Change management and the SENCo role: developing key performance indicators in the strategic development of inclusivity

This article follows an earlier publication highlighting the changing role of special educational needs co‐ordinators (SENCos) in England. SENCos are now required to manage change strategically and deliver inclusive school cultures. School‐based action research undertaken by a teacher studying for the postgraduate National Award for SEN Co‐ordination (NASENCO) is featured in the article; a strategic review of resource allocation increased the availability and quality of interventions for students with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). The commentary which frames the study acknowledges that many SENCos are not yet members of a senior school management team (SMT) despite their mandated strategic whole‐school remit. Featuring the process through which one SENCo has strived to enhance SEND provision and develop context‐specific key performance indicators brings official guidance on the SENCo's role in strategic change management into sharp focus, raising questions that should concern both SMTs and non‐SMT SENCos.     

Ideology influencing action: special educational needs co‐ordinator and learning support assistant role conceptualisations and experiences of special needs education in England

One outcome of England's Code of Practice’ (DfE, 1994) was an increase, first, in the number of learning support assistants (LSAs) working in mainstream schools and, second, the establishment of the role of special educational needs co‐ordinator (SENCO). Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with SENCOs and LSAs to explore: (i) why they chose their occupation; (ii) how they conceptualise their role and (iii) the decisions they make when endeavouring (or not) to cultivate an inclusive culture in schools. Many SENCOs sought the role in order to increase the educational attainment and life chances of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). Inclusive concepts such as fairness, equality and social justice underpinned their rationales. LSA justification was more pragmatic and often related to how the role would help them to achieve a further career ambition, or because it was compatible with personal circumstances. Younger participants thought that they could strengthen their teacher training applications by using the role of LSA to gain more experience working in schools generally, and with pupils with SEND in particular. The role of both SENCO and LSA has been found to be extremely diverse in England, depending largely on the needs and resources of the schools in which these two groups find themselves.     

Inclusive pedagogy and knowledge in special education: addressing the tension

There has been an increasing focus in policy and practice on adopting inclusive pedagogy as a way of reconceptualising how schools work with children with special educational needs (SEN). The paper considers the split between knowledge and pedagogy inherent in some dominant strains of inclusive pedagogy. Drawing on the ‘knowledge turn’ in curriculum studies, we argue that although an analytical distinction between knowledge and pedagogy may be useful, too strong a delineation between the two fails to best serve the needs of children with special needs. Specific implications for teacher education in relation to SEN in England are considered.     

‘Diff‐ability’ not ‘disability’: right‐brained thinkers in a left‐brained education system

This article draws on critical disability studies, challenging the exclusion of right‐brained thinkers from an education system designed to privilege left‐brained thinkers. It focuses on individuals who are labelled dyspraxic, providing data from qualitative interviews with adults about childhood experiences in school and the impact on their emotional well‐being and peer relationships. Utilising Ornstein's pioneering research on the bilateral specialisation of the brain and hemispheric dominance in addition to a critical disability studies theoretical framework, this article innovatively argues that the fact that education in England continues to be delivered in a logical sequential form, even 40 years after Ornstein's work, is systemic discrimination in which dyspraxic children are constructed as ‘deviant’. The article concludes by arguing that individuals with dyspraxia should be seen as having a ‘diff‐ability’ in thinking style rather than a disability and therefore recommends both change and awareness‐raising at institutional level in the education system.     

Policies on and practices of cultural inclusivity in learning management systems: perspectives of Indigenous holistic pedagogies

Online learning has become a conventional term and practice in Australian higher education, yet cultural inclusivity for Indigenous (Indigenous for the purposes of this paper refers to Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples) students is insufficiently reflected in learning management system (LMS) policies and design. This study aims to explore culturally inclusive learning entrenched in Australian university policies on and practices of LMS by applying Indigenous holistic pedagogical values in LMS design. Based on a literature review, we articulate four dimensions: communication, collaboration, community and interculturality for culturally inclusive learning in an online learning environment. By using the dimensions, we critically review policies (n?=?10) and LMS sites (n?=?50). In this review, we argue that there are contrasts of individually heterogeneous and collectively homogeneous approaches, self-focused and community-driven pedagogy, and task-oriented and relational learning. Significantly, the review results indicate that Indigenous holistic pedagogies have a metaphysical strength to be the ontological foundation for cultural inclusivity.     

Educational justice for all: the capability approach and inclusive education leadership

Leaders within education must weigh a number of fundamentals as they engage the needs of the stakeholders they represent within the political, social and economic context they operate within. Leaders must consider the unique needs and capabilities of individuals who might not possess similar abilities or talents to those of the majority. In this paper, we explore the capability approach as a frame to consider such contextual fundamentals in inclusive education leadership. In order to examine how educational leaders address the diverse needs of the groups they serve, we interviewed five central office educational administrators in the USA with the responsibility for leading programming for students with special needs. Using a human capabilities frame, we developed targeted questions to determine whether school leaders uphold the tenets of this theoretical foundation within their district's practices in an era of tight fiscal management and accountability. Findings indicate that those leaders whose districts had the highest level of inclusion for most students, including students with significant disabilities, most closely align with the capability approach. Recommendations for continued research and implications for both practice and policy are included.     

Inclusive special education: development of a new theory for the education of children with special educational needs and disabilities

Inclusive education and special education are based on different philosophies and provide alternative views of education for children with special educational needs and disabilities. They are increasingly regarded as diametrically opposed in their approaches. This article presents a theory of inclusive special education that comprises a synthesis of the philosophy, values and practices of inclusive education with the interventions, strategies and procedures of special education. Development of inclusive special education aims to provide a vision and guidelines for policies, procedures and teaching strategies that will facilitate the provision of effective education for all children with special educational needs and disabilities.     

Exploring the definitions and discourse of co‐location

The phenomenon of co‐location is not new, but there is very little research that focuses specifically on co‐located schools and the teaching and learning that takes place therein. This article focuses on the term ‘co‐location’ and considers the sometimes vague discourse and definitions surrounding the term. The article recommends that future research should begin to explore co‐located schools so as to support the developing discourse and to help us better understand the potential of such arrangements.     

Thin versus thick democracy in education: Porto alegre and the creation of alternatives to neo-liberalism

In this article, the authors describe the ways in which a set of policies has had what seem to be extensive and long lasting effects precisely because these policies are coherently linked to larger dynamics of social transformation and to a coherent strategy that aims to change the mechanisms of the state and the rules of participation in the formation of state policies. They describe and analyze the policies of the 'Popular Administration' in Porto Alegre, Brasil but, more specifically, they focus on the 'Citizen School' and on proposals that are explicitly designed to radically change both the municipal schools and the relationship between communities, the state, and education. This set of polices and the accompanying processes of implementation are constitutive parts of a clear and explicit project aimed at constructing not only a better school for the excluded, but also a larger project of radical and thick democracy. The reforms being built in Porto Alegre are still in formation, but the authors argue that they have crucial implications for how we might think about the politics of education policy and its role in social transformation.     

I can't imagine doing anything else': why do teachers of children with SEN remain in the profession? Resilience,rewards and realism over time

There has been a substantial amount of research on why teachers leave the profession but little on why they stay. The paper will follow Day et al.'s work (2007) in examining the factors that determine which teachers will maintain resilience and stay in the profession, focusing particularly on those who worked as special educational needs co‐ordinators (SENCOs), analysing the careers of 19 teachers who had been in the profession for more than 15 years. Data were gathered by focus groups and life history interviews taking a qualitative, narrative enquiry approach. This research found that some situated factors in schools were found to contribute positively and/or negatively to teachers' efficacy, commitment and perceived effectiveness. Personal influences were also significant and included having children, salary requirements and flexible working patterns. An important factor, and unique to this research, was a commitment to working with children with SEN, and all respondents wanted to continue doing this in some capacity in the future. The paper concludes with the implications for policy and practice and considers possible strategies for maintaining teachers' resilience across their careers.     

RESEARCH SECTION: Multi‐agency working: what are the perspectives of SENCos and parents regarding its development and implementation?

With a national drive in England for the development and restructuring of services encouraging interdisciplinary approaches and multi‐agency working, the question remains as to how services should be developed and why it is perceived as so important. This study by Pearl Barnes, who is an Every Child Counts Teacher Leader and a member of the Specialist Advisory Board for nasen and the Child and Family Public Education Board at the Royal College of Psychiatrists, explores the perspectives of special educational needs co‐ordinators (SENCos) and parents regarding the rationale for multi‐agency working and explores what an effective service might look like. The interviews revealed overwhelming support for multi‐agency activity. Although no single rationale was identified, the general consensus was that a multi‐agency approach can provide a child‐centred pedagogical response, tailored to the individual needs of the child. Multi‐agency working was perceived as enabling and enhancing inclusive education by providing an early and holistic assessment of individual needs through identification of all individual barriers to achievement. No specific set of protocols was identified as offering the most suitable way forward within the project region. However, there was general agreement that a multi‐agency teamwork approach, accessed directly by schools and intervening proactively within the community, was an effective way forward.     

A review of recent developments in the role of the SENCo in the UK

In this discussion paper, Suzanne Mackenzie, senior lecturer with responsibility for the special educational needs BA and MA programmes at the University of East London, reviews previous research in order to identify changes in the role of the special educational needs co-ordinator (SENCo) in schools in the UK. She provides an overview of the SENCo role from an historical perspective and discusses the diverse and challenging nature of the SENCo's work. She notes a marked lack of consistency, over time and across contexts, in interpretations of the SENCo role and examines variation in workload, status and position within school hierarchies. Suzanne Mackenzie highlights the gaps in current research on the work of SENCos and makes suggestions for future developments in the role. She focuses, in particular, on the ways in which SENCo 'effectiveness' can be determined.     

Predictors of improved teaching efficacy following basic training for inclusion in Hong Kong

This study examined teaching efficacy for inclusive practice in a pre-post matched-sample of 737 teachers in Hong Kong taking a basic university-level course in inclusive education. The results demonstrate that regardless of demographic variables such a course is effective in improving teacher efficacy for inclusive practice, with female teachers making larger gains in the area of managing behaviour when compared to their male counterparts. Further, increased knowledge of legislation and policy, and a reduction in concerns about inclusive teaching were found to be the major predictors of improved teaching efficacy for inclusive practice.     

Critical discourse analysis and inclusive educational policies: the power to exclude

The legislative shift towards an inclusive education policy in Cyprus has allegedly been fragmented and contradictory. The textual hybridity of the ostensibly more inclusive policy documents prevents the realization of an inclusive discourse. Critical discourse analysis (CDA) is proposed as an emancipatory research tool that has the potential to destabilize the authoritarian discourses entrenched in educational policy agendas, thereby facilitating the linguistic and, by implication, conceptual reinstatement of inclusion as a notion that unequivocally advocates the protection of the human rights of children with special educational needs (SEN). In the first section, the article concentrates on the theoretical perspectives of CDA within the context of inclusive education policymaking. For illustration purposes, CDA is used here to expose the power/knowledge grid and its subjugating attributes, enshrined in two official legislative documents. The aim is to answer the following questions: (1) In what ways does the legislative document construct and sustain asymmetrical power relations? (2) In what ways are children with SEN constructed and positioned? and (3) In what ways are children’s human rights silenced? The next section is given over to the criticisms of CDA, whilst the final section raises some issues and identifies some problems in relation to the value of CDA as an emancipatory research tool.     

INCLUSION: Confusion about inclusion: patching up or system change?

In this article, Klaus Wedell, Emeritus Professor at the Institute of Education, University of London, looks back over 35 years of developments in the worlds of special and inclusive education. He engages directly with the complexities – for example, the tensions between the standards agenda and policy on inclusion – that have led some commentators to adopt controversial positions and that have engendered heated debate. Klaus Wedell also discusses a dilemma that is emerging as a key issue in the field – the relationships between ‘difference’, stigma, equality of opportunity and ‘special’ or separate provision. The response provided here takes, as a starting point, the notion of a flexible education system that could recognise diversity among learners while making provision for all. Klaus Wedell explores this possibility in terms of the curriculum, pedagogy, school structures and local authorities. He indicates points at which policies contradict one another and where practice has not evolved to address the challenges raised by innovative thinking. He provides evidence of the need for systemic change. He argues that all young people should be valued as individuals so that the differences between them can be acknowledged without prejudice. Only in this way, suggests Klaus Wedell, can the artificial separation of special educational needs policy and mainstream thinking be ended.     

Exploring the views and beliefs of parents of typically developing children about inclusion and inclusive education

Background: The inclusion of pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SENDs) in regular classrooms has been identified as a high priority in many policy documents published by both European and international organisations. Its implementation, however, is influenced by a number of factors, some of which are directly related to the participation and attitudes of different stakeholders, including parents of typically developing children. Parents, as a social group, can act in favour of inclusion or they can support more segregated educational environments.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to explore, in a Greek context, the views and beliefs of parents of typically developing children about different aspects of the education of children with disabilities, with a particular focus on inclusion and inclusive education.

Method: Interviews were held with 40 Greek parents representing 40 typically developing school-aged children who were educated in six different primary education schools, from the broader area of central Greece. All of the children, at the time of the study, were educated in mainstream classes, in which an in-classroom support system was applied. Open-ended interview questions focused on parents’ views and beliefs about the implementation of inclusive educational programmes. Data were analysed according to the principles of an inductive data-driven approach.

Findings: The research findings indicate that most of the participant parents did not feel informed about specific school policy practices relevant to inclusive education; they were not aware of the notion of ‘inclusion’ or approached inclusion from an integrationist point of view. Within this context, they hold positive to neutral attitudes towards inclusion, on the basis that a child with SENDs can cope with the school requirements.

Conclusions: This small-scale, exploratory research study suggests the importance of informing and involving parents of typically developing children in efforts to promote more inclusive practices.     

Resourced provision: the impact of inclusive practices on a mainstream primary school

This personal account from a special educational needs co‐ordinator illustrates the negative impact that resourced provision has had on one school. The provision caters for children with communication and interaction difficulties and is housed in a mainstream primary school. For this school, while the provision has had a beneficial impact on the development of inclusive values among pupils, it has also led to a decline in the overall effectiveness of the school. The achievement data of pupils in the provision has had a detrimental impact on overall school performance data. Current narrow measures of school effectiveness in England mean that schools with increasingly diverse student populations can pay the price for their commitment to inclusion, as this example illustrates.     

Inclusive education in the Slovak Republic two decades after the dissolution of Czechoslovakia

The fall of Communist regime in 1989 and the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1993 significantly affected the educational system of today's Slovakia. As a sovereign state, Slovakia has ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities obliging its signatories to practise ‘inclusive education’. This article explores the current educational policies of the Slovak Republic in light of this obligation. Using the official statistical data the article argues that the current state educational policies have not succeeded in meeting the objective of practising inclusive education, as the proportion of students educated in segregated special educational provisions has been consistently rising over the last decade. This article attempts to identify particular aspects of the current educational policies which might have contributed to this phenomenon.     

The role of inter-professional collaboration in developing inclusive education: experiences of teachers and occupational therapists in Slovenia

This was the first qualitative study of the inclusion of children with special needs into regular schools in Slovenia that focused on inter-professional collaboration and its contributions to the inclusion process. Focus groups and individual interviews were conducted with primary school teachers (N?=?36) and occupational therapists (N?=?9) to explore their personal experiences. Data were analysed using qualitative content analysis (Strauss, A., and J. Corbin. 1998. Basics of Qualitative Research: Techniques and Procedures for Developing Grounded Theory. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage). Two categories pertaining to inter-professional collaboration emerged from the analysis. They described different barriers and strategies that either inhibited or facilitated the cooperation process. The experiences of teachers and occupational therapists differed; however, both professional groups expressed frustration with organisational and systemic factors that often prevented better exchange of knowledge and information. Due to the organisation of work and financial issues, occupational therapists had limited access to the school environment; therefore, they generally showed more eagerness to increase the level of collaboration and their presence at the school. The study also pointed out how the roles of certain professionals are not recognised, suggesting the need for more promotional work. If inclusion in Slovenia is to be fully implemented, collaboration between different professionals working with children with special needs must strengthen. This will require some significant organisational, cultural and also personal transformations.     

A climate for self-efficacy: the relationship between school climate and teacher efficacy for inclusion

Teacher efficacy represents a key construct in exploring successful implementation of inclusive policy. Teachers’ impression of school climate is shown to relate to teacher efficacy; however, few studies pay due deference to its context/specific conceptualisation, with a particular lacuna in research noted in an Irish mainstream primary school context. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between school climate and efficacy for inclusion and whether this relationship impacts on perceptions of challenging behaviours, further identifying barriers to and supports for efficacious inclusive practice. Fifty-seven probated primary mainstream teachers in the Republic of Ireland responded to online questionnaires exploring perceptions of school climate, teacher efficacy for inclusion and challenging behaviours. Teachers’ perceptions of a supportive school climate related positively to their teaching efficacy for inclusion, in turn influencing their ratings of the severity of and their confidence in managing commonly experienced challenging behaviours in inclusive classrooms. Teachers looked within their school for support, few noting Educational Psychologists (EPs) as sources for support. These findings add weight to the importance of understanding the relationship between teachers’ perceptions of their school climate and their efficacy for inclusion, addressing the dearth of research in an Irish context. In particular, these findings underline the potential offered by an understanding of teachers’ beliefs to inform and enhance the role of EPs in supporting efficacious inclusive practice.