The inclusion of pupils perceived as having social and emotional behavioural difficulties in mainstream schools: a focus upon learning

This article focuses upon the relationship between social and emotional behavioural difficulties (SEBD) and learning. It argues that, while inclusion is desirable in principle, it can be highly problematic in practice. Further, it explores the contested nature of the concept of SEBD and the nature of support for pupils categorised as such. The article draws upon a case study which evaluates a group work approach devised by the author to support pupils experiencing SEBD within a mainstream secondary school, within a deprived area. The study (N = 69) established benchmark measures relating to pupil attendance, discipline sanctions, attainment and pupil attitudes and followed the progress of the pupils until one to two years after completion of the intervention. The findings indicate that the intervention did not reduce the differential in performance in National Tests between the Support Group pupils and comparator groups but it did impact positively upon dispositions towards learning.     

The attitudes of mainstream teachers towards pupils with emotional and behavioural difficulties

ABSTRACT

This paper reviews a selection of the literature relating to the attitudes of mainstream teachers to different types of emotional and behavioural difficulties (EBDs) in the classroom. It discusses the variables influencing these attitudes, including gender, age and ethnicity of teachers and pupils; national context; between‐ and within‐school factors; within‐classroom factors; and the availability and quality of support services. The literature shows that many mainstream teachers have negative perceptions of, and limited tolerance for, problem behaviour in the classroom, and the barriers to modifying these attitudes are considered. Examples of projects designed to overcome these barriers are given.     

An evaluation of conjoint behavioral consultation as a model for supporting students with emotional and behavioral difficulties in mainstream classrooms

Abstract

Conjoint behavioral consultation (CBC) is an indirect form KEYW ORDS of service delivery in which parents and teachers collaborate to meet the academic, social, and behavioral needs of children. The purpose of this study was to evaluate CBC as a method of providing behavioral support for two students with emotional and behavioral difficulties (EBD) in mainstream classrooms. A nonconcurrent multiple baseline across participants' design and a follow-up phase were employed to assess an evidence-based intervention (self-management) delivered in the context of the CBC model. Results indicated a significant increase in teacher ratings of behavioral control from baseline to treatment. Positive treatment effects were maintained at a 4 week follow-up. Norm referenced measures produced statistically significant and clinically meaningful changes in teachers' perceptions of disruptive behavior following treatment. Parents and teachers indicated satisfaction with consultation services and viewed CBC as acceptable and effective. The findings are discussed in relation to the limitations of the study, and to future research directions and implications for practice.     

Pupils' views on inclusion: moderate learning difficulties and bullying in mainstream and special schools

This study examined the views of 101 boys and girls aged 10–11 and 13–14 with statements of special educational needs for moderate learning difficulties. Questions centred on their experiences of school, teaching and learning in mainstream and special schools. The study is set in the context of the international move towards more inclusion of children with disabilities into mainstream schools and the greater importance attached to the child's voice in decision‐making in education. Most children expressed positive evaluations of their schools and the teaching they received, while a significant minority expressed mixed views. A significant proportion in the mainstream preferred learning support in withdrawal settings. While the majority in both settings preferred their current school, a significant minority in special school preferred to be in a mainstream setting. A notable emergent theme from the study was the high incidence of ‘bullying’ that was experienced. Though experienced in both settings, those in special schools experienced far more ‘bullying’ by children from other mainstream schools and from peers and outsiders in their neighbourhood. These findings are discussed in terms of the tensions or dilemmas about difference that were experienced and their implications for the move towards greater inclusion.     

Changing attitudes: supporting teachers in effectively including students with emotional and behavioural difficulties in mainstream education

Pupils with emotional and behavioural difficulties (EBD) are often considered the most challenging group to manage within mainstream education. The challenges perceived by teachers may be due, in part, to negative attitudes towards this cohort of pupils, which may exacerbate feelings of inadequacy and impact negatively upon direct interactions with pupils. The current study comprised a combination of implicit (i.e. the Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure, IRAP) and explicit (The Opinions Relative to Mainstreaming Scale, ORMS) technologies to assess the attitudes of teachers (N = 25) and teachers in training (N = 20) towards pupils with EBD. When these attitudes proved to be negative (relative to typically developing pupils), the utility of a combined behaviour intervention (BI) and stress-management intervention (SMI), in conjunction with a series of pre and post measures, was examined. The IRAP results for teachers indicated that the SMI enhanced their implicit positivity towards pupils with EBD (EBD PUPIL) to a considerable extent (0.025-0.175), and this was greater than the impact recorded with the BI. The teachers in training showed implicit negativity towards EBD PUPIL (0.13) and this decreased, albeit marginally, at post-BI (0.05) and post-SMI (0.06). Significant differences were recorded in teachers’ general attitudes towards inclusion (p < 0.001) and efficacy (p < 0.008). Significant effects were recorded for teachers in training in relation to their attitudes towards having a child with EBD and having a previously excluded child with EBD in their classrooms (all ps < 0.001). For this latter group, reductions were also recorded in their levels of depression, anxiety and stress (p < 0.001) and there was an increase in their psychological flexibility (p < 0.001). The current results indicate that a range of positive implicit and explicit outcomes was associated with the current BI and SMI package in terms of fostering more effective inclusion of pupils with EBD in mainstream education.     

The contribution of a 'Quiet Place' to early intervention strategies for children with emotional and behavioural difficulties in mainstream schools

Bob Spalding, Senior Lecturer in the Department of Education, University of Liverpool, outlines the nature of a holistically oriented therapeutic intervention ('Quiet Place') developed in some mainstream primary schools on Merseyside. It offers a focus for a variety of therapeutic interventions, as well as an environment conducive to a sense of well-being and relaxation. An evaluation of the first cohort of children to complete the programme is analysed in comparison with a control group, and the key factors in the success of the provision are identified.     

Exploring the social inclusion of deaf young people in mainstream schools,using their lived experience

Research suggests that children with hearing loss face a number of difficulties in the education system, including socially. Although there has been much research with the severe to profound deaf population there has been little research into the life experiences of children with moderate hearing loss who attend mainstream secondary schools. This research sought to examine the experiences of social inclusion for five young people with moderate hearing loss. Data were gathered through semi-structured interviews in the young person’s school setting and were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Although each participant had distinctive experiences, there were a number of common themes that emerged indicating the factors that support social inclusion and those which create barriers for deaf children in schools. Implications for educational psychologists are considered and the limitations of the research are outlined.     

RESEARCH SECTION: Between a rock and a hard place: parents' attitudes to the inclusion of children with special educational needs in mainstream and special schools

In this paper, Katherine Runswick‐Cole, a researcher at the Research Institute for Health and Social Change at Manchester Metropolitan University, engages with parents' attitudes to the placement of their children with special educational needs in mainstream and special schools. She sets her review of parents' views within the current policy and legislative context. She then moves on to explore parents' attitudes to inclusion by drawing on the social model of disability as an analytical tool and developing a typology of parental school choices. The study reported in this paper involved 24 parents who were contacted through voluntary organisations and interviewed, either in their own homes or on the telephone. The views of seven professionals were also gathered. The findings reveal that parents' attitudes to mainstream and special schooling are influenced by their engagement with models of disability. The parents' experiences suggest that, despite the shifts in policy we have seen since 1997, the process of inclusive education continues to be fragile.     

Supporting the inclusion of pupils with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties in the primary school: the role of teaching assistants

During the past ten years in the UK there has been a considerable increase in the number of teaching assistants (TAs) appointed to work alongside teachers in schools. A significant number of these colleagues are appointed to support pupils with special educational needs (SEN), including those with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties (SEBD). This paper reports on the ways in which the role of the teaching assistant in supporting pupils with SEBD has been developed in schools for pupils aged 7–11 years in one English Local Education Authority (LEA). It suggests that there are several models of support emerging and that the role of the teaching assistant is perceived as crucial to the effective inclusion of pupils with SEBD in mainstream classrooms.     

Disproportionality in special education: identifying children with emotional behavioural difficulties in Irish primary schools

Within categories of special educational needs, emotional and behavioural difficulties have received much attention in recent years, particularly in relation to their definition and identification by parents and teachers. This paper stems from previous research which highlights how children from disadvantaged backgrounds and those attending schools designated as socio-economically disadvantaged are significantly more likely than their peers to be identified as having a special educational need of a non-normative type such as emotional behavioural difficulty (EBD). Using data from the Growing Up in Ireland study, it examines whether the EBD identified by teachers or within certain schools is matched by the child’s own performance on an internationally validated emotional and mental health measure – the Piers–Harris. Findings show that overall self-reported social emotional well-being bears a strong relationship to the probability of being identified with an EBD. However, boys, children from economically inactive and one-parent households and children attending the most disadvantaged school contexts are more likely to be identified with having an EBD, even after taking into account their social background characteristics and their scoring on the Piers–Harris measure. These findings suggest that the subjective nature of EBD identification is resulting in a disproportionate number of these children being identified with EBD. The implications of this study are explored for existing disability/SEN classification systems, school-wide intervention models and the impact on individual students labelled as EBD. Overall, the findings pose searching questions about the validity of employing SEN classification systems in deciding eligibility and types of appropriate provision.     

An investigation into the emotional reactions to inclusion of Ghanaian mainstream teachers

Literature is replete with evidence of considerable pressure that many mainstream teachers may experience in their bid to respond to the diverse needs of children with special educational needs and disabilities and to achieve ever better results. In this study, the results of 100 teachers from mainstream primary schools in three of the ten regions of Ghana were examined. The analysis involved five bi‐polar emotional reactions; namely: anxious/relaxed; encouraged/discouraged; confident/diffident; satisfied/dissatisfied; self‐assured/ worried. The results confirmed that in teaching children with SEN in the mainstream, teachers experienced psychological stress. On the basis of the findings, suggestions for more information about SEN, supply of resources and inter‐agency collaboration were made.     

Feedback practices in a sample of children with emotional and/or behavioral difficulties

Abstract

This study examined two aspects of feedback in a population of children displaying emotional and/or behavioral difficulties. The study explored the agreement in teachers' and children's reports of positive and corrective feedback, as well as the role of teachers' beliefs concerning the child's sensitivity to feedback. Teachers' sensitivity ratings were positively correlated with teachers' reports of positive feedback, indicating that teachers may give differential feedback based on the teachers' perceptions of the child's sensitivity to feedback rather than specifically on performance indicators. Discrepancies between teachers' and children's reports of feedback were also evident. Given the critical role of feedback in the academic and social adjustment of children with emotional and/or behavioral difficulties, implications of feedback practices are explored.     

'I wasn't trained to work with them': mainstream teachers' attitudes to children with speech and language difficulties

Approximately one-eighth of early school-aged children in the UK have speech and language difficulties. Many such children are now being educated in mainstream settings. However, there is a dearth of up-to-date and valid research that considers UK (student) teachers' attitudes towards such children. Two hundred and sixty-eight trainee teachers (PGCE students) from Manchester were given two questionnaires, containing both closed and open questions, to measure their attitudes towards and experiences with children with speech and language difficulties. A range of attitudes was expressed and most concern was around the issues of resources (both time and knowledge based). Most teachers were positive about their expectations of such children. Attitudes were not significantly related to teachers' gender, teaching type/subject, previous knowledge of someone with speech and language difficulties or experience of children with such difficulties. Views on the educational placement for children with a range of communication difficulties varied. The authors consider that two-pronged action is needed to facilitate an improvement: a greater focus on the inclusion debate (not specifically tied to this group of children) and also additional knowledge and resources.     

Perceived social support and domain-specific adjustment of children with emotional and behavioural difficulties

The perceived availability of social support has been documented as a protective mechanism among adults and adolescents. However, little research has explored the role of social support among children with emotional and behavioural difficulties (E/BD). The current study sought to investigate the effects of perceived social support from family, friends and teachers on domain-specific adjustment for children with E/BD. Fifty-four teacher-nominated children for E/BD completed questionnaires on perceived social support and behavioural, emotional and social functioning. Results suggest a pattern of intercorrelations between indices of child-rated social support and behavioural, emotional and social indicators of adjustment. Specifically, domain-specific social support was found to predict domain-specific adjustment outcomes for children with E/BD, once demographic variables were held constant. Interventions that are child-centred and domain-specific are suggested.     

The social,emotional and behavioural difficulties of primary school children with poor attendance records

Two complementary studies of poor and better attenders are presented. To measure emotional and behavioural difficulties (EBD) different teacher-completed rating scales were employed, and to determine social difficulties, the studies used sociometry and some items from the scales. One study had a longitudinal design. It revealed that, after controlling for social class, gender and EBD in Year 2, poor attendance between Years 2 and 6 had the effect of significantly increasing EBD in Year 6. Both studies also had a cross-sectional design element which gave an indication of some of the poor attenders’ social difficulties and confirmed the longitudinal findings. The rating scales also provided measurements of “neurotic” and “antisocial” disorders. These suggested that a “neurotic” disorder may have played a bigger part than an “antisocial” disorder in the poor attenders’ EBD. The article ends with a list of recent references dealing with intervention issues.     

A study of perceptions that significant others hold of the inclusion of children with difficulties in mainstream classes

The perceptions of mainstream teachers and parents of other children, and ‘significant others’, are crucial to the extent to which children with difficulties are accepted in mainstream classes. This study examined the views of 507 ‘significant others’ towards the inclusion of children experiencing a variety of difficulties. They were asked to rank how they felt about children with certain types of ‘difficulty’, and given the opportunity to explain their decisions in a subsequent interview. Five main issues were examined, namely the most suitable age for inclusion, the problems faced by parents, the type of difficulty most suitable for inclusion into mainstream classes, the allocation of resources and how resources should be allocated to children with different types of giftedness. Views towards these issues varied depending on the type of difficulty the child experienced. The findings of this study indicate that some children are more likely than others to be readily accepted by ‘significant others’ for inclusion into mainstream schooling. It is stressed that the perceptions of these ‘significant others’ impact upon how successful any attempt to include children in mainstream classes will be.     

The forgotten schools. Current status of special schools for pupils with social,emotional and behavioural difficulties in Germany: a complete national survey

The article reports on a survey of special schools for children with social, emotional, and behavioural difficulties (SEBD) in Germany. The schools were asked by standardised mail questionnaire about their organisational structures. The rate of return was 77% and a total of 397 schools were included in the interpretation of data. The questionnaire asked for several items to analyse the structural elements and organisational compositions of the schools. Rather than measuring the effects of instruction and treatment in the separate school settings, the present study is basic research aiming at stocktaking of the current organisational status of these schools that have barely been the focus of research. The number of structural problems that SEBD schools in Germany have to face is enormous, according to the findings. It is arguable whether optimal service delivery and support to the pupils is possible under the general conditions revealed by the present study, e.g., inadequate number of teachers and other staff members (and thus insufficient staff for child guidance), only a few schools offering full‐time schooling services, and in only a few instances do we find inter‐agency collaboration.     

Introducing consultancy supervision in a primary school for children with social,emotional and behavioural difficulties

This article describes a pilot study where consultancy supervision was introduced into a primary school for pupils with SEBD in England. School staff engaged with supervision and evaluated their experience through a quantitative and qualitative methodology. The paper explores the nature of supervision, the qualities of the supervisory relationship and the areas of school staff lives to which supervision can be relevant. The project is set in context through reviewing current literature and professional guidelines on supervision. The positive results of the project are described and recommendations and conclusions drawn from the findings.     

Motor and coordination difficulties in children with emotional and behavioural difficulties

To date, very few studies have explored the incidence of motor impairment amongst children with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties (social, emotional and mental health (SEMH); formerly SEBD in England). Following research that suggests an increase in motor difficulties in young children and adolescents with SEMH difficulties, this study compares profiles of motor ability using the Movement ABC-2 assessment in children attending a specialist SEMH primary school with a typically developing comparison group and children with a diagnosis of developmental coordination disorder. We report an increased prevalence of borderline or clinically significant motor impairment amongst children with SEMH difficulties compared to the comparison group, with 44% of the SEMH special school sample falling within these ranges. We suggest that bearing in mind the increased likelihood for motor impairment is important in SEMH education, as it has likely impact on classroom functioning and ability and motivation to take part in socially and academically relevant activities.     

Promoting inner stillness: the value of a self-discovery programme for children with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties

Dr Lesley Cullen-Powell and Professor Julie Barlow are both chartered health psychologists and both work at the Interdisciplinary Research Centre in Health at Coventry University where Lesley Cullen-Powell is a research fellow and Julie Barlow is a director. In this article, they assess the benefits of a 'self-discovery programme' for children aged six to seven years attending one mainstream primary school. Staff at the school selected 18 pupils, many of them considered to be at risk of exclusion, to participate in the study. The children were allocated either to an 'intervention' or 'non-intervention' group. The children in the intervention group experienced the self-discovery programme over two terms.
Results suggest that the programme was well received by the children. They became more confident, respectful and calm and they displayed less aggressive behaviours during the self-discovery programme. Lesley Cullen-Powell and Julie Barlow are cautious in the interpretation of their findings, but suggest that the self-discovery programme has the potential to help children to feel more positive about themselves and their peers and to re-engage with learning. The authors argue that a wider implementation of the programme, with a controlled study, is now required to evaluate the self-discovery programme in more depth and detail.