
Enjoyable and challenging aspects
Regardless of whether the TVI was school-based or centre-based, all nine TVIs enjoyed the daily change that they experienced as an itinerant. As one TVI mentioned, ‘no 2 days are ever alike’ (TVI 5). More specifically, many found meeting and communicating with a wide range of people, including children, parents, teachers, and health professionals, exciting and enjoyable. For those who also taught as a classroom teacher at a school for the blind, being out and about gave them a chance to broaden their horizon on different teaching techniques which they felt benefitted their teaching back at their schools. The change in physical space was also appreciated by several TVIs. That is, when things were not going right and the tension was building at one school, it gave the TVIs a chance to step out, reflect, and come back and re-approach another day.
Another aspect that all TVIs enjoyed was seeing the impact of their role. Several TVIs mentioned that seeing the classroom environment changing and seeing progress in their pupils were rewarding and overrode the stress they felt. The TVIs who also worked as a classroom teacher at a school for the blind spoke particularly about their self-awareness and the gratification that rose from when their disability-specific knowledge and skills were acknowledged and appreciated by others in the mainstream school. As one TVI explained, ‘you are expected to have disability-specific knowledge and all teachers have that at the school for the blind. You don’t really get acknowledged for it’ (TVI 6).
Although all the TVIs enjoyed their itinerant position, they did face challenges. Regardless of the type of itinerant services, all mentioned conflicts with teachers or parents and not being able to change the situation for the pupil as a major stress. The conflicts mainly pertained to the accommodations which pupils with VI required and teachers not understanding their necessity. TVIs were in a position where they had to step in when things were not going according to the best interests of the VI pupil, and therefore they sometimes ‘needed to be in an uncomfortable position’ (TVI 3). One TVI had mentioned, ‘I feel like a lawyer sometimes’ (TVI 6) which made the teacher uneasy. Some TVIs mentioned the irritation they felt when they were away from pupils, for instance, long drives and being at meetings. Also, several TVIs who had single-role itinerant teaching (both school-based and centre-based) expressed the hardship of ‘always being an outsider’ (TVI 9) and not having a home or a ‘base’ (TVI 1).
Perception on having dual roles
The three TVIs that worked both as classroom and itinerant teachers were asked to express freely about their perception of taking dual roles. Two themes emerged. One was ‘not easy but invaluable experience’ and other was ‘having the balance of the two is the key’.
Not easy, but invaluable experience
Because the two tasks were very different, switching hats was not easy at times. However, being a classroom teacher at the same time as doing the itinerant teaching helped them in two ways.
One was pertaining to their professional well-being. As one TVI explained, the ‘role of an itinerant teacher is ambiguous’ and many times, ‘mainstream school teachers don’t see us as teachers’ (TVI 6). For this reason, having the teacher-role at the school for the blind helped TVIs to maintain their professional identity as teachers.
The second advantage was gaining and maintaining the skills and knowledge needed to work with general classroom teachers. For itinerant teachers to work effectively in the limited amount of time and resources, they needed to have a wide range of knowledge in VI pedagogy and a good working relationship with the general education teachers. For school-based dual-role teachers, different teaching skills and techniques accumulated as they taught a group of pupils with VI and became a ‘pool of knowledge’, which can be referred to when they worked as an itinerant teacher. This helped them work in a competent manner. They also felt that being a classroom teacher themselves helped to build a mutual respect for one another and a stronger bond which helped with the communication.
Having the balance of the two is the key
The importance of well-balanced time allocation for each role was mentioned by the three TVIs. Two TVIs mentioned that having a 50:50 ratio allocated to each role was what they currently had and felt as ideal. The TVI who had the longest experience of doing the dual role mentioned the idea of having 40:60 balance, as this allowed to have the main responsibility in one role. The teacher explained the reason as ‘if it was 50:50, I feel like I cannot feel the satisfaction in either role’ (TVI 4). One, who had the shortest teaching experience (of 1.5 years), admitted, ‘For a novice teacher like myself, being able to experience both settings is important’ (TVI 5). Another TVI also mentioned, by looking back on her own experience, that the ratio may vary depending on the length of the teaching experience. That is, for new teachers, longer time spent at the school for the blind may be beneficial.
Needed qualities and skills to be effective itinerant teachers
All TVIs reported interpersonal skills as one of the foremost skills needed in becoming effective itinerant teachers. This included being able to listen and communicate effectively and build positive relationships with parents, teachers, and other professionals. In addition, a few TVIs emphasised the importance of building relationships with the peers of the pupils with VI. One TVI noted how she constantly told peers of the pupil with VI: ‘you can always tell me if something does not feel right or bothers you’ (TVI 7). As she explained, this was important because some of the accommodations provided for the pupil with VI may look unfair to them and create unnecessary tension.
As other important skills, time management/organisation skills, ‘open-mindedness’, ‘being flexible’, and ‘having a curiosity’ were mentioned. As for why flexibility was crucial, one TVI explained, ‘whereas you can control many things being a classroom teacher, as an itinerant, you can’t’ (TVI 1). Concerning ‘having curiosity’, because itinerant teachers had to stay abreast on the latest assistive technologies, a strong inner drive was needed.
Finally, all TVIs who were involved in itinerant tasks asserted how ‘itinerant teaching’ and ‘teaching a class’ required a whole different set of skills and qualities. Many of them emphasised that being great school for the blind teachers will not automatically make them great itinerant teachers. Therefore, when they were asked whether skills to teach a class or a specific subject was important in being effective itinerant teachers, most of all replied, ‘it would help, but it is not essential’. When they were asked to rank ‘interpersonal skills’, ‘management/organisation skills’, and ‘skills to instruct subjects’, all ranked ‘skills to instruct subjects’ last.
As for the pedagogical competency to teach a class, one TVI explained, ‘our role is not to teach the children the curriculum but help them access the curriculum’ (TVI 1). The three school-based dual-role teachers also felt that this competency was not imperative, although it had a great benefit in that it helped them build mutual respect and understanding with general classroom teachers. A couple of TVIs stated that they felt that 18 months on-the job-practicum at a school for the blind, which is required in Germany to become a fully qualified TVI, gave a good foundational teaching skill.
Pertaining to the skill to teach subject content, several TVIs did reveal that there were situations where they felt that it was important especially when they had to do a pull-out lesson with a child on a specific content, such as science and math. One TVI also explained about a situation of a blind pupil needing 3D models for the chemistry lesson and the TVI needing the content knowledge to provide necessary accommodation. However, all confirmed that if a TVI has good consulting skills, one can always work in partnership with the general education teachers, who are the content experts.
One teacher also admitted how it was not realistic for the itinerant TVI to also be a content specialist, using an example of supporting a blind pupil doing his Abitur in physics—Abitur is a final exam given to pupils at the end of their secondary education, usually in Gymnasium, the most advanced of the three types of German secondary schools, which qualifies pupils to enter universities. Almost all schools for the blind are equipped to teach Realschule or Hauptschule curricula, the two lower types of secondary education, however not Gymnasium. As one TVI expressed, ‘more than likely, no TVI will be fully qualified to teach Gymnasium level classes’ (TVI 6).
Significance of being affiliated to a centre or a school
To all TVIs who were interviewed, being affiliated to a centre or a school had a significant impact on their work in two ways. One was it gave them a sense of security and contributed to their professional well-being. The six TVIs that were affiliated with the school for the blind travelled to mainstream schools from the school. For the TVIs that were affiliated to the centre, due to geographical convenience, many worked from home, yet, they met together every 2 weeks at the centre. Whether it was a centre or a school, these were physical spaces where they could discuss their daily challenges get support, and reaffirm that they were not alone. This was extremely important for itinerant TVIs as they worked alone, being an ‘outsider’ under a high-pressure situation in multiple school settings.
The second was it provided a large pool of knowledge that formed the backbone of competent itinerant TVIs. TVIs who were interviewed were part of a team of 14 to 80 itinerant TVIs and all had well-established connections within the team. The school-based itinerant teachers had smaller teams compared with the centre-based itinerant teachers; however, they also had a firm partnership with the TVIs who taught at the school for the blind, which added up to 80 or more people. All TVIs had different personnel whom they can approach when they faced extraordinary challenges that required deep knowledge and experiences. One school-based dual-role TVI explained how, if there was a blind pupil in a mainstream school PE class which she did not feel competent giving advice to, ‘I can easily ask the PE teacher at the school for the blind for suggestions. If I needed to, I could even ask the teacher to come with me for just a day to observe with me’ (TVI 4). Furthermore, school-based itinerant teachers seemed to utilise their itinerant team and the team of teachers who taught on at the school for the blind depending on the nature of questions. That is, if they had a question related to the itinerant work/role (such questions on communications and paperwork pertaining to itinerant), they would approach their itinerant team members and if they had questions related to certain content topics or teaching, they would approach the school for the blind teachers. The three teachers that were school-based dual-role expressed the benefit of knowing whom to ask when without apprehension because they taught classes.
Discussion
Itinerant TVIs in Germany who worked in the school-based dual role, school-based single role, and centre-based role had more similarities than differences. For example, they spent a similar amount of time doing multiple tasks, including direct and indirect support to pupils, travelling, and paperwork. In addition, most (50%) of their time for direct support was spent on teaching disability-specific skills and giving guidance and counselling. The time spent on instructing academic subjects was minimal (5%–10%). Although itinerant teachers did face challenges, such as conflicts with teachers or parents, these conflicts seem to be alleviated by seeing the impact of their role. Overall, all enjoyed the daily changes as itinerant teachers.
Many of the working experiences and perceptions described by the German TVIs echoed those of the itinerant teachers in countries like the United States, Canada, and Australia (Correa-Torres & Howell, 2004; Griffin-Shirley et al., 2004; Hass, 1994; Morris & Sharma, 2011; Wolffe et al., 2002). For example, as Correa-Torres and Howell (2004) revealed by interviewing 23 itinerant teachers in the United States, the most enjoyable aspects of their jobs were working with pupils and being able to witness progress. The universal challenges seem to be fighting against loneliness, having a broad range of professional skills and staying abreast of advances in the field.
Two common elements supported German TVIs working effectively. One was the existence of a large community of TVIs. The community consisted of a wide range of TVIs and vision-related professionals with knowledge and skills in a variety of contents, including teaching methodology and materials related to core curriculum, expanded core curriculum (or disability-specific skills), and assistive technologies. The community allowed TVIs to come together to debrief and brainstorm challenges that they faced while working alone. It was also a space where TVIs gained emotional support. This was similar to the findings of Correa-Torres and Howell (2004) and Pogrund and Cowan (2013) in the United States, who reported the value of having a supportive network of professionals and a mentor system for itinerant TVIs. For further research, clarifying factors that contribute to a good ‘team’ should be invested. In this interview, few TVIs mentioned their appreciation of the team of TVIs when they face specific challenges such as in physical education or science. These are known as subjects that are prone to excluding pupils with visual impairment learning in inclusive settings (Jessup et al., 2017; Lieberman et al., 2006). Having a team of TVIs with certain content specialities might be more effective than working with a random group of TVIs.
The second element was the importance of TVIs to have good ‘collaborative skills’. Having this skill was essential for all itinerant TVIs to cover a wide range of tasks and keep up to date on assistive technologies for the best interest of the pupils with VI. Although this research is not the first to clarify this point (see Correa-Torres & Howell, 2004; Sharma et al., 2010), it was interesting how all of the TVIs, including those who were teaching classes at schools for the blind, stated the importance of ‘collaborative skills’, surpassed the importance of teaching skills. Because each mainstream classroom teacher has a different teaching style, and itinerant TVIs are required to understand and adapt to their styles (Sharma et al., 2010), it would not have been a surprise if some TVIs had voiced what Suvak (2004) highlighted: the importance of itinerant teachers to possess skills to work with students not just in disability-specific skills but also in academic subjects. However, none prioritised teaching skills over collaborative skills. This may be related to the availability of different resources in and out of mainstream schools. For instance, all interviewed TVIs had a relatively good relationship with mainstream school teachers and the aids that support pupils with VI. In addition, all TVIs had centres or schools for the blind that they could refer the pupils to for short-term courses to strengthen the pupil’s disability-specific skills and certain academic contents. Thus, this allows TVIs to take on the consultation role and to focus on collaboration, rather than taking on the role of a teacher.
Finally, for school-based dual-role teachers with the right balance, their role as class teachers at a school for the blind supported them emotionally and technically. It is important to note the importance of TVIs having the ‘right balance’, as there is ample research revealing how TVIs who are overwhelmed by a large number of caseloads suffer in terms of their quality of service and their professional well-being (Olmstead, 1995). In countries where schools for the blind are still present, a ‘school-based dual role’ may be worth considering; a ‘school-based dual role’ may present a way of utilising the existing school so as to enhance the professional well-being of itinerant teachers.
Limitation
This study had certain limitations. One was the limited number of participants and the method of selection. Although random selection is not essential in qualitative research, more diverse participants (with age, gender, or years of experience) in a larger sample size should be gathered to enhance the study’s validity. Second, this study mainly focusses on the perception of TVIs to explore the current situation. However, the knowledge and skills perceived by itinerant TVIs will more than likely depend on their working environment. Therefore, skills that itinerant TVIs perceive as important should be analysed more closely in combination with the resources available.
Conclusion
Owing to the fact that most of the existing research concentrates on itinerant teachers who are ‘centre-based’, this research focussed on the situation in Germany, a country where all three types of itinerant services are found. TVIs who worked in the three types had more similarities than differences in their daily tasks, needed qualities and skills, and their overall job perception. The two crucial elements that supported these TVIs to work effectively were the existence of a large TVI community and TVIs possessing good ‘collaborative skills’. The importance of ‘collaborative skills’ surpassed the importance of ‘teaching skills’ among all TVIs. Although past research has indicated that a supportive network of professionals and a mentor system are valuable for itinerant TVIs, further investigation of factors that contribute to a good ‘community’ or a ‘team’ is needed. Finally, for school-based dual-role teachers, their role as class teachers at a school for the blind seems to lead them to accumulate a range of teaching skills and techniques. This not only helped them to work competently but also to build a stronger bond with the classroom teachers as itinerant teachers. With the right balance, a ‘school-based dual role’ may help enhance the professional well-being of itinerant teachers.
Footnotes
Funding
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This research was partly supported by Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) KAKENHI Grant Number 18K13209 and DAAD-funded project ‘Development of inclusive education systems – Comparison of theoretical concepts and practical work in Japan and Germany’ (UHH, Germany & UT, Japan) (2018–2019).
