Teacher's cooperation and teacher assistant in educational process of pupils with special educational needs

The topic of the bachelor thesis is focused on the support measures of the teaching assistant with a profile on the cooperation between the teacher and the teaching assistant in the education of pupils with special educational needs. The aim of the bachelor thesis is to elaborate the current knowledge related to the above mentioned topic of the thesis and then to describe effective and functional ways of cooperation from the participants point of view. The thesis is divided into two main parts. A theoretical part and a practical part. In the first part, the theoretical basis of the mentioned issue is elaborated into 3 chapters. The first chapter deals with the profession of teaching assistant and the proposal of changes in relation to the amendment of the Education Act. The second chapter focuses on the system of education of pupils with special educational needs and the last chapter is devoted to the cooperation between the teaching assistant and the teacher. The second part of the thesis includes the questionnaire survey itself, supplemented by qualitative research in the form of semi-structured interviews. A total of 873 respondents took part in the questionnaire survey. Subsequently, one teaching assistant and one teacher were interviewed. The research investigation shows that functional cooperation occurs primarily when there is mutual communication, when the teacher and assistant understand each other and are tuned to the same wave, when rules are set out and the competences of the participants in the cooperation are determined, and when there is sufficient trust and mutual respect between them. Joint preparation and consultation are important for effective collaboration, and attention should also be paid to the equal and partner relationship. At the heart of it all is the willingness and interest to cooperate. The results of the questionnaire survey were subsequently confirmed in interviews with the teacher and the assistant.