School placement and classroom participation among children with disabilities in primary school in Norway: a longitudinal study

The purpose of this paper is to address changes in school placement and classroom participation with respect to children with disabilities of primary school age in Norway, as well as examining the factors which explain variation in school placement and classroom participation. School placement refers to whether children with disabilities attend regular school, while classroom participation refers to time spent in regular classrooms at regular schools. The analysis is based on longitudinal data drawn from surveys undertaken in 2003 and 2006, of parents of children with disabilities. Present findings suggest there are no major changes in school placement during primary school years, which is contrary to earlier findings. However, the amount of time children with disability are absent from regular classes does increase significantly as the children become older. Size of municipality population, type of disability and degree of impairment are the main factors which have an impact on school placement. In addition to these, the amount of special education also has an impact on classroom participation. There are small changes in mechanisms that lead children out of both regular schools and classrooms, during their primary school years. However, some of the identified factors strengthen in importance as the children become older. The apparent policy change for older children, from special school placement to an “out of class” practice, is discussed. It could be seen as regular schools’ adaptation to the tension between the prevailing ideology of inclusion and schools’ maintenance of existing practice.     

Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders: as prevalent as autism?

An examination of the literature on Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) and its relevance to the work of Educational Psychologists (EPs) suggested that the impact of FASD on EPs’ casework is an area which has been underexplored, and which merits further attention. A search of major electronic databases was conducted online; however no articles were found which specifically examined the role of the EP in connection with FASD. This is surprising as international research suggests that prevalence of FASD is as high as 1%, which implies that all schools are already dealing with the significant effects of FASD. It is suggested that EPs are well-placed to help schools clarify and meet the needs of children with FASD. Early identification may help reduce the risk of secondary disabilities and improve life outcomes for this group.     

Narrative Research Methodologies: Learning Lessons From Disabilities Research

Presenting research well with regard to persons with disabilities is as important as conducting research well. Disembodied, technical writing does not accurately represent the dramas of athletes, fans, and people who are trying to exist in damaged or violated bodies. Our stories are left incomplete if we omit the metaphoric and symbolic codes we use in narrating our subjective and personal realities. We invite kinesiology scholars to present the fragmented stories that abound in sport and physical activity through narrative research: realist tales, autoethnographies, poetry, fictional representations, and ethnodrama. We present examples and explanations of a variety of narratives that attempt to draw the reader into the subjective experience of others. They conclude that professionals in the sub-disciplines can learn lessons from disabilities researchers. They also posit that narratives provide avenues for multiple realities to be shared, people who would most likely never read social or behavioral research in kinesiology can be introduced to other ways of being in the world, and students who are interested in sport and physical activity can become better professionals.     

Anxieties of Knowing

There is a lack of writing on the issue of the education rights of people with disabilities by authors of any theoretical persuasion. While the deficiency of theory may be explained by a variety of historical, philosophical and practical considerations, it is a deficiency which must be addressed. Otherwise, any statement of rights rings out as hollow rhetoric unsupported by sound reason and moral rectitude. This paper attempts to address this deficiency in education rights theory by postulating a communitarian theory of the education rights of people with disabilities. The theory is developed from communitarian writings on the role of education in democratic society. The communitarian school, like the community within which it nests, is inclusive. Schools both reflect and model the shape of communitarian society and have primary responsibility for teaching the knowledge and virtues which will allow citizens to belong to and function within society. Communitarians emphasise responsibilities, however, as the corollary of rights and may require the individual good to yield to the community good when the hard cases arise. The article not only explains the basis of the right to an inclusive education, therefore, but also engages with the difficult issue of when such a right may not be enforceable.     

Strategies for and Successes with Promoting Social Integration in Primary Schools in Canada and China

This study examined social integration in 11 primary schools in Canada and 19 primary schools in China as reported by teachers in terms of the strategies employed to promote social integration and success in achieving social integration. Structured interviews were conducted with 64 Canadian and 52 Chinese general education teachers. The results showed that the strategies used to promote social integration were largely similar in both countries. Major strategies included the provision of a positive social environment, the promoting of positive attitudes toward individuals with disabilities, and the implementation of cooperative learning techniques. These teachers in the two nations differed mainly in the degree of emphasis on the strategies and the levels of success. The author suggests that future studies involve more nationally representative samples.     

高一学生数学学习的障碍分析

许多从初中升到高中的学生普遍反映数学难学。高中数学更强调思维性、逻辑性,也更抽象。文章通过对高中学生如何减轻学生学习数学的负担,排除学习障碍及突破方法进行分析,以起到抛砖引玉、提高高中数学教学的实效性。     

加强残疾学生体育教学与锻炼研究 提高残疾学生身心健康水平

阐述体育锻炼与残疾学生身心健康之间的关系.呼吁国内学术界广泛开展、深化残疾学生体育教学与锻炼的科研工作.     

The participation of children with multi-sensory impairment in person-centred planning

Consultation with pupils with learning disabilities through the use of person-centred planning methods is becoming increasingly common. However, little research has focused on pupils with multi-sensory impairment (MSI). Kim Taylor has taught children with special educational needs for over 25 years and holds a post-graduate diploma in multi-sensory impairment. In this article, she suggests that the characteristics of MSI affect the capacity of some pupils to participate in person-centred planning. Kim Taylor presents case studies in which she investigates the impact that the characteristics of MSI have upon adults'abilities to elicit the views of children with MSI about their experiences in the classroom. The article provides an analysis of the factors that maximised the children's involvement and participation and a commentary on the trustworthiness of the outcomes of the consultation processes described. At the end of her article, Kim Taylor commits herself to implementing improved approaches in the classroom and calls upon other practitioners to follow her example.     

Opportunities for inclusion? The education of learners with special educational needs and disabilities in special schools in Uganda

The Government of Uganda aims to provide good quality education for all learners in inclusive schools. However, some learners who have severe disabilities, including those who are deaf, will, for some time, continue to receive their education in special schools. In this article, Kirsten Kristensen, consultant in inclusive and special needs education for many countries in East Africa, Martin Omagor-Loican, Commissioner for Special Needs Education, Negris Onen, Principal Education Officer for Special Needs and Inclusive Education, both at the Ministry of Education in Sports in Uganda, and Daniel Okot, co-ordinator for the Diploma in Special Needs Education at Kyambogo University, provide an account of their study of 15 such schools. The findings from the study indicate a striking need for reform and transformation. While Uganda has an advanced structure for training teachers in special needs education, the quality of education and educational materials in special schools, is poor. Often children are admitted to special schools without proper assessment of their educational needs and the resources are not available to provide them with an appropriate range of experiences. The authors of this article call for a thoroughgoing review of provision and make a series of coherent and persuasive recommendations for developments in policy and practice focused on enabling special schools in Uganda to play an essential role in future as resource centres supporting an inclusive education system.     

Until somebody hears me: parent voice and advocacy in special educational decision making

When a family finds out their child has a disability, they enter the world of special education which has its own terminology, rules, settings and personnel. In addition to grappling with the meaning of their child's special needs, families are also thrown into the role of principle advocate for their child. The research study reported here presents the findings from focus groups conducted in the United States of America with 27 diverse families on their efforts to obtain the best educational outcomes for their children. In this article, Robyn Hess, Amy Molina and Elizabeth Kozleski bring their collective past experiences, as a school psychologist, bilingual counsellor and special education teacher respectively, to bear on this topic and frame the issue from a systemic perspective. They argue that engaging in conversation with families around their needs, as well as assisting them in their efforts to advocate for their child, is the first step in creating more equal partnerships between parents of children with special needs and educational professionals.