At the beginning of the course, those aspects of interprofessional learning
teachers felt most prepared to engage in were working collaboratively with col-
leagues across different disciplines (58.3% felt prepared or very prepared to do this),
and contributing their skills and knowledge (50.6% felt prepared or very prepared to
do this). Those aspects that participants felt least prepared to engage in were learning
from other teachers in different specialist areas (only 35.8% felt prepared or very
prepared to do this) and learning about other specialist areas (only 38% felt prepared
or very prepared to do this). These areas also had the lowest levels of improvement
with 53.9 and 50% of respondents respectively feeling they had achieved or well
achieved these by the end of the program. Understanding the elements of interdis-
ciplinary practice and working effectively in an interdisciplinary manner were the
two aspects of interprofessional learning that most participants (92.9 and 92.9%,
respectively) felt that had achieved or achieved well by the end of the course.
Participants were also asked to indicate the importance they placed on these key
aspects of interprofessional practice both at the beginning of the program and at the
end. The aspect of interprofessional practice thought most important at the beginning
of the program was“working effectively in an interdisciplinary manner,”where 86%
of respondents thought that this was either important or very important. The aspect of
interprofessional practice thought least important at the beginning for the program
was‘learning about other specialist areas’with 58% of respondents rating this as
important or very important. At the end of the program, these remained the partici-
pants’perceptions of the most and least important aspects of interprofessional practice
however, the number of participants who thought them important or very important
had grown to 71 and 72%, respectively. Also worth noting is that at the end of the
program, participants’perceptions of the importance of all of these key aspects of
interprofessional practice had increased. At the end of the program, participants were
asked to describe those aspects of the program that had been most beneficial. The
aspects of interprofessional practice that featured in their responses included oppor-
tunities to meet and learn with and about other professionals and to discuss aspects of
their own practice with others, as indicated in the following student comment:
(This course) has allowed me to expand my networks and learn from and alongside a broad
range of people who are all passionate about and committed to ensuring that all children
receive a quality education that responds to their needs and challenges them to be the best
they can be. (Teacher feedback 2013)Other comments from teachers about the beneficial aspects of the course included:
- Working interprofessionally and having easy access to a range of specialist who
expanded what I knew about learning. - Having a range of local practitioners to discuss my day-to-day practice and
study with. - I learned so much about practice from other endorsement areas. This has
encouraged me to consider further study in these areas. - Working and learning alongside peers from the same and different endorse-
ments helped me to shape my professional identity.
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