Preparing to Serve Students with Special Educational Needs: Interprofessional Education for Educational Psychology & Speech Language Pathology Students

Interprofessional education (IPE) is widely recognized in healthcare for fostering collaborative practice. However, there is a pressing need to expand IPE opportunities for professionals serving children with special educational needs (SEN). Building on successful cross-programme learning between speech-language pathology (SLP) and early childhood education students in the Faculty of Education, this initiative developed a new cross-faculty IPE involving educational psychology (EP) and SLP students. It aimed to enhance understanding of professional roles, enable practice with simulated cases of supporting children with SEN in school settings, and foster reflection on the IPEC Core Competencies for Interprofessional Collaborative Practice.

The initiative included asynchronous pre-session learning to introduce the IPEC core competencies and the professional roles of speech therapists and educational psychologists in Hong Kong schools via Moodle. A three-hour in-class session featured small-group activities where cross-programme teams identified shared and unique roles, responsibilities, and theoretical frameworks that underpin their work with children with SEN. Students engaged in case-based simulations of Individualized Education Plan meetings, adopting roles of professionals supporting a child with SEN. Each role included professional notes (e.g., diagnosis, treatment goals) and descriptions of varying attitudes and communication competencies, which students adopted to reflect real-world interpersonal challenges. Small groups role-played team meetings, applying their professional perspectives. Reflections encouraged students to analyze team dynamics, core competencies, and navigate competing goals while exploring barriers and facilitators of interprofessional collaboration in Hong Kong’s schools and brainstorming solutions.

A key pedagogical innovation was a collaborative assessment task integrated into each programme’s coursework. SLP and EP students worked together in small groups for two weeks post-session to co-create SEN resources using one of the multimedia formats (e.g., video, infographic, social media campaign) for knowledge exchange. This task leveraged both expertise and creativity of students, fostering synergistic collaboration that mirrors real-world teamwork. The assessment cultivated communication and problem-solving skills as students negotiated roles and synthesized interdisciplinary insights to create tangible, public-facing resource. Students also provided peer feedback on other groups’ projects, honing their ability to deliver constructive, sensitive critiques—a critical skill for professional growth. This initiative demonstrates how structured IPE, paired with meaningful assessments, offers a cost-effective approach to scaling IPE. We hope this equips students with transferable skills and an open mindset for collaborative practice, enhancing support for students with SEN in Hong Kong schools upon graduation.

Acknoledgement: This initiative received no direct funding; materials were from a prior TDG (Barrett, Wong, Yeung, 2020).