Interdisciplinary Collaboration as a prerequisite for Inclusive Education

Abstract
This article reports on findings from a research project on interdisciplinary collaboration between mainstream school teachers and special school teachers about the development of inclusive learning communities in mainstream schools. In the study it was examined how knowledge derived from special educational settings can be included successfully in mainstream schools in developing inclusive education. Not as a simple task of transferring knowledge, but a process of transforming knowledge through interdisciplinary collaboration and co-teaching. The aim of the research project has been to examine special schools teachers’ knowledge and way of knowing and how this knowledge can contribute to the development of inclusive learning environments. Thus the findings of the research project emphasize the role of special schools in implementing inclusive school policies.