Curriculum research for students with intellectual disabilities: a content-analytic review

Curriculum content, the issue of what to teach is fundamental. For students with intellectual disabilities (ID), the choice of educational content is crucial in a life span perspective. Curriculum research for this learner group is sparse. Drawing on a curriculum approach, the purpose of this content analytic reviw study is to analyse trends in curricular research, and discuss implications for further curricular research and policy. Curricular research articles from 1994 to 2016 were identified from databases, using systematic search procedures and specific criteria for inclusion and categorisation of the literature. Based on prior review studies, functional life skills and cognitive academic content formed the analytical fulcrum. The results showed that cognitive academic articles had the highest coverage in the literature and showed a steep increase in publication frequency compared to functional life skill articles. If curricular research on functional life skills stagnates, curriculum policy and practice may fail to provide students with ID the skills necessary for social and practical adaption in their communities. A discursive connection to normative curricular frameworks is essential to analyse and guide curricular choices. This article provides analytical insight and directions for future research in the field of curriculum research for students with ID.     

Changing the attitudes of high school students towards intellectual disabilities: the contribution of a social coexistence programme

Students’ attitudes towards peers with intellectual disabilities are mostly negative, and negative attitudes appear more among secondary education students than any other age group. Social coexistence programmes are intervention programmes implemented by school psychologists to manage and change negative attitudes and enforce social interaction with students with disabilities. The research sample consisted of 193 public high school students in Greece who were given the Chedoke–McMaster Attitudes Toward Children with Handicaps (CATCH) Scale. The study aimed to explore whether there is a change in the attitudes of high school students towards peers with intellectual disabilities after participation in a social coexistence programme. The findings showed that students who participated in the programme had more positive attitudes towards people with intellectual disabilities after the completion of the programme. The above findings confirm the research on the possibility of changing attitudes of secondary school students towards peers with disabilities and reinforce the need for the systematic development of social coexistence programmes for the entire student population. Future research should focus on the benefits of students with disabilities from their participation in social coexistence programmes.     

A decade of change in mainstream education for children with intellectual disabilities in the Republic of Ireland

Inclusive rather than segregated schooling has been advocated in several significant international declarations during the past two decades. Even so children with significant intellectual disabilities are at greater risk of being excluded from mainstream education, unless particular efforts are made to support them in such settings. These children and young people are more likely to be educated in special schools or in special classes within mainstream schools. In the decade from 2003 to 2013, the Republic of Ireland enacted legislation and provided additional financial resources for pupils with special educational needs, although these were more constrained during the financial crisis that Ireland experienced from 2008 onwards. A national database, updated annually, is maintained of children receiving services from specialist intellectual disability services and this enabled comparisons to be made for the enrolments of over 8000 children aged 4–19 in mainstream and special schools following the introduction of legislation and availability of additional resources. The data showed a steady increase in children with significant intellectual disabilities attending mainstream classes and a decrease in the proportion attending special schools along with a much smaller but decreasing proportion in special classes. The profile of pupils with intellectual disabilities in mainstream and special schools also changed over the 10 years with higher proportions of males, of pupils with moderate disabilities and those of primary age attending mainstream schools, whereas special schools now tend to have higher proportions of females and those of secondary school age. However, there was marked regional variation in the proportions of pupils in mainstream schools which was attributed to the availability of special schools across the State. This study demonstrates how a national data-set can be used to track the impact that policy changes and legislation designed to enhance the development of inclusive learning environments had on the number of pupils availing of mainstream opportunities. It was also possible to identify prevailing trends in types of support provided within schools and the changing pattern of provision for pupils with different levels of intellectual disability. At the broader level of international trends in policy and provision aimed at establishing inclusive learning environments, this study demonstrates the need for a common frame of reference around which the national and international conversations on educational systems can take place.     

Supporting the education of pupils with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities: the views of teaching assistants regarding their own learning and development needs

Learning support assistants or teaching assistants play a vital role in the education of pupils with complex learning disabilities, routinely supporting students on a 1:1 basis without the direct supervision of teachers. Despite the responsibility afforded these classroom support staff, there appear to be few training programmes designed for this specialised role. This qualitative study, by Trudi Martin of the Manchester Institute of Education, was undertaken at a special school in England. The study explored the views of 17 teaching assistants and five teachers regarding the extent to which teaching assistant training equipped them to support pupils with complex learning needs. The findings illustrated that much of the training, including that on the Qualifications and Credit Framework, provided inadequate information and guidance. Without sufficient knowledge to underpin their practice, teaching assistants are impeded in the educational support they can give to pupils, who face significant learning challenges, with a resultant impact on their students' ability to learn and develop new skills.     

Self-determination of pupils with intellectual disabilities in Norwegian secondary school

This article examines how the self-determination of pupils with intellectual disabilities is practised in secondary school in Norway and discusses possible challenges connected to this practice. The argumentation builds on the fieldwork of qualitative interviews (N?=?55) and participant observations in schools in Norway (pupils 13–16?years old). The pupils attend a variety of educational settings, including ordinary classes at mainstream schools, the department of special education at mainstream schools and special education schools. The study reveals considerable variations in the pupils’ opportunities to practise self-determination. While the self-determination of pupils with intellectual disabilities is rather extensive when it comes to their influence over informal and minor decisions in everyday life at school, it is very limited when it comes to formal and major decisions. Furthermore, the implementation of the pupils’ self-determination is primarily spontaneous and seldom anchored in the pupils’ Individual Education Plans. Such an implementation practice limits the pupils’ opportunities to participate in democratic processes, learning and social interaction.     

Changes on quality of life,self-efficacy and social support for activities and physical fitness in people with intellectual disabilities through multimodal intervention

Background: People with intellectual disability have poor levels of physical activity, quality of life, fitness condition and self-efficacy and social support when they want to undertake physical activity so it is very important to improve these parameters in this population.

Method: A prospective study was conducted. Data were measured before and after the multimodal intervention. Participants were 40 people with mild intellectual disability. The intervention was carried out over 8 weeks (2 h weekly).

Results: The results of this study show that after the multimodal intervention, there was significant improvement: quality of life, professional and peers’ support for activity, abdominal strength and walking METS (Metabolic equivalent of tasks). Conclusions: There are few studies that have carried out an intervention that combines physical activity and education in people with intellectual disability; these interventions are very important because they can improve some parameters that are difficult to improve with only a single intervention.

Conclusions: There are few studies that have carried out an intervention that combines physical activity and education in people with intellectual disability; these interventions are very important because they can improve some parameters that are difficult to improve with only a single intervention.     

Educational arrangements and social participation with peers amongst children with disabilities in regular schools

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationships between educational arrangements and social participation amongst children with disabilities in regular schools. The analysis is based on data drawn from surveys of parents of children with disabilities, aged 11–13, who attend regular schools in Norway (N = 262). We have explored the relationships between the variables of interest by means of structural equation modelling linear structural relations (LISREL). The results show that (1) the present educational arrangements may hinder social participation with peers and (2) the type of disability and the degree of impairment have no direct effect on the degree of social participation with peers, but only an indirect effect via educational support and classroom participation. These findings suggest that if children with disabilities are equally entitled to have the opportunity of gaining the same social benefits as their peers, then regular schools should be careful not to segregate them from their peers in mainstream school activities.     

Contacts with classmates: the social position of pupils with Down's syndrome in Dutch mainstream education

ABSTRACT

An important aspect of integrating special needs pupils in mainstream education is social integration. Parents of Down's syndrome children and their teachers in regular education regard contact with peers as of utmost importance for these children's development. Until recently, there was little research in The Netherlands on social contact between mainstream Down's syndrome children and their classmates. The study addresses the number and type of contacts in the regular classroom and the position occupied by the pupils involved within their peer group in regular education.     

Teaching handwriting skills to children with intellectual disabilities using an adapted handwriting programme

Children with intellectual disabilities often struggle with handwriting, but there is very little research to inform intervention approaches. In this study, we developed a teaching manual based on Handwriting Without Tears®, a comprehensive handwriting programme designed for typically developing children. Three children with intellectual disabilities participated in the study and received handwriting instruction based on the manual three times a week over a 32‐week period. Our aims were to explore whether Handwriting Without Tears® can be used as a comprehensive handwriting curriculum for children with intellectual disabilities and to evaluate improvement in handwriting skills. We found that the intervention was successfully incorporated into small group teaching sessions within the child's regular classroom, and that all three children made improvements. Our data show promising results and support the need for larger evaluation studies.     

Successful schooling for pupils with intellectual disabilities: the demand for a new paradigm

A comprehensive review of educational interventions for pupils with intellectual disabilities showed that most studies report positive results for a variety of interventions. The aim of this article is to explore how these results can be understood. We draw on similar earlier findings concerning intervention effects in psychotherapy and social work, discussing the so-called Dodo bird conjecture, indicating that established methods for identification of evidence-based practices can provide false, positive results influenced by so-called common factors present in most interventions. In conclusion, we argue for a new paradigm of research on educational interventions for pupils with intellectual disabilities, replacing the present ambition to find evidence-based support for specific interventions in favour of a line of research exploring alternative explanations in terms of, for instance, common positive factors.     

Fostering positive attitudes: reactions of mainstream pupils to contact with their counterparts who have severe/profound intellectual disabilities

This paper is concerned with the impact of an Irish schools link programme on the attitudes of able-bodied young people towards their severely/profoundly intellectually disabled peers. Eradicating the misconceptions and stereotypes often associated with severely/profoundly intellectually disabled young people can be particularly difficult in an Irish context as these young people attend Developmental Day Centres under the auspices of the Department of Health rather than a regular school. Within the remit of this paper, it is proposed to focus on the effects of structured contact on the attitudes of mainstream pupils towards their counterparts who have severe/profound intellectual disabilities. Findings would suggest that involvement in the link programme had enabled the mainstream pupils to develop and retain over a two-year period positive pro-social attitudes towards their severely/profoundly intellectually disabled peers.     

Attitudes and experiences of parents regarding inclusive and special school education for children with learning and intellectual disabilities

In a survey, 840 parents of children with cognitive deficits who were educated either in special schools or in inclusive classes were asked to assess their children's school experiences. The results showed an overall high degree of satisfaction with the schooling, but there were marked differences among the parents' assessments depending on the degree of learning disabilities and on the type of school. Satisfaction with their children's social experiences and satisfaction with the special education curriculum depend on these two factors. All in all, many parents of children in inclusive classes were satisfied with their children's schooling than those of children in special schools. The analysis of the causes for discontent showed that dissatisfied parents had chosen the type of school under less favourable conditions and a larger part of them are still not convinced of this necessity of additional help. This applied to parents of pupils in inclusive classes as well as to those of pupils in special schools. Furthermore, parents of children with German as a second language showed a higher degree of discontent than others.     

Effect of student-related factors on their attitudes towards peers with disabilities in physical education: evidence from elementary schools in China

ABSTRACT

This study aims to examine the general and sport-specific attitudes of elementary school students towards including students with disabilities in physical education and identifying student-related variables that determine such attitudes. A total of 872 students ranged from eight to 13 years old (461 boys and 411 girls) from six elementary schools in Shanghai participated in the study. The Children’s Attitudes towards Integrated Physical Education – Revised Scale (CAIPE-R) was utilized to measure students’ general and sport-specific attitudes. The Chinese students showed unfavourable general and sport-specific attitudes towards PE inclusion. Several student-related variables, such as being female and having a student with disabilities in PE classes, were positively associated with the general attitude of students, whereas being competitive was negatively related to the general attitude. These variables explained 13.2% of attitude variance. Being female, having a student with disabilities in regular classes, and having a student with disabilities in PE classes were positively related to the sport-specific attitude of students and explained 4.7% of attitude variance. The study has important implication for PE teaching, such as providing inclusive cooperative PE settings and opportunities of positive interaction for students with and without disabilities.     

Children's attitudes toward their peers with Down Syndrome in schools in rural Ireland: an exploratory study

Increasingly, children with Down Syndrome are attending mainstream schools, but evidence suggests that these children are more prone to peer rejection and other problems when compared with their non‐disabled counterparts. However, relatively little is known about children's attitudes toward their peers with moderate to serious learning disabilities, including Down Syndrome. This study assessed the attitudes of non‐disabled primary school children (n = 118) in mainstream education toward their peers with Down Syndrome. A secondary aim was to assess whether exposure to audiovisual material promoting inclusion had any immediate effects on overall attitudes. A cross‐sectional, questionnaire‐based survey was administered in four rural‐based schools. The results showed that female participants over 10 were the most sociable. Overall attitudes toward inclusion were consistently and statistically significantly more negative than those toward sociability. Other factors, such as contact with peers with Down Syndrome, were not related to attitudes. Neither was there any change in overall attitudes following exposure to the promotional material. Further work is needed to identify factors underpinning the attitudes of non‐disabled children to their peers with Down Syndrome and how best to promote inclusion in mainstream schools.     

Inclusive education and intellectual disability: a sociological engagement with Martha Nussbaum

As a result of exclusionary tactics, social, cultural or economic disadvantage or disability, vast numbers of pupils have poor educational experiences and are either marginalised or demonised due to ‘difficult differences’. In the context of Martha Nussbaum's capabilities approach, where she suggests that we ought to be who we want to be, this paper addresses intellectual disability, inclusion and inclusive education. It proposes that care, compassion, creativity and ethics are critical in understanding the education for all children and young people, rather than necessarily pedagogical process. In addition, it suggests that learning should take place within and through relationships and that these relationships are important in developing a healthy sense of self. Therefore politically, rather than following a path of blame whether it is the dysfunctional family, the deficit child or the economically deprived nation, this paper says that we require socially just practices, compassion and care as fundamental to human development, social inclusion and inclusive education. Ultimately, education is failing a large sum of children and young people and therefore needs to be radically reconsidered.     

Assessing the learning of pupils with special educational needs and disabilities in mainstream school physical education

In the UK, one consequence of neoliberalism has been the development of test cultures in schools and standardised assessment strategies used to judge all pupils against within and across curriculum subjects. Few studies to date have explored the influence of this on assessing the learning of pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), and none have centred physical education (PE). This study used the concept of ableism and semi-structured interviews to explore mainstream secondary school PE teachers’ views and experiences of assessing the learning of pupils with SEND. Based on the findings, we discuss the importance of schools disrupting hegemonic, ableist modes of thinking that cast pupils with SEND as being of inferior ability when compared with their peers and thus being disadvantaged by standardised, normative assessment practices. Specifically, we identify a need for senior leaders and teachers in schools to recognise the needs and capabilities of pupils with SEND, through more holistic assessment approaches that focus on social, affective, cognitive and physical learning and development. We end by discussing the significance of initial teacher education and teacher networks to support this endeavour and advocating for the amplification of the voices of pupils with SEND, given that they have expert knowledge about the perceived inclusivity of assessment in PE because they can draw upon their lived and embodied experiences.     

Interventions in general education for students with disabilities: a systematic review

Implementing effective interventions in general education increases the chances of success for students with disabilities. Often the effectiveness of interventions is not known. The aim of this review was to investigate what interventions are used in general education and what is known about their effectiveness so that educational institutions can exchange best practices and students with disabilities have better opportunities for successful participation in general education. A systematic literature search was conducted in four databases. Three investigators assessed the relevance of the studies identified. In only half of the studies is information on the effectiveness of interventions reported. Due to enormous variety in the types of interventions, effect measures, disability groups, and focus on different types of education, we chose to focus on reading interventions for improving the reading skills of students with reading and/or learning disabilities. Other interventions are shortly mentioned. All of the eight reading interventions found seem to have positive influences on reading skills. However, the methodological quality in some studies was low. Still, recommendations for actual interventions in general education are made. Measuring the effectiveness of interventions systematically and publishing the information helps others to implement effective interventions without having to reinvent them.     

Settling In: Facilitating the transition to an inclusive middle school for students with mild disabilities

The present qualitative study examined the experiences of nine students with mild disabilities during their first year in an inclusive middle school in a Midwestern state of the United States (US). Data were gathered through interviews with students, teachers, and parents; classroom observations; and document analysis. Following the data analysis, three themes were identified: how the demands of navigating a new environment increased students’ anxiety; how students satisfied their need for belonging; and how students’ perceptions of school influenced their attitude towards help. Suggestions for facilitating school transitions for early adolescents with mild disabilities are provided.