The Politics of Special Educational Needs

In this personal statement, I want to first identify the reasons for my interest in the debate. Secondly, to raise some issues about sociological involvement in the field of special education. Thirdly, I want to demonstrate the importance of setting the debate within the context of the educational system generally, and the wider society. Finally, some implications for future directions of a sociological and political perspective will be highlighted.     

Special Educational Needs: From Disciplinary to Pedagogic Research

A review of research on special educational needs in Britain over the last two decades indicates that two concerns have been paramount. First, there has been an attempt to broaden research styles in response to the growing critique of traditional positivist research. Secondly, the problem of the perceived gap between theory and practice has been addressed. Developments have included the use of small-N studies within a positivist framework, the adoption of qualitative research strategies and the critical perspectives of sociologists. It is argued here that such developments have been largely restricted to what Michael Bassey refers to as 'disciplinary' research, neglecting the 'pedagogic' research associated with the growth of practitioner research in other areas of education. The article examines both why teacher research has been relatively neglected in special education and the kinds of contributions it might make.     

The Political Economy of Special Educational Needs in Britain

This article raises questions as to how far young people regarded as having special educational needs or disabilities are prepared for participation in the economy. It focuses on those aspects of the further education curriculum that emphasises skills, and the development of National Vocational Qualifications which emphasise competences. Those with special educational needs or disabilities are part of a larger group of young people to be 'managed' as a workforce if there is work, and all are urged that the way to find employment is by constant investment in the self by the acquisition of skills and competences. The article contends that those labelled as special will find more difficulty in collecting meaningful skills and competences, and those in charge of new accreditation systems have made it clear that few concessions will be offered to this group.     

School Choice, Markets and Special Educational Needs

Locating the debate within a policy framework of school choice and special educational needs (SEN) in England and Wales, the article investigates the ways in which schools competing within the educational marketplace perceive and respond to the needs of parents of SEN students, and considers the perspectives, experiences and values of these parents relating to school choice. In focusing in-depth on one case study area the article draws on the qualitative findings of the Parental and School Choice Interaction (PASCI) study, a 3-year longitudinal investigation into the interaction between parental choice of school and school decision making. The findings reveal the pressures on senior school managers and the difficulties encountered by parents of SEN students and suggest that as schools working in a public-market increasingly 'privilege the academic' so the needs and preferences of parents, and SEN students are increasingly marginalised and devalued.     

Pupil Culture, Peer Tutoring and Special Educational Needs

In this article it is argued that interventions in pupil-pupil interactions have to be grounded in a thorough understanding of pupil meanings and the social processes which generate them. The argument is elaborated via a critique of some existing studies of such interventions, like those of peer tutoring, and in discussion of the findings of an interview study. In general, studies of peer tutoring have been psychology-based and have failed to consider the significance of pupils' understanding of deviance derived from pupils' social location. An alternative approach is explored utilizing the findings of ethnographic studies, and the findings of an interview study with fourth year pupils in a secondary school. The data is organised using the constructs of consensual and non-consensual deviance. Pupils formally designated 'examination' pupils revealed different views from those designated 'non-examination' and 'less able' although they also held views in common. The implications of these findings for peer tutoring interventions are discussed.     

Awkward Customers? Parents and Provision for Special Educational Needs

This article selectively reports on a small-scale qualitative exploration of the experiences of families who had undergone recent conflict with special educational needs (SEN) professionals. The data were collected over the spring and summer terms of 2001 from 10 families in two local education authorities (LEAs) in the English midlands. The research aimed to examine the parents' perspectives on points of conflict or dissatisfaction between themselves and education professionals. It was concerned with the parents' points of view regarding their pursuit of desired outcomes for their children and the factors that helped or hindered their endeavours. The project found that the parents' negotiation of the SEN system was held by them to be exceptionally difficult and stressful compared to other troubling issues in their lives. The research suggests that dissatisfactions with SEN provision have important implications for the management of LEA Parent partnership Schemes (PPS) in ameliorating the differences between parental aspirations and governmental ambition.     

Thirty Years of Change: Children with Special Educational Needs

SUMMARY. With reference to reports and educational legislation as key markers, the article traces developments in special educational needs over 30 years. The terms special educational needs and needs are critically appraised, the effects and impact of reports is examined and two notably significant areas are singled out to chart change over time, namely, working with parents and integration. Finally the notion of shared responsibility is outlined as a formula for ensuring policy and maintaining provision for special educational needs.     

Special Needs Under Siege: From Classrooms to Incarceration

Several research articles have documented the disproportionate representation of minorities in school discipline and incarceration settings. In the 2009–2010 school year, research shows nationally 17 percent of African‐American, 8 percent of Native American, and 7 percent Latino American students were suspended at least one time (Losen and Gillespie 2012 ). In addition, studies show African‐American and Latino males represent the largest percentage of inmates in correctional facilities (i.e. jails and prisons) throughout the United States (Sakala 2014 ). While research has documented the relationship between race and the school‐to‐prison pipeline, the relationship between race, intellectual and emotional disabilities, and the school‐to‐prison pipeline has been relatively unexplored. According to Losen and Gillespie ( 2012 ), 25 percent of Black students who were labeled with an intellectual or emotional disability were suspended from school in the 2009–2010 school year compared to 9 percent for White students diagnosed with an intellectual or emotional disability. Furthermore, data show 70 percent of juvenile inmates were diagnosed with learning disabilities and 33 percent were reading below a 4th grade level (Hubner and Wolfson 2001 ). The current review seeks to explore the complex relationship between disability, race, and the school‐to‐prison pipeline to highlight how minority students with special needs are placed on a trajectory towards settings of incarceration.     

Foucault and Special Educational Needs: a 'box of tools' for analysing children's experiences of mainstreaming

Research on children with special educational needs in mainstream schools, based on simplistic notions of integration, has revealed very little about the nature of their school experiences. A Foucauldian perspective is proposed as an alternative, and the relevance of his methodology, which focuses on formal and informal discourses, and his analyses (particularly of medicine, madness and discipline) is discussed. It is argued that Foucault offers a set of strategies or a 'box of tools' (1977a, p. 205) for understanding how the discourses on special educational needs construct both the pupils' experiences in mainstream schools and their identities, as constructed subjects and objects of knowledge. The paper ends with a brief illustration, from work in progress, of what a Foucauldian analysis might look like.     

Developing Partnerships to Meet Clients' Needs in Changing Government Organizations: A Consultative Process

The article outlines the development of partnerships across 3 employment‐related government ministries, in a context of organizational restructuring and downsizing. The article describes a consultation process conducted with workers from 2 provincial ministries and 1 federal government ministry regarding effective collaboration to assess unemployed clients' employability needs. In individual and focus group meetings, the workers developed a process that involved the cooperation and involvement of those from all 3 ministries in offering and monitoring the effectiveness of a needs assessment program.     

Children with Special Health Care Needs

Abstract

The health care model presented in this paper is a non-linear, systems approach to service delivery. The model was a by-product of three ethnic-specific conferences that were convened to discuss strategies for improving access to care and the quality of services provided to children with special health care needs (CSHCN) from diverse cultural backgrounds. The model evolved as insights regarding the common values and norms held by parents, health care providers, and cultural representatives were shared. Content analysis was used to identify core themes identified by participants. These themes were incorporated into a model that included the following elements: community-based, culturally competent, health-oriented, resiliency-focused, and family-centered care. At the fourth Consensus Conference, selected participants from the previous ethnic specific conferences reviewed the proposed model and deemed it a vehicle for facilitating health care service utilization by culturally and linguistically diverse CSHCN and their families.     

Traditional Educational Philosophy: Relevance to Baccalaureate Curriculum Development

This article explores the instructional relevance of four educational philosophies—idealism, realism, experimentalism, and existentialism—to the undergraduate social work curriculum design and educational milieu. The relationship of the problem-solving focus of experimentalism to social work intervention is discussed.     

Governmentality of adulthood: a critical discourse analysis of the 2014 Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice

Produced and published by the coalition government, the publication of the 2014 Special Educational Needs and Disability Code of Practice: 0–25 years (2014 SENCoP) sets out to overhaul the management of special educational needs (SEN) provision across England and Wales. This paper employs a critical discourse analysis (CDA) of the 2014 SENCoP to reveal the ideologies and aims that this policy is built upon. Following a Foucauldian framework of governmentality, this article focuses upon the way in which ‘a successful transition to adulthood’ is constructed within the policy, particularly in relation to the wider Conservative narrative of a ‘Big Society.’ Developing this analysis, the article draws upon the current political landscape of a Conservative government and the shift towards the creation of a ‘shared society’ in attempt to locate ‘adulthood’ within its wider political, economic, and cultural context. This analysis reveals the neoliberal values underpinning the 2014 SENCoP, whereby educational support is reduced to the practice of shaping and sculpting the future generation of citizens. By deconstructing notions of employment, independence, participation, and health, this article reveals the 2014 SENCoP as a tool of government, written to the demands of the economy rather than the unique needs, aspirations, and ambitions of children and young people labelled with SEN.     

Transracial and Inracial Adoption of Special Needs Children

About 300 families who adopted a special needs minority or mixed race child responded to a mailed questionnaire. Twenty-two percent of these adoptions were transracial. Transracial adoptees were more often handicapped and had more often experienced sexual abuse, group home or psychiatric placement, and adoption disruption prior to placement. Inracially adopting families evidenced less problematic parent-child relationships but little difference was apparent when multiple regression controlled for the above-mentioned factors. Exploratory analyses reveal interactions of transracial placement with several other factors.     

Tailoring a Parenting Curriculum for the Needs of Pregnant Adolescents in The Bahamas

Adolescence marks the transition from childhood into adulthood. For pregnant female adolescents, the transition is to motherhood as well as adulthood. They must not only deal with the physical and emotional changes of adolescence but learn how to become mothers. This article provides recommendations for enhancing a parenting skills curriculum for pregnant adolescents based on the research of the primary author with a cohort in an alternative school in Nassau, the Bahamas and follow-up discussions with alumni of the program.