The Dutch policy of integration put to the test: differences in academic and psychosocial development of pupils in special and mainstream education

After several failed attempts to rein in the growth of special education, the Dutch government made a start in 1991 with a policy to accommodate pupils with problems in regular education and to put a stop to the growth of special education. This paper examines a large-scale study conducted by our research group at the University of Amsterdam which attempted to answer the question whether pupils with problems are better off in special education where there are more resources and they can get more attention than in mainstream schools. It was expected that the pupils in special education would do better due to the specialist care and individual attention. However, with a few exceptions, few differences were found when comparable at-risk pupils in regular schools were compared with their counterparts in both types of special schools. There was a conspicuously large measure of variability in both regular and special education. All school types had both at-risk pupils who were doing well from an academic and/or psychosocial perspective and pupils whose progress left much to be desired. There is little evidence to support the idea that at-risk pupils make less progress, in either their academic or psychosocial development, in regular schools compared with pupils in special schools. The general assumption that at-risk pupils will do better in special education does not seem to account for its attractiveness. Contrary to the policy theory, the dual system, as it exists in The Netherlands, does not appear to be an obstacle to the provision of adequate care for pupils with special educational needs. However, the policy to equip regular schools to accommodate this category of pupils appears not to be realized as simply as that. It has not proved possible to demonstrate the effects of the varying levels of specialist help provided by regular schools on the development of at-risk pupils.     

Classroom Management for Project Work: an application of correspondence training

This study is a further attempt to apply correspondence training in the classroom in order to improve learning outcomes. Using this strategy a class of middle school pupils was encouraged to show more initiative, independence and self‐regulation in planning and carrying out topic work. The pupils were required to forecast what they proposed to achieve in a certain period and then to check up at the end to see how far they had been successful. In addition, upon hearing an audible signal, they were required to decide whether they were ‘on‐task’ and whether they were working well. The outcome was that the pupils achieved a better work output in terms of both quantity and quality than before. In addition, they gained valuable experience in forward planning and in working independently.     

A comparison of high-ability pupils’ views vs. regular ability pupils’ views of characteristics of good primary school teachers

High-ability pupils in primary schools often do not achieve up to their full potential and teachers seem to face difficulties to motivate these pupils. In this study 891 primary school pupils (463 high-ability pupils) were asked about their views on desired characteristics of good teachers by means of an open teacher-spider-questionnaire. The characteristics reported, were analysed using the three “basic needs” from the Self-Determination Theory. The answers of high-ability pupils were compared to answers of pupils from regular primary education. For both groups, teaching characteristics fostering relatedness, followed by competence, were mentioned most. It was autonomy which was mentioned less frequently by both groups. The answers of the two groups of pupils mostly corresponded, although some differences emerged in specific subcategories. High-ability pupils more frequently mentioned characteristics attuning to their needs (understanding) and encouragement (challenge), and mentioned “providing choice” less often. There were also some differences found between characteristics mentioned by (high-ability) boys and girls.     

Pupil involvement in planning topics using KWL grids: opinions of teachers,student teachers and pupils

Pupil involvement in planning is one way in which teachers listen to the “pupil voice”. This paper focuses on pupil involvement in planning class topics using KWL grids. The opinions of teachers, teacher education students and primary school pupils in Northern Ireland were sought on this using questionnaires and interviews. The vast majority of teachers and student teachers responded positively, many commenting that the pupils had reacted favourably, enthusiastically or with enjoyment, and that they seemed to be more motivated, responsive and interested in topics in which they had some “ownership”. Negative opinions expressed by teachers included arguments about difficulties in incorporating pupil ideas into their planning as well as practical concerns about using a KWL grid with younger or less able pupils. More fundamental were fears about loss of teacher control, teacher authority being undermined, and “interference” in teacher planning. One of the outcomes of the study is a list of recommendations for good practice when using KWL grids.     

The impact of peer support schemes on pupils' perceptions of bullying,aggression and safety at school

The research was carried out in four secondary schools, two with a peer support system and two without, and involved a total of 931 pupils (49.5% males and 50.5% females). Participants were aged between 11 and 15 years of age, mean age 12.8 years. The aims were: to compare the perceptions of safety on the part of older and younger pupils in secondary schools with and without a system of peer support in place; to find out if there are differences in perceptions of safety within peer support schools on the part of those who are aware of the existence of a peer support service in their school and those who are not aware; and to find out if pupils in peer support schools are more likely to tell someone about school violence and bullying than those in schools without peer support. The results indicate very little difference between pupil perceptions of safety in schools with and schools without a peer support system in place. In fact, older pupils in the schools without peer support responded that they felt safer than pupils in schools with a peer support system in toilets and lessons. However, within the peer support schools there were significant differences in perceptions of safety between the substantial minority of pupils who were unaware that their school had a peer support system and those who were aware of it. The pupils who were aware felt safer in lessons, perceived school as a friendlier place to be, and worried significantly less about being bullied in comparison with those who were unaware. They were also much more likely to tell someone when bad things happened at school. The results are discussed in the light of previous research in the field and some recommendations are made for the practice of peer support.     

Teacher Verbal Feedback Directed Towards Secondary Pupils with Challenging Behaviour and its Relationship to their Behaviour

There is a body of evidence that has linked teachers’ verbal feedback to pupils with pupil behaviour. In this study teacher verbal behaviour that was directed towards those pupils that the teachers had nominated as being especially difficult to teach was examined. A series of lessons was observed in a secondary school. The quality and quantity of teacher verbal feedback directed to the class as a whole and to the designated pupils was recorded, as was the on‐task behaviour of the pupils. It was found that the designated pupils were less on‐task than their peers and were more likely to ‘shout‐out’ in lessons. However, they were found to behave appropriately in well run lessons, where on‐task rates were high for all pupils. Teachers tended to give more attention to the designated pupils in the form of positive feedback directed towards their work, but also negative attention directed towards their behaviour. A positive relationship was found between teachers’ use of positive feedback and on‐task rates of the designated pupils. The results are discussed both in terms of the strategies used by teachers but also the effect that labelling of the pupils might have on the behaviour of the teachers and the pupils themselves.     

'Inclusion is more than a place': exploring pupil views and voice in Belfast schools through visual narrative

The research reported in this article by David Ryan, an adviser for special educational needs and inclusion in Belfast, was based on a participatory approach in which young people in a number of schools were encouraged to develop their ideas about inclusion. The project set out to explore any differences in perceptions between pupils with special educational needs and those without. The young people were equipped with cameras and were encouraged to generate 'visual narratives' expressing their views about the 'reasonable adjustments' that mainstream schools might make in order to become more inclusive. David Ryan concludes that education must be personalised so that schools take account of the perspectives of individual pupils in their endeavours to become more inclusive. He also notes that young people appear to have strongly-held views about some of the sensory aspects of the school environment.     

Pupils’ attitudes towards school science as they transfer from an ICT-rich primary school to a secondary school with fewer ICT resources: Does ICT matter?

The first part of this study was carried out in a primary school in a rural part of Wales in the United Kingdom. All classrooms were equipped with interactive whiteboards (IWBs) linked to a teacher’s computer and six PCs for pupil use. Teaching through ICT was the prevalent culture in the school. Thirty year six pupils [aged 10–11 years] were selected at random from the final year cohort and were interviewed to determine their views about school science and their views about the teaching methods employed. The pupils moved to a medium sized secondary school where the teachers were beginning to develop their ICT skills and the availability of the computers was limited. The group was re-interviewed after 3 months, once they had settled in to their new school, and were again asked their views about school science and the way it was taught. While in the primary school, pupils expected to use ICT in every lesson, they enjoyed the way information was presented and they were interested in finding things out for themselves when given the opportunity. The lack of ICT in the secondary school caused some frustration, but this was mostly with the teaching of ICT, and the group remained predominantly enthusiastic about science. Those who were less keen on science indicated that it was a teacher factor rather than anything to do with the resources being used. In general the pupils particularly enjoyed the practical aspects of science lessons, something that they had not experienced in the primary school, which compensated for the relative lack of ICT in science teaching.     

Pupils’ perceptions of safety at school

The research reported in this article was carried out in four secondary schools, two with a peer support system (PS) and two without (NPS) and involved a total of 931 pupils, (49.5 per cent males, and 50.5 per cent females). Participants were aged between 11 and 15 years of age, mean age 12.8 years. The aim was to compare the perceptions of safety on the part of pupils in secondary schools with and without a system of peer support in place. The findings provided little evidence that the presence of a peer support system enhanced feelings of safety in the school population. On the positive side, PS pupils were slightly more aware of the value of having other people around as a means of enhancing feelings of safety. They were also less afraid of older pupils indicating that peer supporters may have influenced the attitudes of some older pupils towards younger peers and may have made them friendlier. However; for the PS pupils, toilets and corridors/stairs were less safe for them than for NPS pupils, largely because of the unpleasant actions of the peer group towards them. With specific regard to bullying, there was no difference between PS and NPS. Around one‐fifth of both PS and NPS pupils reported that the reason for feeling unsafe was because of bullying. The most common suggestions for making school a better place referred to action against bullying.     

Behavioural Teaching: A Fact of Life?

In the last five years or more behavioural teaching methods seem to have become less popular than they were in the earlier 1980s. A reassessment of the ways they can contribute to the education of pupils with severe learning difficulties is timely. Peter Farrell, lecturer, Department of Education, Manchester University, discusses some widespread concerns about these methods, in the context of other teaching approaches which have developed since the late 1980s.     

Catholic and Protestant Schools,a Better Choice in the Netherlands?

Abstract

This paper focuses on the influence of the sector of education (Catholic, Protestant and public) on the success of their pupils in tertiary education and on the labour market in the Netherlands. In the United States Coleman and Hoffer (1987) could hardly find any differences between the job prospects of pupils of private and public schools, but they did find effects of Catholic secondary education on success in tertiary education. In this study, which is based on longitudinal data of a nationally representative cohort of Dutch primary school leavers in 1965, an analogous comparison is made between the success in tertiary education and the job careers of the pupils who attended Dutch Catholic, Protestant or public secondary education. Differences are found between success in tertiary education and on the labour market of those who attended Catholic, Protestant or public Dutch schools. Pupils of public schools enter the university more often than pupils of private schools and pupils of Catholic schools enter the lower valued tertiary vocational education more often than pupils of Protestant or public schools. Significant effects of school sector were only found for those job characteristics which indicate the kind of job (sector of the job, nature of the job) but not for job characteristics which indicate the level of job. Especially pupils of Protestant schools less often have jobs in the administrative‐financial sector and the medical‐social sector than pupils of non‐Protestant schools. They also less often have jobs which have an exact or social nature. These differences in success in tertiary education and on the labour market are not systematically in favour of the private Catholic and Protestant schools.     

Associations between socio‐economic status (including school‐ and pupil‐level interactions) and student perceptions of school environment and health in English secondary schools

This article examines interactions between school‐level and pupil‐level measures of socio‐economic status for pupil reports of the school environment and a range of risk behaviours and health outcomes. The baseline survey for the INCLUSIVE trial provided data on pupil affluence and pupil reports of the school environment, smoking, drinking, anti‐social behaviour at school, quality of life and psychological wellbeing for over 6,000 pupils (aged 11–12 years) in 40 schools within a 1‐hour train journey from central London. The level of socio‐economic disadvantage of the school was measured using the percentage of pupils eligible for free school meals. Multilevel regression models examined the association between pupil affluence, the socio‐economic composition of the school and the interaction between these with the school environment, risk behaviours and health outcomes. Our findings provide some evidence for interactions, suggesting that less affluent pupils reported lower psychological wellbeing and quality of life in schools with more socio‐economically advantaged intakes. There appears to be a complex relationship for anti‐social behaviour. Where pupil affluence and school socio‐economic composition were discordant, pupils reported a higher number of anti‐social behaviours. This article provides further evidence that less affluent pupils are more likely to engage in a variety of risk behaviours and experience worse health outcomes when they attend schools with more socio‐economically advantaged intakes, supporting some of the mechanisms described in the theory of human functioning and school organisation.     

XHOSA INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE: STAKEHOLDER AWARENESS, VALUE, AND CHOICE

This study investigated a sample of isiXhosa mother tongue-speaking science teachers’, their pupils’, and adult local community members’ awareness of Xhosa indigenous knowledge. It also investigated what aspects of this knowledge they value and think should and could be integrated into the school science curriculum and their reasons for suggesting that it should (or should not) be incorporated. The participating teachers voluntarily completed an open-ended questionnaire. On completion, they were given the task of administering the questionnaire to at least 1 of their pupils and 1 community member who they believed could contribute ideas about indigenous knowledge that might relate to science education. Interviews were held with a small sample of teachers and community members. The data generated suggest that there is a shared awareness of indigenous knowledge across the respondents (teachers, pupils, and community members). The reasons given for including indigenous knowledge in the school curriculum related mainly to the realm of recognition (social justice and cultural sensitivity), and there was also little evidence that the respondents were aware of current understandings underpinning the demarcation of science and indigenous knowledge as disciplines.     

Policy on ethnic segregation in a system of choice: the case of The Netherlands

This paper examines the implications of the uneven distribution of minority pupils and the Dutch system of choice for policies on ethnic segregation at both the local and school level. The analysis is based on a sample of 27 municipalities serving 23% of all Dutch primary school pupils. Segregation to a large extent can be found in The Netherlands as elsewhere, and the constitutional freedom of education is precisely the factor that places important restrictions on solving this problem adequately. At the local level more than one‐third of all municipalities, for various reasons, do not take any action. Of the others that do take action the majority saddles the schools with the responsibility since the problems are mainly seen as of an educational nature. According to the school principals a percentage of minority pupils exceeding 50‐60% causes ‘white’ parents to leave and they are given every opportunity to do so by the Dutch system of free parental choice. Therefore a radical reorientation is required in the Dutch system of choice in order to address the challenges of ethnic segregation.     

An analysis of student characteristics within the student decision making process

ABSTRACT Young peoples' decision making when considering extending their education, obtaining training or deciding on their careers is a complex interactive process. Interests and choices can change due to the information available, which may also be modified by influential parties such as peers, teachers, careers officers, parents and other significant adults. They may also be affected by their own life experiences, either within or outside the class. By examining the selection of a university as a decision making process, much can be learnt which will provide recruitment personnel with a means of choosing more functional tools in achieving their enrolment goals. Many researchers (particularly from North America) have focused on higher education (HE) decision making itself and the information that adolescents require when arriving at their decisions, but there has been very little work performed within the UK. The aim of this article is to report research findings from a large-scale survey (n=674), incorporating a variety of further education institutions (sixth form departments, schools and colleges) within the north west of England, whose pupils were planning on entering HE within the next 12 months. The institutions (some of which were in affluent areas or deprived areas, some of which contained highly academic pupils whilst others did not, some of which were single-sex institutions) were selected using a convenience-based sampling method so that a variety of pupil characteristics were captured. The survey asked questions concerning the early period of who first stimulated the pupils to apply to university (problem recognition), how and when this occurred, through to the final decision of where to attend and why (evaluation of alternatives). Results showed that in the problem recognition phase, boys were more likely to be introduced to HE by their parents than were girls, and those pupils who made their minds up earlier to enter HE (more academic pupils) were less likely to rely upon teachers but more upon parents. In the information search phase, the prospectus was the most important source of information and the majority spent at least three months searching, although females took longer to gather their data than did males. With the evaluation of alternatives phase, course content was more important to females, whereas reputation was more important to males and the most critical factor in causing apprehension was that of grade expectations (particularly by the less academic pupils), with females being less confident than males in achieving the necessary entry qualifications. Another reason to cause one to change one's mind was the 'social atmosphere', as obtained on an open day visit. Also, females were more anxious about moving away from home than were males.     

Education for children with severe and profound general learning disabilities in Ireland: factors influencing teachers’ decisions about teaching these pupils

The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceived high turnover of teachers working with pupils with severe and profound general learning disabilities in Ireland. Questionnaires and interviews were used to explore the situations in which teachers worked and their reasons for leaving or staying in teaching this group of pupils. The study found that while teachers were positive about working with this group, their working conditions and the level of support that they received were crucial factors in determining whether they remained in post. These factors and the implications for practice are discussed.     

Depth of reading vocabulary in hearing and hearing-impaired children

The main point of our study was to examine the vocabulary knowledge of pupils in grades 3–6, and in particular the relative reading vocabulary disadvantage of hearing-impaired pupils. The achievements of 394 pupils with normal hearing and 106 pupils with a hearing impairment were examined on two vocabulary assessment tasks: a lexical decision task and a use decision task. The target words in both tasks represent the vocabulary children should have at the end of primary school. The results showed that most hearing pupils reached this norm, whereas most hearing-impaired pupils did not. In addition, results showed that hearing-impaired pupils not only knew fewer words, but that they also knew them less well. This lack of deeper knowledge remained even when matching hearing and hearing-impaired children on minimal word knowledge. Additionally, comparison of the two tasks demonstrated the efficacy of the lexical decision task as a measure of lexical semantic knowledge.     

The use of speech feedback by normal and disabled readers in computer-based reading practice

Disabled readers and normal beginning readers were compared on requesting help in the form of speech feedback during computer-based word reading. It was also examined whether it is best to give feedback on all words or to allow the disabled readers to choose. Normal beginning readers and reading-age matched pupils with reading problems engaged in reading practice with speech feedback on call for both difficult and easy words. A set of both difficult and easy sums was completed as a control task. Another group of reading-disabled pupils who were also matched on reading level practiced the reading of words with unsolicited speech feedback. In the first two groups the selectivity in requesting help in both the reading and arithmetic task was assessed. All subjects were tested on the reading of both practiced and nonpracticed words. The results indicate that both disabled readers and beginners were very sensitive to sum difficulty but not to word difficulty, though in the present study the students were more selective than in a previous study. The inclusion of more easy words might account for this finding. The beginners requested help only during the first sessions of reading practice, whereas the disabled readers remained dependent on the speech feedback. The reading-disabled pupils did not learn less when the computer unsolicitedly delivered the spoken form of all words than when they were allowed to choose. It is discussed how profits from the different speech feedback procedures by disabled readers might be related to word decoding skill and metacognitive monitoring.     

Impacts of an online-supported,resource-based learning environment: does one size fit all?

This paper reports on the use of an online, resource-based learning (RBL) approach in first year psychology at Deakin University. Differences between on- and off-campus students that emerged are examined in the context of the learning goals and study approaches of the two student groups and their attitudes to using computers. Unlike the on-campus students who were less positive about working with computers and reported confusion about how and what to study for the unit, the off-campus students reported feeling confident they had a good study strategy and were more positive about computers. The off-campus students also reported that they spent more time working with electronic resources and attached greater value to them. While all students valued the prescribed resources, the off-campus students found some of the optional, electronic resources valuable because they added to the learning experience. These students also reported greater use of the computer-mediated communication available as part of the online learning environment, and valued this functionality more highly than did the on-campus students. These findings highlight the need to take into account learner characteristics when designing learning environments that cater for individual differences and preferences. While online-supported RBL approaches have the potential to cater to the diverse needs of students, learning environments need to be designed, structured and delivered so the learning experience can be customized to the needs of different student cohorts, while preserving the overarching, pedagogical goals.     

Adaptation and Motivation of Greek Gifted Pupils: Exploring some influences of primary schooling

The main purpose of this study, on the theoretical framework proposed by Renzulli (1986) and by Van Boxtel and Monks (1992) and Monks, Van Boxtel, Roelefs and Saunders (1986), was to explore pupils' motivation and adaptation to school life in relation to the identification of giftedness. A pool of 1765 primary school pupils were initially tested for Visual-Motor Integration and Creative Thinking. Their teachers nominated 90 of them as gifted, who in turn were assessed in regard to their level of school adaptation and motivation by questionnaires based on Power and Cotterell (1979) and on Entwistle (1968). The comparison groups were five nominated pupils, verified as gifted, seven more nonnominated, but gifted (all 12 identified through psychometric and statistical criteria), and ten non-gifted but nominated pupils. The results indicated that the gifted pupils, depending on whether or not they are identified by their teachers, feel partially motivated and exhibit lower than the expected adaptation at school. The findings are discussed in the light of the current Greek school system.