Education partners’ collaborative efforts and roles to benefit the “missing middle” learners in inclusive schools

This dataset contains the qualitative data collected during a study investigating the experiences of multidisciplinary professionals (including teachers, speech therapists, occupational therapists, parents, and school-based team coordinators) in Gauteng, South Africa. It focuses on their collaborative efforts to enhance the inclusion and participation of learners with learning difficulties in inclusive schools. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 18 participants to gather insights into systemic barriers, support strategies, and collaborative relationships. Additionally, official school documents – including individualised learner support plans, minutes of meetings, and the schools’ inclusion policies - underwent qualitative document analysis. Data was analysed using thematic analysis to identify barriers and facilitators to effective collaboration between school-based multidisciplinary professionals. The repository contains anonymised, verbatim text transcriptions of the interviews and documents of the analysed school documents. The study received ethical clearance from the institutional research board (Protocol: EDU191/22). To protect participant confidentiality and to adhere to POPIA, all identifying information has been stripped from the transcriptions.