The experiences of disabled pupils and their families

In this article, Ann Lewis, Professor of Education at the University of Birmingham, and Ian Davison, Jean Ellins, Louise Niblett, Sarah Parsons, Christopher Robertson and Jeremy Sharpe from the research team provide a summary of discussions and selected recommendations arising from four linked projects run between 2004 and 2006. The projects were funded by the Disability Rights Commission (DRC) and looked into the experiences of disabled pupils and their families across England, Scotland and Wales. A central aim of the research was to identify the key concerns and priorities in relation to their experiences of education for children and young people with special educational needs (SEN) or disabilities and their families in the UK. The research encompassed a UK-wide parent survey (N=1776); in-depth case studies of individual children and young people (N=36); group case studies (of, for example, school councils) (N=3); and a series of project advisory groups involving disabled people. Underlying these aspects was an emphasis on the importance and validity of hearing directly from (potentially all) children and young people themselves. Thus the work meshes closely with initiatives worldwide concerning the recognition of children's'voice'in matters that concern them. The authors are not aware of any comparable evidence which focuses in-depth on a wide cross-section of pupils with disabilities or special needs and their families in the UK-wide educational context and which is located alongside concurrent authoritative data concerning the views of parents and carers.     

Positioning Stakeholders in Curriculum Leadership: How can teacher educators work with teachers to discover and create their place?

This article draws from research in an Australian Research Council (ARC) Collaborative Research Project involving personnel from Queensland University of Technology and Education Queensland. The focus was on theorising curriculum leadership for effective learning and teaching. As the project proceeded, it became evident that there are certain factors which contribute to curriculum leadership as a shared phenomenon at teaching/learning sites; and that among these factors, personal factors were important in shaping teachers' perceptions of their readiness to engage in curriculum leadership. This article also draws on some recent exploratory research which resulted from the project. In this research, the emphasis was on how space might be discovered and created for the voices of significant stakeholders in curriculum leadership. Both pieces of research raise a number of interesting questions about supporting and sustaining teachers in their engagement in curriculum leadership. These questions are explored within the context of the question posed in the article's title.