Making Pupils Fit the Framework: research into the implementation of the National Curriculum in schools for pupils with moderate learning difficulties,focusing on Key Stage 4

The introduction of a National Curriculum in England and Wales caused a dilemma for many teachers who were responsible for pupils with learning difficulties. The issue of an entitlement curriculum for all pupils raised fundamental questions about the nature of special educational needs. This paper draws on the results of a questionnaire which was sent to senior teachers in schools for pupils with moderate learning difficulties in England and Wales. The results raise interesting questions about how schools structure the curriculum to enable equality of opportunity for all pupils whilst still managing to cater for the individual learning needs of pupils experiencing difficulties.     

The role of special schools for children with profound and multiple learning difficulties: is segregation always best?

The education of young people with profound and multiple learning difficulties continues to raise challenges and controversies. In this article, Ben Simmons, an ESRC funded PhD student and research assistant, and Phil Bayliss, programme director for the masters degree in special education and disability, both based in the School of Education and Lifelong Learning at the University of Exeter, describe their research into provision for pupils with profound and multiple learning difficulties in a special school in the south west of England. Their work, based in an interpretivist, qualitative approach, set out to illuminate issues relating to the inclusion of pupils with profound and multiple learning difficulties. The findings presented here suggest that the school, in spite of its strong reputation, struggled significantly to provide appropriate learning experiences for pupils with profound and multiple learning difficulties. Ben Simmons and Phil Bayliss discuss the need for improved staff development opportunities focused on enhancing current levels of knowledge and skills. They conclude by calling for a reappraisal of the established view that special schools necessarily provide the best learning environment for pupils with profound and multiple learning difficulties.     

Reflections upon teacher education in severe difficulties in the USA: shared concerns about quantity and quality

In this article, Phyllis Jones of the Department of Special Education at the University of South Florida and Elizabeth West from the University of Washington explore key issues in respect to teacher education for teachers who teach pupils with severe and profound learning difficulties in the USA. Issues relating to quantity and quality of teachers are discussed in the context of policy and practice in the USA. Reflections related to teacher education delivery in the USA, in terms of case-based learning and distance education, for example, and the content of teacher education courses, for example, in terms of helping teachers to understand the needs of pupils with learning difficulties and the promotion of evidence-based practices, are discussed. Phyllis Jones and Elizabeth West suggest that their reflections can contribute to continuing discussions about teacher education in the UK for teachers who work with pupils with severe and profound learning difficulties.     

Teacher Talk and Pupil Thought

Classroom activities were observed and audiotaped in four schools for pupils with moderate learning difficulties. Teacher talk which encouraged reflection by pupils was identified and categorised. Characteristic teacher styles emerged which differed mainly in the extent to which they encouraged pupils to reflect, by justification, explanation and metacognition, for example. Teacher styles in classroom interaction were related to their views on the nature and source of their pupils’ learning difficulties and on the role of cognitive challenge in helping their school achievement.     

Teaching subjects to pupils with profound and multiple learning difficultiesConsiderations for the new Framework

Nicola Grove, who lectures in speech and language therapy and works in a school for pupils with severe and profound learning difficulties, and Nick Peacey, Director of the Special Educational Needs Joint Initiative for Training (SENJIT) at the Institute of Education, discuss the development of a framework for teaching National Curriculum subjects to pupils with profound learning difficulties through discussion with mainstream specialists.     

Establishing Peer Mediation in a Special School Context

This article reports an evaluation of a peer mediation scheme in a special school for students with moderate learning difficulties. The evaluation of the project focused on two aspects: the effectiveness of the training of the mediators and the effect of the project on the school community. The author concluded that pupils with moderate learning difficulties have the ability to mediate successfully; that the process can develop their social skills and emotional literacy; and can play a notable part in increasing cooperation between pupils within the school environment.     

School belonging among young adolescents with SEMH and MLD: the link with their social relations and school inclusivity

Despite the considerable institutional changes schools have made to accommodate the individual needs of pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), as underpinned by key principles of inclusion, there is still international concern about the mainstream experiences pupils with SEND have in school settings. This study helps us understand the schooling experiences of pupils with behavioural difficulties and learning difficulties by investigating whether they have a sense of belonging and positive social relations and whether these vary according to the level of inclusiveness of the school ethos at the institution they attend. Perceived social relations and feelings of belonging of 1,440 (282 SEND) young adolescents from three secondary mainstream settings that differ in inclusivity, were analysed using a self-reporting questionnaire. Findings demonstrated that pupils with SEND are not a homogeneous group, as pupils with behavioural difficulties were found to have less of a sense of belonging, and social relations than those with learning difficulties. It was also found that the sense of belonging of both groups is associated with their positive perceived relations with teachers and their inclusiveness of school ethos. These findings contribute as they offer ways of enhancing the sense of belonging of pupils with behavioural and learning difficulties in schools.     

Speech and language therapy support for pupils with behavioural, emotional and social difficulties (BESD) – a pilot project

Current research highlights the prevalence of potentially undetected communication difficulties, often associated with major difficulties in literacy and learning, among pupils identified as having behavioural, emotional and social difficulties (BESD). In this article, Sarah Heneker, who is a speech and language therapist working mainly with adults with learning disabilities in a Primary Care Trust in Surrey, reports on a pilot project that provided speech and language therapy to a group of pupils in a pupil referral unit (PRU). The research involved formal assessment of 11 pupils aged between five and 11 years. These assessments confirmed that ten out of the 11 pupils experienced some degree of difficulty in communication. Six of these pupils, whose significant difficulties warranted the intervention, were offered speech and language therapy for one term. All these pupils made progress in the areas targeted for intervention and gained confidence generally in their communication. The pupils who worked on word knowledge made the greatest measurable progress. Sarah Heneker reports on these and other benefits to the pupils involved and reveals that the success of her pilot project has led directly to a sustained programme of speech and language therapy input for the pupils in this PRU. This may be a response that education providers in other localities will wish to emulate.     

Using multimedia to teach personal safety to children with severe learning difficulties

This paper presents a review of the use of computer technology as a medium to teach personal safety skills to young people with severe learning difficulties. The authors, working from the Psychology Department of Glasgow Caledonian University, present two main areas which they considered when designing teaching materials for these pupils. Firstly, pupils with severe learning difficulties may not understand the appropriate language for sexual issues. Materials based on the ability to speak, listen, read or write will not produce a deep level of understanding about the topic. Secondly, pupils with severe learning difficulties may find acting out a situation through role play difficult. The authors describe their use of computer technology as a possible solution to these areas and illustrate the personal experiences of educators following this novel use of multimedia.     

Planning for Their Future

Robert Ashdown (Headteacher of St. Luke's School, a special school for pupils with severe learning difficulties in Scunthorpe, Humberside) argues that although the years since the Education Reform Act have been marked by intensive curriculum development in special schools for pupils with severe learning difficulties, external pressures may have forced schools to focus on the National Curriculum at the expense of the whole curriculum. This risk remains with the new, slimmer National Curriculum. This article reports on what has been achieved and what remains to be done, particularly as regards the personal and social development of pupils.     

Perceptual skills and Arabic literacy patterns for mathematically gifted children with specific learning difficulties

Phonological awareness is a key factor in the development of literacy, and frequently presents itself as an area of weakness in pupils with reading difficulties. In this article, Anies Al-Hroub of the American University of Beirut sets out to define a distinguishing pattern of characteristics that supports the identification of pupils with specific learning difficulties who are gifted in mathematics and reports the assessment of the pupils' visual and auditory perceptual skills, including phonological awareness. The assessments were designed to measure auditory and visual memory skills, auditory and visual analysis skills, speed of information processing and spoken language (receptive and expressive). Furthermore, aspects of language learning such as reading, writing, spelling and parts of listening ability were all assessed for mathematically gifted pupils with specific learning difficulties who scored above the cut-off score of 120 on the WISC-III-Jordan. The article closes with recommendations for further research.     

Taking risks with literature: an exploration into the resilience of pupil responses to the study of a challenging text at GCSE

This article explores and compares the impact of studying a challenging literary text at GCSE on pupils with and without learning difficulties. It is based on the findings of a qualitative classroom‐based research project that analysed taped pupil conversations to measure the resilience of the response of secondary school students to reading Shakespearean texts. The data gathered from questionnaires and captured conversations in class suggests that pupils with learning difficulties become risk‐averse in their learning because they do not want to experience failure. They demonstrate signs of resilience in their classroom behaviour but are often under‐confident when working independently. Compared with students who are considered more academically able, pupils with learning difficulties find it difficult to negotiate the linguistic complexities of analytical discourse because it differs greatly from their own social lexis. These pupils are struggling to benefit from their encounters with challenging literature because they are not yet fluent scholars and are lacking opportunities to develop a confident critical voice of their own.     

东乡族小学生汉语文学习困难调查研究

剖析了影响东乡族小学生汉语学习困难的各种困难，并在此基础上提出优化东乡族小学生汉语学习的教学策略和建设。     

'It Would Have Been Bad': The Development of Historical Imagination and Empathy in a Group of Secondary Aged Pupils with Severe Learning Difficulties

Andrew Turner, who teaches in a school for pupils with severe learning difficulties, considers the teaching of history by teachers of such pupils and suggests that the skills of imaginative reconstruction and empathy are relatively neglected areas, particularly when dealing with distant historical periods. Recent research with mainstream primary pupils illustrates the possible parallels and the article gives details of a small-scale study of one group of Key Stage 3 pupils.     

Chance or Choice?

The author taught at High Trees School, Bradford, for children with severe learning difficulties. He gives an account of a project to investigate the ability of pupils with very severe or profound learning difficulties to express preferences for different types of auditory and visual 'rewards'.     

Access to numeracy: a case study

More and more pupils with learning difficulties are being taught in mainstream settings but how inclusive is the teaching they experience? In this illustrative case study, Ruth Germain, a teacher in a mainstream primary school, looks at how Paul, a pupil with Down's syndrome, is supported during 'dedicated numeracy time'. She examines the relationships between whole-class, group and individual teaching; the nature of the support Paul receives; and his educational and behavioural responses. The article closes with a call for further research into the implications for teaching and learning of the inclusion of pupils with learning difficulties in mainstream contexts.     

Teachers’ attitudes towards inclusion,perceived adequacy of support and classroom learning environment

Inclusive education has become a cornerstone of many government policies in an increasing number of countries, yet teachers have been found to hold mixed attitudes towards its implementation and usefulness. This article, using English terminology and thinking, aims to extend previous research on the effect of teacher attitudes towards inclusion in classroom learning environments, and to explore perceived adequacy of support, levels of stress, and willingness to include pupils with certain difficulties. Teachers (N = 95) completed questionnaires on attitudes to inclusion, classroom learning environment, support and stress. Pupils (N = 2,514) completed a questionnaire on classroom learning environment only. Teacher attitudes towards including special educational needs pupils in mainstream settings were found to have a significant impact on how they managed their classroom learning environments and how adequately they perceived available support. Teachers with more positive attitudes towards inclusion were reported by their pupils to have classroom environments with greater levels of satisfaction and cohesiveness and lower levels of friction, competitiveness and difficulty than for those with teachers who held less positive attitudes. Teacher attitudes towards inclusion increased with greater perceived adequacy of both internal and external support. Teachers were less willing to include pupils with behavioural difficulties than pupils who were able/gifted or had physical difficulties, irrespective of attitude to inclusion.     

Some historical perspectives in the development of special education in Ghana

This paper traces the development of special education in Ghana, with a particular focus on the education of people with learning difficulties. The influence of the British perspective is recognized as having played a critical role in its initial development; but while trends are increasingly shifting towards inclusive practices, the institutionalization of people with learning difficulties and others with disabilities remains an entrenched practice. Evidence of official government rhetoric towards inclusive practices is noted, but prevailing traditional structures in special education service delivery and administration prevent its practical reality, especially for many pupils with learning difficulties.     

Integrated Learning Systems and pupils with low attainments in reading

Ann Lewis, Senior Lecturer in Education in the Institute of Education at the University of Warwick, considers the research evidence from UK evaluations of Integrated Learning Systems, discusses the value of these systems for pupils with learning difficulties, and focuses on their effects on the reading attainments of lower achieving pupils.     

Programs for Writing and Spelling

Sally McKeown, of the National Council for Educational Technology, describes how information technology can help pupils with specific learning difficulties to overcome difficulties with handwriting, spelling and structured writing.