Attitudes of Greek parents of primary school children without special educational needs to inclusion

Successful inclusion of children with special educational needs (SEN) in school settings depends largely on the attitudes of parents of peers without SEN. The purpose of the present study was to explore the attitudes of Greek parents of primary school children without SEN towards inclusion. The participants were 338 parents (182 fathers, 156 mothers), aged 27 to 58 years (mean age = 39 years and 5 months). They were asked to complete the My thinking about inclusion scale and a further short questionnaire. The findings revealed that Greek parents of primary school children not identified as having SEN had an overall positive attitude towards inclusion. Gender differences were also established—fathers held more positive attitudes towards inclusion than mothers, even when controlling for age, educational level and the presence of a child with SEN in their child’s classroom. However, mothers were overall more willing than fathers to engage themselves and their child in interaction with a child with SEN.     

Developing and changing practice in special educational needs through critically reflective action research: a case study

The purpose of this paper is to critically evaluate the use of action research as a tool for developing critical reflection which has the potential to lead to change and development in practice in education, in particular, in the area of special educational needs (SEN) and inclusion. In order to support and illustrate the critique, a case study of a group of Dutch practising teachers and education professionals engaged in studying for a master's degree in SEN is used. The three-year programme of study followed by the group was a practice-based programme of professional development, with heavy emphasis on action research throughout. For this particular group action research was an entirely new concept, and indeed many of them expressed considerable scepticism about its validity as an approach to research, or for that matter, professional development, at the beginning of the programme. The whole group were working in areas associated with SEN where the need to change practice was an urgent imperative, due to changes in education policy and the rapid move towards inclusion in The Netherlands. Having been responsible for the development and teaching of the programme for several years, I decided to make a case study of one cohort of students in order to carry out some more structured and detailed evaluation of the impact of the programme on practice. I also wanted to reaffirm the general impression I had gathered from continuing student evaluation and feedback, that their work, and in particular the action research they had carried out, had led to genuine development and, in some cases, fairly radical change in their professional practice.     

不言放弃:一位父亲教育信念的个案研究

本文运用质性研究的方法,透过一位普通父亲十几年如一日,在执着的毫不放弃的教育过程中,把自己在幼年时近乎“不开窍”的儿子,逐渐培养成一名大学生的故事,从中归纳他的教育行为、教育经验的积累过程;透过其教育行为的背后,挖掘其深层次的教育信念;从而洞察在一个孩子的成长背后,父母为孩子所做的最有意义的东西。     

The development of case studies as a method within a longitudinal study of special educational needs provision in the Republic of Ireland

When developing case studies within a longitudinal study of special educational needs provision within the Republic of Ireland, the authors were conscious of the critiques of the use of this approach within educational research. The difficulties associated with generalisation, challenges of ensuring trustworthiness and the possibilities of researcher bias have been identified as limiting factors in the presentation of case study data. In order to confront these limitations, the researchers developed a framework for case study development that aimed to provide a secure database and trustworthy interpretation in order to make assertions in relation to special educational needs provision. This paper describes this process and suggests that the need to develop safeguards in order to present case studies that have high degree of credibility is essential when using this approach. Furthermore, the transparency of research methods, a significant omission in many reports of research, is necessary in order to demonstrate the trustworthiness of data.     

Special educational needs: a public issue

This article explores the contribution of sociological scholarship to understanding and analysing the notions of ‘special educational needs’ and ‘disability’ and the ways in which the two notions have been reconfigured and theorised as ‘public issues’ rather than ‘personal troubles’. Barton's contribution is signified both in terms of his contribution to the evolution of the ‘sociological imagination’ – as a powerful theoretical tool for unravelling the highly political and contested nature of disability and special educational needs – and also in terms of his analysis of the emergence and development of sociological theorising in the field. The parochial obsession with deficit and medical‐oriented approaches to dealing with ‘difference’ and ‘need’ have been significantly challenged through the ‘sociological imagination’ aimed at pointing up the highly political and complex nature of disability and ‘special educational needs’. Times have changed and sociological theorising has evolved, but presumed ‘personal troubles’ are still not unequivocally conceptualised as being intertwined with, resting upon and emanating from ‘public issues’ embedded in the social, cultural and political edifice of educational, social and national communities. The ‘sociological imagination’ should be constantly invoked and deployed in order to expose and challenge the sophisticated ways in which individual pathology accounts and special educational imperatives re‐invent themselves through more inclusive linguistic veneers.     

The effect of badges on the engagement of students with special educational needs: A case study

This paper addresses the perceived benefits from gamification in the context of special education. It presents the findings of a study evaluating the effects of a specific gamification element (badges) on the engagement of five students with special learning needs, through online courses developed on the Moodle Learning Management System (LMS). The results indicate that this particular gamification element yielded positive effects on students’ engagement and on their overall attitude towards the educational process in general.     

士阶层与智者派教育思想的比较研究

作为不同社会中最初的知识分子,中国士阶层与古希腊智者派的教育活动大同小异,诸如授徒讲学、著书立说、参政议政等.而其教育思想却不尽相同,相对于智者派而言,士阶层对于教育的作用、目的及教学内容的探讨要丰富而多元,而智者派在这方面的探讨较为集中而单一.     

The long term educational needs of a high-technology society

This paper provides a synthesis of information from extant research and policy documentation on information technology (IT) workforce issues in the US and abroad. In particular, it addresses some of the issues that concerned the USA's 21st Century Workforce Commission, which was established to look at the IT labour market. It defines the IT market fairly broadly and is concerned with the overall IT workforce. The paper covers both supply and demand issues and looks to address a variety of questions concerning the longer-term nature of IT employment and any potential labour market imperfections that may arise through inappropriate educational strategies. It looks at the skills needed to obtain IT jobs, ways to increase the supply of IT workers, and describes and assesses a number of foreign programmes for training individuals for IT employment.     

Teachers' biographies and educational development: a Kenyan case study

Over the last decade there has been a growing interest among academics in the lives and work of teachers in industrialised countries. Many of these studies have sought to understand how teachers perceive their work and how they develop their particular professional identities. There is a growing recognition of the impact of teachers' own biographies on their training and on curriculum development and implementation. This paper examines the perspectives of a group of Kenyan educators, advisors and inspectors, from different regions, who have taken part in a national project designed to strengthen primary education through the in-service training of teachers. The aim is to examine the potential of biographical research to provide new insights into the processes of educational development. The participants in the research reflect on their own career development and life histories; on their identities, both professional and personal; and on the impact of these on their work. Drawing on an issue which divided the group, that of gender equality, the paper considers some of the biographical and cultural factors which permit and restrict development.     

Special educational needs and disability

Issues relating to the categorisation and labelling of pupils, and, the use of the terms 'special educational needs' and 'disability' in particular, have been the topic of debate in BJSE before. In this article, Sue Keil, a research officer at the Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB), Olga Miller, of the Institute of Education, University of London, and Rory Cobb, a development officer at the RNIB, summarise some of the key findings from a review carried out on behalf of the Disability Rights Commission (DRC). The authors highlight confusion over the use of terms that represent differing ideological perspectives. Despite the social focus that characterises much of the discourse about disability, disability is frequently regarded as an aspect of special educational needs, an area in which a medical model is often dominant. These confusions benefit neither children with disabilities nor those with less clearly-defined difficulties. Sue Keil, Olga Miller and Rory Cobb note with interest recent developments in Scotland where a new framework based on the concept of 'additional support needs' separates disability from educational need and is intended to represent a more inclusive approach to children's learning.     

Educating leaders for social justice: the case of special educational needs co-ordinators

In the light of policy imperatives to initiate and maintain inclusive education reforms, the role of special educational needs co-ordinators (SENCOs) in England and Wales should be reconceptualised with a view to their leading school reforms commensurate with the principles of an inclusive discourse. The article concentrates on the social justice dimension of educational leadership to advance discussion of the changing role of SENCOs. It is suggested that, apart from the operational and strategic aspects of their redefined leadership role, SENCOs should be empowered to embrace a social justice discourse in tackling power inequities and systemic educational inequalities that undermine inclusive education reforms.     

课例研究:如何从教育模式走向教育实践

课例研究作为一种教师专业化发展模式已经引起教育研究者和教育者的广泛关注.作为从日本移植的一种教育模式,如何充分理解与改进课例研究,发挥其对改进课堂教学的潜在意义,是一个在理论与实践方面都有重要意义的问题.课例研究作为一种教育研究方法在进一步发展中应进行的三类研究:发展有关课例研究的核心特征的理论;阐明课例研究的机制;课例研究的方法论和证明路线.     

The educational experiences of pupils with a Statement for special educational needs in mainstream primary schools: results from a systematic observation study

Findings from the Deployment and Impact of Support Staff project showed that day-to-day support for pupils with special education needs (SEN) in mainstream UK schools is often provided by teaching assistants (TAs), instead of teachers. This arrangement is the main explanation for other results from the project, which found TA support had a more profound, negative impact on the academic progress of pupils with SEN than pupils without SEN. There is, however, surprisingly little systematic information on the overall support and interactions experienced by pupils with the highest levels of SEN attending mainstream schools (e.g. those with Statements). The Making a Statement project was designed to provide such a picture in state-funded primary schools in England (e.g. schools attended by children aged between five and 11). Extensive systematic observations were conducted of 48 pupils with Statements and 151 average-attaining ‘control’ pupils. Data collected over 2011/12 involved researchers shadowing pupils in Year 5 (nine- and 10-year olds) over one week each. The results, reported here, show that the educational experiences of pupils with Statements is strongly characterised by a high degree of separation from the classroom, their teacher and peers. A clear point to emerge was the intimate connection between TAs and the locations, in and away from the classroom, in which pupils with Statements are taught. The currency of Statements – a set number of hours of TA support – is identified as key factor in why provision leads to these arrangements, and appears to get in the way of schools thinking through appropriate pedagogies for pupils with the most pronounced learning difficulties.