Secondary schools included: a literature review

For over a decade, inclusive discourse comprises the development of a school for all, both in primary and in secondary education. Facing long-standing barriers for effective comprehensive education, secondary schools show specific interests, strengths and needs in a school-wide movement towards inclusion. Reviewing literature of recent research in inclusion in secondary schools (2000–2012), current interests represent inclusive culture, policy and practices, although the balance between each of these dimensions is unequal. A large number of studies report on attitudes towards inclusion, followed by inclusive practice. A lower number of studies deal with policy issues. Staff attitudes towards inclusion, access to the general curriculum, peer support, self-determination strategies and collaborative practices in specific subject areas were identified as major topics of investigation. Considerable attention has also been paid to peer attitudes, self-advocacy and student grouping. While the adolescent perspective is emphasised, little room is left for parental involvement. Also, the central role of administrators and professional development of staff has been underexposed in current research on secondary inclusion.     

Rebuilding attendance practices with youth: the role of social mediation

This article highlights the experiences of students and educators from a larger sociocultural study of participation and engagement at a senior alternative high school programme in British Columbia, Canada. Drawing on participant observation, active interviews and document analysis, school attendance was remediated as a meaningful social practice as a result of the relationships young people formed with educators and peers, rather than meaningful in and of itself or in relation to academic performance. These findings trouble school attendance policies that locate absenteeism as a problem within individual students and as decontextualised from their lived experiences. Findings also foreground the importance of examining how school attendance may be interpreted by students. For some students, participation in relationships and communities lies behind school attendance, highlighting the necessity of attending to the role of identity and values alongside of the construction of knowledge as central to the work of schools.     

Improving attendance and behaviour in Wales: the action plan

The National Behaviour and Attendance Review (NBAR) Report for Wales was produced in 2008. Subsequently, its recommendations were accepted by the Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) which established an Implementation Group to prepare its response in detail. A year later in April 2009 this Group presented its findings and recommendations to WAG in the form of an Action Plan. The Action Plan was entitled Behaving and Attending: Responding to the National Behaviour and Attendance Review. The intention of the Action Plan is to help to shape the direction of future developments on the management of attendance and behaviour in Wales over the foreseeable future. The Action Plan’s recommendations are sub‐divided into three: short, medium and long‐term solutions. The Plan’s strategy is broken down into eight key areas. These are on: attendance, behaviour, children and young people’s rights, early intervention, literacy, multi and inter‐agency working, school effectiveness and finally, on training and development. This paper outlines and considers these ideas, places the work into a UK‐wide research context and the Welsh educational policy strategy. It also indicates areas where future pilot projects and research will be necessary.     

Transforming turnaround schools in China: a review

This article reviews the literature on how Chinese turnaround schools are improved in practice. It starts by defining turnaround schools in the Chinese context, and then discusses the essential reasons why such schools exist. Approaches to improving turnaround schools, successful experiences of transforming turnaround schools, and the challenges that Chinese education administrators face are also explored. This article supplies a number of insights into interventions at the governmental level related to school internal management, principal appointment, student development, teacher professional development, and educational finance. Finally, the implications for transforming Chinese turnaround schools in the future are discussed.     

Tackling behaviour and attendance issues in schools in Wales: implications for training and professional development

In 2009, the Welsh Assembly Government published its Report on the review of behaviour and attendance in schools in Wales. The National Behaviour and Attendance Review (NBAR) in Wales was chaired by the author of this paper. Both the Review and the Welsh Assembly Government’s response contained recommendations related to the training and professional development needs of staff in schools and local authorities (LAs). A paper on the professional development needs of staff on behaviour and attendance based on the NBAR recommendations is published in the same edition of this journal. This follow‐up paper focuses upon the Welsh Assembly Government’s response to these recommendations and its implementation plan on which the author acted as the professional adviser. The Welsh Assembly Government accepted with cross‐party support that the training and professional development needs of teachers and LA staff in behavioural management and school attendance had been neglected over many years. For the first time, coordinated new training and continuing professional development programmes on behavioural management and school attendance will be introduced in Wales soon. The next stage will be to evaluate the effectiveness of these programmes.     

How effective is parental prosecution as a method of improving school attendance among primary‐aged children?

Just under half a million children and young people in state schools in England miss school every day. Indeed, improving school attendance has remained a key aim for successive governments. Various strategies have been adopted at both national and local levels in an attempt to tackle the persistent issue of school attendance with varying degrees of success. This study explores the effectiveness of one of those strategies – that of parental prosecutions – as a means of improving children and young people's school attendance. It reports on the effectiveness of parental prosecutions while highlighting some of the emerging patterns among a cohort of those prosecuted within one local authority during one academic year.     

Secondary school transition for children with special educational needs: a literature review

Successful transition from primary to secondary school is important for psychosocial well‐being. Children with special educational needs (SEN) may face additional complexities at transition, although the impact of this process on children's psychosocial adjustment has been underexplored. The article aims to review systematically the literature exploring the impact of transition on the concerns and psychosocial adjustment of children with SEN in comparison to typically developing children. Published studies were identified through a systematic search of six electronic databases. Articles fulfilling inclusion criteria were reviewed and a quality criteria system was developed to rank studies. Children with specific learning difficulties perceive lower levels of social support and more peer victimisation after transition than typically developing children, but methodological limitations and the modest number of studies restricted the conclusions that could be drawn.     

The views of primary pupils on school attendance at Key Stage 2 in Wales

This paper provides new empirical evidence on primary pupils’ views on school attendance in Wales at Key Stage 2. The research was conducted as part of the specific evidence commissioned by the Welsh Assembly Government (WAG) for the National Behaviour and Attendance Review (NBAR) in Wales which was chaired by the lead author. The findings indicate that nearly every child and young person who participated in the specially convened focus groups, in practically every setting, had a good awareness of the benefits of attending school regularly. They were all acutely aware of the potential consequences of non‐attendance both within their current setting and as it could potentially affect their later chances in life. They also understood the law regarding school attendance. They were clear about the attendance regulations within their own school settings. They were however, particularly concerned about bullying in all its forms, the use of supply teachers and “boring” teaching styles. Rewards for good attendance were generally appreciated. The implications of the findings are considered. This paper is the first of its kind to be undertaken in Wales and in the field of school attendance and opens up considerable possibilities for further research.     

The professional development needs of staff in Wales on behaviour management and attendance: findings from the NBAR Report

This paper presents the evidence collected for the National Behaviour and Attendance Review (NBAR) in Wales on the professional development needs of staff on behaviour management and school attendance. These data were collected in two stages between 2006 and 2008. At Stage 1, data were collected from four pre‐selected professional focus groups who met throughout Wales to consider specific topics relating to the behaviour of children and young people in schools at the present time (n = 121). At Stage 2, relevant professional focus groups were established to specifically examine the themes of professional development and training in behaviour management and attendance in both North and South Wales (n = 62). This latter group activity built on the preliminary work of the NBAR review group’s own sub‐group on professional development and training. The paper considers the outcome of all these findings and their implications for future practice in Wales.     

The education welfare service: the case for a review in England

The only major review of the education welfare service (EWS) took place in 1973 when the role and responsibilities of the service were very different from those of today. Recent legislative changes, the influence of the Children Act 2004 and revised public needs of the service, including new multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary frameworks, suggest that an up‐to‐date review would be timely. It may also help to professionalise the service in a number of different ways, something which is long overdue. This paper provides both the rationale and evidence for making the case for a major review of the EWS based on a reading of all key relevant documents and participation in a range of local and national evaluations on the role of the EWS in England and Wales. The major issues which need to be reviewed are identified and a way forward is suggested.     

Quality of WIL assessment design in higher education: a systematic literature review

We investigated the quality of work-integrated learning (WIL) assessment design in higher education programmes, through review of peer-reviewed studies published internationally and in English, 1990–2015. Such a review is timely in light of vested interests from a range of WIL stakeholders; high-level endorsement of WIL across university programmes; a regulatory environment requiring development and assurance of higher-order learning outcomes; and a WIL assessment literature that identifies a number of challenges and opportunities. We searched six electronic databases, yielding 20 intervention studies that met inclusion criteria. Findings reveal high-quality assessment design, albeit a need for greater involvement of industry/professional partners in assessment practices and stronger alignment between reflective assessment tasks and students' WIL experiences. The evidence base under review largely comprised qualitative and mixed methods studies, with the indication that the quality of the study design had improved over time, although variably across disciplinary fields. The key recommendation from this review is that resources are needed to support research-active WIL academics, partners and students to: (a) design and participate in assessment practices, which promote integration of student learning, across university and work settings, and achievement of higher-order learning outcomes and (b) pursue a collaborative research agenda involving robust evaluation research, inclusive of quantitative studies.     

Children with epilepsy: a review of the international literature using a quality of life lens

Epilepsy affects between 0.3 and 0.6% of Canadian children aged 18 years and younger, and is one of the most frequently diagnosed neurological disorders among children in Canada as well as Europe. As such, it is likely that teachers will experience having a child with epilepsy in the classroom. Understanding how best to support children with epilepsy can contribute to their positive adaptation and quality of life. This article, written by Jillian Roberts and Cheryl Whiting‐MacKinnon of the University of Victoria, British Columbia, reviews literature examining the social, emotional, physical and academic effects of epilepsy on children's lives, and explores the implications of these effects for their quality of life and school experiences.     

Challenges with graph interpretation: a review of the literature

With the growing emphasis on the development of scientific inquiry skills, the display and interpretation of data are becoming increasingly important. Graph interpretation competence is, in fact, essential to understanding today’s world and to be scientifically literate. However, graph interpretation is a complex and challenging activity. Graph interpretation competence is affected by many factors, including aspects of graph characteristics, the content of the graph and viewers’ prior knowledge. For instance, the prior theory and expectations that students have may lead to biases and misinterpretation of graphs. One basic controversy that remains unanswered, for example, is what should we teach first in order to make students scientific literate, how to graph or how to interpret a graph? If it is the case that the ability to interpret a graph be developed prior to the ability to create, then it is important to understand what graph interpretation entails. This paper reviews current literature on graph interpretation competence and argues that it should be explicitly taught given its importance and its complexity.     

Here and now: the attendance issue in Indigenous early childhood education

Concern about poor school attendance and participation, particularly of Indigenous children, is a key issue in Australian education; however, strategies to address this issue have been piecemeal and have met with limited success. While much has been written about the issue of school attendance, little attention has been given to absenteeism in early childhood education or its effects at this level. Drawing on data from a longitudinal ethnographic study of Indigenous children in early childhood education in an Australian city, this paper examines the impact of intermittent attendance on the academic, social and personal wellbeing of young Aboriginal children. Explanations for non‐attendance, particularly in the non‐compulsory pre‐school, are considered, and the efficacy of current policy trends to coerce parents to deliver children to school by withholding welfare income is challenged. It is argued that because absenteeism in the Indigenous context is part of the broader complex of social exclusion and disadvantage, policy‐makers and service providers, such as the school, are presented particular challenges involving the balancing of competing principles.     

Teachers as evaluators: Results from a systematic literature review

Teacher professional standards globally now include a stronger emphasis on teacher research and evaluation skills. Yet, little is known about how to build these capacities through teacher education. This paper reports on a systematic literature review conducted to synthesize the literature about approaches to improving research and evaluative skills and attitudes in teachers. A total of 19 studies were included. The field is largely dominated by small qualitative studies that focus on teacher action research as a facilitator of professional development. There is a substantial and highly problematic gap in the research specifically in relation to building evaluation skills in teachers. Recommendations include a stronger investment in teacher education focussed on evaluation and evaluative thinking, which holds significant potential to positively impact the professional practice of teachers and student learning outcomes.     

Characteristics of primary teacher training programmes on inclusion: a literature focus

Background: The implementation of inclusive education creates challenges for classroom teachers who have to meet the learning needs of students with and without special educational needs (SEN). Research has revealed that teachers’ readiness and willingness to accommodate the learning needs of students with SEN was determined by their training. Though much research on teacher training and inclusive education has been conducted over two decades, less is known about the adequacy of such training in terms of components and effectiveness.

Purpose: The purpose of this review is to present a focused analysis of: (1) studies that examined, in detail, the components of teacher training programmes for pre-service or in-service teachers in regular primary schools in terms of content, length, etc., and (2) consideration of the effectiveness of these training programmes.

Design and methods: The literature review was restricted to empirical studies published in international peer-reviewed journals after 1994 (i.e. since the Salamanca statement was signed) by using the electronic browser ‘EBSCO host Complete’. After applying the keywords ‘teacher’ and ‘educator’, they were combined with the following terms: training, disabilities, inclusion, inclusive education, impairment, special educational needs, children with special needs and disorder. The search was deliberately restricted to papers where study participants were pre-service or in-service teachers in regular primary schools, and ultimately yielded a small core of 13 studies for detailed review. The first research question was analysed in terms of the training programme’s structure and content, covering aspects such as type of disability, topic, length, medium of course delivery and learning activities. For the second research question, the effectiveness of the quantitative studies was evaluated based on the Cohen’s d effect size, whereas the qualitative studies were considered as effective based on the calculation of percentage of non-overlapping data (PND).

Conclusions: Analysis indicated that the majority of training programmes focused on attitude, knowledge and skills. The training programmes were also centred on what might be considered short-term practice and supplemented with field experiences. Although the training programmes appeared to have positive effects on teachers’ attitudes, knowledge and skills, follow-up sessions and students’ outcomes measures may increase training effectiveness.     

The experiences of and attitudes toward non-pharmacological interventions for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder used in school settings: a systematic review and synthesis of qualitative research

School-based non-pharmacological interventions are an important part of the treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). We aimed to systematically review qualitative literature relating to the experience of and attitudes towards school-based non-pharmacological interventions for ADHD. Systematic searches of 20 electronic databases were undertaken. Reviewers screened titles, abstracts and full reports of studies, before extracting data and critically appraising 33 included papers. Studies were synthesised using meta-ethnographic methods. Four-key interrelated themes were identified: (1) individualising interventions, (2) structure of interventions, (3) barriers to effectiveness, (4) perceived moderators and impact of interventions. The perceived effectiveness of interventions used in school settings is reported to vary. Therefore, flexible, tailored interventions ought to hold potential. However, highly individualised interventions may negatively affect children with ADHD. Findings point to the need for school-based interventions to take into account the wider school context, as well as core symptoms of ADHD.     

Private tutoring intensity in schools: a comparison between high and low socio-economic schools

Private tutoring (PT) is becoming a worldwide phenomenon. In Israel too, about a third of elementary school students participate in PT. Based on sociological and school quality considerations, we examined school characteristics that are associated with PT intensity at school. The data encompassed a random state wide sample of 389 Israeli elementary schools collected by the Ministry of Education in 2012. The results showed that in high school socioeconomic status (SES) schools the percentage of students who participated in PT was higher compared to low SES schools. In high SES, schools with high PT intensity were characterized by high school achievements whereas in low SES, schools were characterized with low school achievements. PT seems to be a factor that increases the social distinction between high and low SES schools. In Israel, PT seems to create distinct ‘school enclaves’ that reproduce social inequality.