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.     

Teaching Transfer Strategies to Children with Moderate Learning Difficulties

Dr David Sugden is the tutor to courses in special educational needs at the School of Education, Leeds University. Mrs Margaret Newall teaches in a special school; in 1984–5, as a research assistant at Leeds University, she took part in a study of ways to improve learning and memory in pupils with moderate learning difficulties.     

Raising reading standards — the Reading Partners approach: cross-age peer tutoring in a special school

This article, written by Mary Nugent, an educational psychologist working with the National Educational Psychology Service in Dublin, reviews the work done in a special school, in the Dublin area, to develop a Reading Partners Scheme. The school involved in the project, which will be referred to as St Mark's, is a special school for children with moderate learning difficulties (in Ireland described as mild learning difficulties). The Reading Partner's Scheme involved cross-age peer tutoring in reading, working with students in the 8 to 18 age range. The training, organisation and management of the scheme are outlined here. Evaluation studies indicate multiple benefits of the scheme, accruing to both the learners and the helpers. These benefits include progress in reading, enhanced feelings of self-worth and more positive attitudes to school. Ideas for further development of the scheme are described, as well as future research opportunities.     

Computer Use with Children with Special Educational Needs in Primary Schools

The use of computers to enhance the learning of children with special educational needs has many advocates. Such children in mainstream schools, however, may be failing to obtain the full benefits of computer aided learning through limited resources and lack of teacher expertise. After a period of advisory work in this field, Bill Goler is now teaching in a special school for pupils with moderate learning difficulties. His article is based on a dissertation for the Master's degree at Manchester University.     

Views of Schooling Held by Children Attending Schools for Pupils with Moderate Learning Difficulties

There has been little research into the views of the consumers of the special education service‐‐the children themselves. Social legislation (e.g., the 1989 Children Act in the UK) has emphasised the importance of discovering the views of the child when planning provision. Similar proposals have been put forward in recent UK documents concerning educational provision (DFE, 1993). This paper reports data based on individual, semi‐structured interviews with 56 children (ages 9 to 11) attending schools for pupils with moderate learning difficulties (MLD/MlD). Interviews probed views about special and mainstream schools and pupils, and perceived reasons for transfer from mainstream to special school. Two areas (teachers as a liked aspect of special and mainstream schools, and problems handling playground relationships) point to key areas of concern for children with learning or intellectual difficulties. Overall, MLD school children were supportive of their special schools. This is discussed in relation to categorization theory.     

Limited Options: Where are Leavers Now?

Comparatively few studies have been published on the post-school outcomes for school leavers with moderate learning difficulties. This report on the current prospects of leavers from a Midlands special school, although based on a small and not necessarily representative sample and on retrospective views, does add to the limited knowledge available about the plight of some special school leavers. Kate Freshwater is a psychology technician in Leeds and Gerv Leyden holds a joint post as educational psychologist, Derbyshire education authority and associate tutor, Psychology Department, Nottingham University.     

Transfer from special to mainstream–ten years later

In this article, Garry Hornby and Roger Kidd provide a follow-up to their own investigation of the outcomes of an inclusion project in Yorkshire ten years ago. Twenty-nine students were transferred from their special school for pupils with moderate learning difficulties into mainstream schools. Hornby and Kidd now report high levels of unemployment amongst these young people and indications that the quality of their adult lives is less than satisfactory. The results of this small-scale survey will raise important questions for all those concerned with current trends in the education of pupils with learning difficulties and their transition into adulthood.     

Transfer from Special to Mainstream

Describe a survey of children who transferred to mainstream schools from a special school for pupils with moderate learning difficulties. While the survey done in late 1991 was small-scale and its findings are tentative, it offered some interesting insights into parents' and pupils' reactions to the transfer to mainstream schools and suggests some lines of research that might be pursued further.     

Stress, Burnout and Workload in Teachers of Children with Special Educational Needs

Whilst stress in teaching has received much attention in recent years, for teachers of children with special educational needs (SEN) specific stress-related research is relatively rare. This study sought to address this issue by investigating stress, burnout and workload in teachers of children with special educational needs. A postal questionnaire was sent to 56 ordinary schools and eight schools for children with moderate learning difficulties (MLD), eight for children with severe learning difficulties (SLD) and eight for children with emotional and behavioural difficulties (EBD). The schools were situated in inner city, urban and rural areas in the south-east of England. A total of 221 teachers responded. Results indicated that, whilst generalised claims for burnout may not be justified, within all three special school settings there was evidence of a high level of emotional exhaustion as measured by the education version of the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI). In addition, all groups were subject to long hours of work, and work overload was high for ordinary school SEN teachers and teachers working in MLD and SLD settings. Reference to sources of intense stress indicated some differences according to setting but generally implicated workload and challenging behaviour. The conclusions are that further research into stress and burnout of SEN teachers is required if effective coping and preventative strategies are to be designed.     

Classroom organisation and interactions of pupils with moderate learning difficulties in mainstream and special schools

Abstract

This paper reports a research study which used the technique of systematic classroom observation to describe pupil behaviour and pupil‐teacher and pupil‐pupil interaction in four classrooms in schools for children with moderate learning difficulties. The results are compared with those of a previously published study in mainstream junior‐age classrooms. The results show that a predominantly individualised mode of working with children prevails both in the mainstream and the special school classrooms and also that, despite the smaller class sizes, teachers in the special school classes are even less likely to use whole‐class approaches than those in the mainstream. Conversly they are more likely to use group work. Children in the special school classes receive considerably more individual attention from the teacher than those in the mainstream. Overall levels of pupil‐pupil interaction are similar but in special school classrooms this is less likely to involve more than two children at once.     

Pupils' views on inclusion: moderate learning difficulties and bullying in mainstream and special schools

This study examined the views of 101 boys and girls aged 10–11 and 13–14 with statements of special educational needs for moderate learning difficulties. Questions centred on their experiences of school, teaching and learning in mainstream and special schools. The study is set in the context of the international move towards more inclusion of children with disabilities into mainstream schools and the greater importance attached to the child's voice in decision‐making in education. Most children expressed positive evaluations of their schools and the teaching they received, while a significant minority expressed mixed views. A significant proportion in the mainstream preferred learning support in withdrawal settings. While the majority in both settings preferred their current school, a significant minority in special school preferred to be in a mainstream setting. A notable emergent theme from the study was the high incidence of ‘bullying’ that was experienced. Though experienced in both settings, those in special schools experienced far more ‘bullying’ by children from other mainstream schools and from peers and outsiders in their neighbourhood. These findings are discussed in terms of the tensions or dilemmas about difference that were experienced and their implications for the move towards greater inclusion.     

Parental account of support for specific learning difficulties in Hong Kong

Parents play a significant role in the education of children with special needs. Recent national policies have aimed to improve support for students with specific learning difficulties and their families in Hong Kong. Literature on the experiences of children with specific learning difficulties in Hong Kong is scarce. This study, by Kim Fong Poon‐McBrayer of the Hong Kong Institute of Education and Philip Allen McBrayer of the University of Guam, attempts to capture a glimpse of the support for students with specific learning difficulties through their parents' account of experiences with school practices. Findings indicated parents' frustration over the use of grade retention as a remedial method, the use of expulsion as a disciplinary strategy, limited instructional support, and a lack of school‐initiated communication to inform, engage or support parents in the special education process which in turn resulted in a poor home–school relationship. Recommendations centred on policy enforcement, reducing class size and teacher workload, and improving home–school relationships.     

Working in groups: social and cognitive effects in a special class

Judith Watson, Reader in Education at the University of Edinburgh, considers the potential of social-constructivist ideas of teaching and learning for pupils with learning difficulties and reports on the introduction of social learning experiences within a special unit for pupils with moderate learning difficulties.     

Developing an emotional awareness programme for pupils with moderate learning difficulties at Durants School

Abstract

Emotional awareness programmes and initiatives in education have a high profile. Training courses in emotional literacy and emotional literacy projects are being promoted nationwide. However, whilst many successful projects and programmes have taken place in the context of mainstream school settings, by comparison relatively fewer projects have been reported in special school settings. A seven-week emotional awareness project was designed for seven pupils in a Year 8 form group (12–13 years of age) who were presenting with emotional and emotional/behavioural difficulties in Durants School, which caters for pupils with moderate learning difficulties. The project drew upon principles of circle time and placed emphasis on multisensory activities and role play. The purpose of the project was to identify whether an emotional awareness programme would lead to an increase in the pupils’ awareness and understanding of their own emotions, and whether an awareness of other people’s feelings/emotions could be integrated as a core module of the school’s personal, social and health education curriculum. This project illustrates that an emotional awareness programme can be adapted creatively for pupils with special educational and learning needs without involving expensive resources, and can give pupils life skills that can be applied both in and out of the classroom.     

Art from Six to Sixteen

Sheila George, who teaches art in a school for children with moderate learning difficulties in Kent, describes the art curriculum she has drawn up as a 'working document' for use by staff throughout the all-age school.     

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.     

Typically developing children’s understanding of and attitudes towards diversity and peers with learning difficulties in the Greek setting

During the last few years, across Europe, special education has been orientated towards an inclusive model. Accordingly, in Greece, special education functions as an integral part of general education. However, few studies have investigated how children in the mainstream school understand diversity issues and specifically learning difficulties. The present study investigated typically developing children’s understanding of and attitudes towards diversity, and peers with learning difficulties. For this purpose, children aged 9–12 years, completed a questionnaire with mainly open‐ended questions and some close‐type questions. Regarding children’s understanding of diversity, the majority of responses focused more on individual/personality differences, on biological differences and less on disabilities or difficulties. Research into children’s understanding about the causes of learning difficulties demonstrated misunderstanding, while a large number of children had a total lack of knowledge. On the other hand, they seem to understand that learning difficulties may affect all the aspects of life. Children’s attitudes towards school inclusion were positive on a more superficial level. Results are discussed in terms of educational implications and school practice for the development and implementation of appropriate intervention programs.     

IV and SEN: Using interactive video with special educational needs pupils

Ten pupils with moderate learning difficulties worked on a series of mathematics related activities while visiting a school providing a whole range of multi-media. The investigation suggests that IV has a particular contribution to make in meeting special educational needs. In addition to specific benefits in the teaching and learning of mathematics, the technology proved to be a facilitator in the areas of geography and life skills. There was also some evidence to suggest that IV can help to raise self-esteem, provide equal opportunities and support collaborative learning. Sense of ownership, language development and motivational characteristics, together with the promotion of attention and the accompanying benefit for teachers of the reduction of anxiety over discipline, are other factors suggesting the usefulness of the medium in this context.     

Differentiated Curriculum Design: Responding to the Individual and Group Needs of Students with Learning Difficulties with Self‐regulated Learning Strategies

The purpose of this study was to explore special educational curriculum design at senior secondary school level and whether this helps to enhance the academic attainment and self‐confidence of students with learning difficulties. An in‐depth discussion focuses on lesson planning for the individual needs and group needs of students by implementation of self‐regulated learning strategies, based on a case study in a special school in Hong Kong. A multiple methods research design was envisaged for the implementation phase of this participatory action research. Lesson observations, video recordings, teachers’ diaries and students’ interviews were collected during one academic year in a form 5 (equal to year 12 in the UK) classroom. It is suggested that curriculum design should include various elements: learning knowledge, values and attitudes, and generic skills. This differentiated curriculum design showed how subject learning targets could be responsive to both the individual and the group needs of students with learning difficulties. Conclusions also indicate that assisting students to become aware of their individual needs is beneficial both for learning and for curriculum design.     

Teaching French in a School for Children with Moderate Learning Difficulties

Margaret Riley, who teaches at Woodside Senior School, Bolton, considers approaches to the teaching of a modern foreign language in a school for children with moderate learning difficulties.