Teacher Support Teams for Special Educational Needs in Primary Schools: evaluating a teacher-focused support scheme

This paper reports on part of an evaluation of teacher support teams (TSTs) as a special education needs (SEN) support strategy in primary schools. Using a mixture of quantitative and qualitative evaluation methods, it focuses on areas derived from a theoretical framework for understanding schools’ approaches to SENs. TSTs were set up and run in six of the eight schools, with meetings of between 30 and 45 minutes, usually during lunchtime or after school. Most of the referrals were about behaviour problems, though many were about learning difficulties. The support included providing emotional encouragement, specific approaches to managing behaviour, teaching strategies and consulting others. Referring teachers reported that their TST experience led to increased confidence and some improvements in the children, while TST members themselves believed that they had gained much from the TST experience. Overall the study showed the feasibility and benefits of setting up TSTs in primary schools. The findings are discussed in terms of the wider benefits of TSTs and their relevance to special needs policies and the implementation of the SENs code of practice.     

特殊儿童家庭亲职教育需求的调查研究

本文以105名特殊儿童家长为调查对象,研究了他们的亲职教育需求状况,以及亲职教育需求的影响因素,结果显示:特殊儿童家庭亲职教育需求是迫切的、广泛的,其中,家长最需要的是社会资源方面的讯息;影响特殊儿童家庭亲职教育需求的因素较多,包括家长性别、家庭所在地、家庭经济收入、儿童年级水平、儿童残疾类型、残疾程度等,其中家庭经济...     

Post-16 provision for those with autistic spectrum conditions: some implications of the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001 and the Special Educational Needs Code of Practice for Schools

In this article Tricia Clark shares her experience of the ways in which post-16 provision can be further developed to meet the needs of young people with autistic spectrum disorders. She emphasises the need, in accordance with SENDA 2001, for further education colleges to anticipate the needs of all disabled students in order to accommodate them. She concludes that the key to inclusive provision is flexibility.     

Children with Special Educational Needs: Parents' Knowledge of Procedures and Provisions

The author carried out an investigation in Sheffield in 1989, when he was a student nurse (RNMH). He addressed a questionnaire to parents of children with learning difficulties, concerning their knowledge of the procedures for issuing statements of special educational needs, their communications with teachers and other professionals and their attitudes towards integration in mainstream schools.     

Supporting Pupils with Special Educational Needs in the Mainstream Setting: Methods and Approaches

Since the 1988 Education Reform Act, issues of curriculum differentiation, varied learning styles and teaching approaches relevant to the needs of individual pupils have maintained high priority on the education agenda. This article discusses the effects on pupils’ learning of using Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences. It is based on explorations carried out in a project ‘using multiple intelligences in the classroom’, initiated by co-ordinators Brenda Hopper, Val Chamberlain and Barbara Jack in the School of Education at Edge Hill College of Higher Education. The project aimed to focus equally on teachers’ individual professional development, and the learning experiences and development of the pupils involved, and was carried out with teachers in local primary and secondary schools, across a wide range of subjects.     

An exploratory study of Special Educational Needs Co‐ordinators' knowledge and experience of working with children who have sustained a brain injury

This research aimed to measure Special Educational Needs Co‐ordinators' knowledge of the educational implications of acquired brain injury in children and young people and whether experience of working with pupils with a brain injury or additional training impacts upon this knowledge. Data was collected within one local authority in England using an online survey. The results indicated that the respondents had high levels of uncertainty regarding the impact of a brain injury although they were more confident in those areas which related most closely to their practice. The responses suggested that experience of working with a pupil with a brain injury promoted greater knowledge than receiving training; the results, however, showed that only a minority of SENCos had received any training and those who had tended to have undertaken this independently. This suggests that there is a need for SENCos to be provided with specialist training in order to increase their understanding of the impact of acquired brain injury in children and young people.     

美国特殊教育学生的鉴定评估与启示

特殊教育学生的鉴定评估是特殊教育工作中的关键环节,它对于后续的教育安置、教育计划制定、教育数据统计和政府资金拨付等都具有重要意义.近年来我国越来越重视特殊儿童的鉴定评估工作,各地的残疾人教育专家委员会陆续发挥作用.美国在这一方面的工作体系已相对成熟,本文介绍了美国特殊教育学生鉴定评估工作相关的法律、流程、方法措施等内容...     

An evaluation of the educational support for teachers who teach children with life-limiting illness in schools

There are increasing numbers of children living with life-limiting illnesses in mainstream schools. The aim of this literature-based study was to evaluate the current provision of educational support for teachers who are teaching these children in schools. An international literature search produced 23 papers published between 2005 and July 2010 that concerned children with life-limiting illness in relation to education in mainstream schools. The analysis identified that the needs of children with life-limiting illnesses are not being well met, and there appears to be little evidence of educational support for teachers. The paper concludes that schools need to work with both the medical and social models of health/disability in order to meet the needs of children with life-limiting illness. There is some consensus that the way forward needs to include multidisciplinary working within an ecological approach that supports home, schools and the health services working together. Only one paper reported an evaluation of such an intervention. There is a need for more research, evaluation and dissemination about the experience of living with a life-limiting illness in mainstream schools and related interventions, and for this to inform professional education and the coordination of education, health and home systems.     

Childhood disability and parental appeals: the Special Educational Needs Tribunal for England and Wales

The Special Educational Needs Tribunal in England and Wales was established in 1993 to resolve disputes between local authorities and parents, relating to children's special educational needs. This paper provides a brief historical perspective to the Tribunal, and sets out its composition, legal powers and procedures. It considers the number and nature of appeals heard by the Tribunal and analyses their outcomes. Research centred on evaluating the Tribunal's performance is summarised and discussed. Finally, some current issues regarding the Tribunal system are discussed and its balance of judicial powers and professional expertise is considered in an international context.     

Capability and Educational Equality: The Just Distribution of Resources to Students with Disabilities and Special Educational Needs

The ideal of educational equality is fundamentally grounded in the egalitarian principle that social and institutional arrangements should be designed to give equal consideration to all . However, beyond this broad stipulation, the precise content of the ideal of educational equality is more difficult to determine. In this article, I aim to contribute to the debate on equality in education by dealing with the current, contentious issue of provision for students with disabilities and special educational needs. Thus, the paper addresses the question of what constitutes a just provision for these students, and it provides an answer in terms of the capability approach, as developed by Amartya Sen and Martha Nussbaum.     

分析借鉴美、俄聋人高等全纳教育经验——以美国国家聋人工学院和俄罗斯鲍曼技术大学聋人中心为例

美国国家聋人工学院和俄罗斯鲍曼技术大学聋人中心根据聋生的特点,为了使聋生进入健听班级中学习,分别建立了各自的特殊教学策略和教学支持体系,以保证聋生在全纳教育模式下顺利完成学业,并能很快融入和适应社会并参与竞争.本文通过两校实施的具体教学策略,分析了他们的主要特色和优势,并与天津理工大学聋人工学院的全纳教育模式进行了比较,提出了如何通过混合学习(Blended Learning)方式弥补教学支持体系中的缺陷.     

Teaching Practice of Physical Education Teachers for Students with Special Needs: An Application of the Theory of Planned Behaviour

This study examines the teaching behavior of physical education (PE) teachers in teaching students with special needs and the factors that determine their teaching behaviour. An extended theory of planned behaviour (TPB) was utilised as the theoretical framework. Three secondary and two high school PE teachers participated in the study. Data collection consisted of systematic and non-participant observations of teaching behaviour of PE teachers, as well as semi-structured interviews on the factors that determine their behaviours. Results revealed that four of five participants interacted more verbally and less physically with students with special needs. Peer partners were used to enhance the learning of students with special needs. Only two teachers modified their instruction and equipment for students with special needs. Sometimes, teachers excluded this group of students from cooperative activities. Extended TPB components, including attitude, moral norm, affective beliefs, social norm, and perceived behaviour control, were identified to determine the intention of PE teachers to teach students with special needs and their inclusive teaching practice. The study has important implications for policy and practice of inclusive PE.     

Reviewing the Teaching and Learning of Children with Special Educational Needs: Enabling Whole School Responsibility

Neil Morris, Learning Support Co-ordinator, and Phil Parker, Learning Support Manger, at Colmers Farm School, use 'The four Ps of policy' (Palmer, Redfern & Smith, 1994) to review their own practice in the development of the monitoring and evaluation measures of their school's SEN (Special Educational Needs) provision. They outline their commitment to inclusive education, and analyse the ways in which the strategy of 'Subject Department SEN Reviews' focuses upon teaching and learning styles.     

Tensions experienced by teachers and their views of support for pupils with autism spectrum disorders in mainstream schools

The number of pupils with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) who receive their education in mainstream schools in the UK has increased considerably over the last 10 years. Despite this increase, teachers and other support staff face a number of challenges in order to ensure that these inclusive arrangements bring maximum benefits to the children themselves, their parents and the school community as a whole. In this study we explore some of the tensions that teachers in mainstream schools may experience, many of which reflect the unique problems that the inclusion of pupils with ASD can present. In addition, we explore how these tensions may shape their views of support arrangements for those pupils. We observed 17 pupils with ASD ranging from 7 to 16 years, all of whom were placed in a regular class in one of eight mainstream schools on a full‐time basis, and carried out interviews with their teachers, teaching assistants (TAs) and special educational needs coordinator. Findings suggest that tensions reported by school staff are inherently shaped by the ASD‐related manifestations, particularly those pertaining to their difficulties in social and emotional understanding. These tensions determine the quality of the transactions and interactions between the teachers and the pupils with ASD. Based on these tensions, teachers form their views of the type of support that is needed for those pupils. Evidence from the data suggests that, in order for these tensions to be kept at manageable proportions, teachers rely heavily on the TA, whose role in working closely with the pupil is perceived as being indispensable. Building on the study’s findings, we suggest a generic conceptualization for the successful inclusion of pupils with ASD, which is grounded in the systems theory perspective of the relationship between the teachers and these children.     

从特殊教育到全纳教育:特殊需要儿童学习支持模型与实践的转型

《萨拉曼卡宣言》呼吁让有特殊需要的儿童有机会进入普通学校学习,这种全纳教育的成功有赖于普通学校为特殊需要儿童提供的学习支持.本文首先通过梳理文献论述从特殊教育到全纳教育的转型,进而回顾学习支持主体,主要包括主流教师、学习支持教师、助教、学习支持顾问等及其之间的合作.然后通过介绍学习支持的模型包括医学取向、全纳取向和服务连续体的模型,以及综合的生态系统交互模型,进而回顾了英国、美国和南非等国学习支持的不同实践,最后本文基于国外模型与实践为我国学校学习支持的师资配置、模型实践和研究提出了建议,包括教师的职前教育和职后培训,以及全校推进模式的学习支持等.     

Scoping and Hoping: The Provision of Speech and Language Therapy Services for Children with Special Educational Needs

Elspeth McCartney, Department of Speech and Language Therapy at the University of Strathclyde, reviews recent legislation and Government plans for the provision of speech and language therapy services for children with special educational needs and discusses issues which might be considered in a proposed DfEE 'scoping study'.