A School-Based Peer Coaching Approach to Special Education Teachers’ Professional Development: A Qualitative Study of Teacher Experiences

Teacher professional development is particularly important in special education, where teachers are expected to respond to diverse and complex student needs. This study examines school-based professional development workshops implemented through a voluntary, group-oriented adaptation of the peer coaching model in a special education school. The research aims to explore why special education teachers chose to participate in peer coaching-based professional development workshops and to examine the perceived impacts of these workshops on teachers, students, and the overall school climate. Adopting a qualitative research design, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 11 teachers (10 female and 1 male). The data were analyzed using a five-stage phenomenological analysis method. Findings revealed that teachers participated in the workshops to enhance their professional competence, stay informed about current approaches, develop skills in areas where they felt inadequate, and engage in collaborative learning with colleagues. The workshop process was also perceived to contribute positively to students’ academic and social development and to foster a more supportive and collaborative school atmosphere. Overall, participants perceived that the school-based, group-oriented peer coaching workshops supported their instructional practices and contributed to a more collaborative school culture. The study further emphasizes the importance of supporting needs-based and collaborative professional development models within educational policy frameworks.