The influence of the SENCo role on SENCo teacher identity in the New Zealand context
type: CreativeWork
description: To create and maintain an inclusive educational environment in which all learners can fully engage in school activities and achieve their best learning outcomes, New Zealand, like many countries, has incorporated the role of special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) into mainstream schools. Being a SENCo means a (re)construction of one’s teacher identity as a SENCo. However, SENCos may face potential challenges in shaping their professional identity as the interpretation and enactment of the role is varied between individual schools. This is the case even in countries where the role is formalised through legislation and policy initiatives, for example in the UK. Particularly, SENCos in New Zealand might confront more identity challenges as the role of SENCo is not yet formally recognised or funded by the Ministry of Education (MoE). No national guidelines or job descriptions exist for the role of SENCo in New Zealand. Given this situation, surprisingly there are very few SENCo studies in the New Zealand context, none of which focuses on SENCo identity. Hence, the aim of this study was to develop an in-depth understanding of how the role of SENCo influences SENCo teacher identities in the New Zealand context. Adopting a case study research strategy, multiple sources of data were collected through focus group discussions, semi-structured individual interviews and work shadowing with five SENCo teachers from five primary schools in Auckland, New Zealand. Documents including school policies and job descriptions were also analysed. Using Gee’s theory of discourse and identity, and his approach to discourse analysis, the findings revealed that the role of SENCo brought about three noticeable aspects of teacher identity in the participants: a) a strong sense of SENCo teacher agency resulting from time and flexibility, freedom and autonomy, accessibility to resources and services, and a growth of teacher expertise related to special educational needs; b) a high level of…
abstract: To create and maintain an inclusive educational environment in which all learners can fully engage in school activities and achieve their best learning outcomes, New Zealand, like many countries, has incorporated the role of special educational needs coordinator (SENCo) into mainstream schools. Being a SENCo means a (re)construction of one’s teacher identity as a SENCo. However, SENCos may face potential challenges in shaping their professional identity as the interpretation and enactment of the role is varied between individual schools. This is the case even in countries where the role is formalised through legislation and policy initiatives, for example in the UK. Particularly, SENCos in New Zealand might confront more identity challenges as the role of SENCo is not yet formally recognised or funded by the Ministry of Education (MoE). No national guidelines or job descriptions exist for the role of SENCo in New Zealand. Given this situation, surprisingly there are very few SENCo studies in the New Zealand context, none of which focuses on SENCo identity. Hence, the aim of this study was to develop an in-depth understanding of how the role of SENCo influences SENCo teacher identities in the New Zealand context. Adopting a case study research strategy, multiple sources of data were collected through focus group discussions, semi-structured individual interviews and work shadowing with five SENCo teachers from five primary schools in Auckland, New Zealand. Documents including school policies and job descriptions were also analysed. Using Gee’s theory of discourse and identity, and his approach to discourse analysis, the findings revealed that the role of SENCo brought about three noticeable aspects of teacher identity in the participants: a) a strong sense of SENCo teacher agency resulting from time and flexibility, freedom and autonomy, accessibility to resources and services, and a growth of teacher expertise related to special educational needs; b) a high level of…
author: Lin, Hui
license: https://researchspace.auckland.ac.nz/docs/uoa-docs/rights.htm
date published: 2020
date modified: 2026-07-24T01:04:34Z
provider: University of Auckland
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: ResearchSpace@Auckland

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: https://hdl.handle.net/2292/51756