Communicating and Working with Others

Running head: COMMUNICATING AND WORKING WITH OTHERS
Communicating and Working with Others
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COMMUNICATING AND WORKING WITH OTHERS 2
Professional Relationship Analysis
Successful teaching of students with special needs requires the collaboration of
professionals. The coming together of professionals allows the merging of skills and knowledge,
class management, time planning and curriculum implementation. Professionals must be able to
work with one another in order to achieve their shared goals. According to Friend, Cook,
Hurley-Chamberlain & Shamberger (2010), the collaboration of professionals involves a strong
personal partnership and the building of a parity-based relationship. However, developing an
effective collaborative relationship in teaching students living with disabilities and other special
needs is influenced by various factors.
Collaborative teaching relationship is influenced by set legislation and government
policies. Most governments have come up with laws and policies to incorporate students living
with disabilities in a less restrictive learning environment. Collaborative teaching relationships
have been intensified by laws such as No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 and Individuals with
Disabilities Education Act of 2004 in the US (Friend, Cook, Hurley-Chamberlain & Shamberger,
2010). The legislation directs that all students encompassing those with disabilities and special
needs access the general teaching curriculum, taught by qualified teachers and be part of an
environment that gives them a feeling of belonging. Thus, collaborative teaching is anchored in
law. As part of meeting the legislative requirements, partnering general teachers and special
learning support officers or special needs teachers to develop an effective working relationship
with colleagues and other stakeholders is inevitable. Similarly, my collaborative relationship
with Chris will be influenced by the need to adhere to the government policies on equal
opportunities and elimination of discrimination to students living with disabilities in Australia.
Children living with disabilities are protected by the Disability Standards for Education act of

COMMUNICATING AND WORKING WITH OTHERS 3
2005 that directs education providers to provide adjustments to ensure equal opportunities,
eliminate victimization and enhance access of education programs (Australian Government:
Department of Education and Training, 2005). Thus, my working relationship with Chris will be
influenced by the need to meet the legislative requirements when dealing with students with
special needs.
Respect and trust among colleagues influence the effectiveness of the collaborative
relationship. Respecting colleagues create trust essential in establishing an effective co-teaching
relationship. According to Sileo (2011), respect and mutual trust fosters effective
communication among colleagues and establish a successful collaborative relationship. Mutual
respect and trust allow co-teachers to work towards a common goal. Moreover, any successful
collaboration must be built on mutual trust. Co-teacher trust improves a positive collaborative
relationship that enhances classroom relationship (Sileo, 2011). Thus, trust and respect create a
positive collaborative environment where colleagues work with confidence towards the shared
expectations. Likewise, my collaborative relationship with Chris will be influenced by the
respect and trust we have towards each other for the success of helping Michael access the
curriculum successfully.
Furthermore, a collaborative co-teaching relationship is influenced by the cultural
background of professionals. Culture plays a great role in how people interpret issues and the
causes. Co-teaching merges people of different beliefs, perceptions, values, and languages.
According to Miltenienė & Venclovaitė (2012), cultural disposition influences causal models and
people’s case analysis that result in control dilemma in a collaborative relationship. People are
guided by their cultural disposition to make critical decisions in life. Control dilemma as a result
of different cultures results in professional disagreement in decision making (Rose, 2011).

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Hence, my collaborative relationship with Chris aimed at risk assessment in physical exercises
and history excursion to help Michael will be influenced by varying cultural background.
The communication styles of professionals’ influence the collaborative co-teaching
relationship. Communication is essential for building effective relationship among people and
sharing the expected outcomes. Good communications skills enable the establishment of a
conducive and productive working relationship. Communication allows co-teachers to express
their shared thinking and create a collaborative relationship (Zhou, Kim & Kerekes, 2017). The
ability to relay one thought to the other person creates a room for negotiation and agreeing on the
best practices that blossom the co-teaching relationship. Meaningful communication allows co-
teachers to understand each other thoughts, perception, and feelings to create a professional
relationship and a collaborative environment (Edwards & Da Fonte, 2012). Effective
communication styles allow professionals to meet partners’ needs and support each other to
create a productive collaborative relationship. Efficient communication at professional levels
enables co-teachers negotiates and reach consensus on a wide range of issues such as curriculum
adaptation and instructions, classroom management, personal and student performance
assessment (Mulholland & O'Connor, 2016). Therefore, communication is essential in problem-
solving and a success factor in a collaborative relationship. Likewise, my collaborative
relationship with Chris will be influenced by our communication skills. Our aim to evaluate the
risk factors in history excursions, review martin’s IEP and helps him in accessing the curriculum
and the two subjects successfully and transitioning to secondary schools will depend on our
effective communication skills.
A collaborative relationship is influenced by organizations systems and administrative
roles. Organization and administrative support are critical to the success of co-teaching.