Physically disabled pupils in mainstream schools

SUMMARY. In this article the author suggests that the most appropriate way to integrate physically disabled pupils into mainstream schools is on an individual basis as opposed to designating particular schools to take ail disabled pupils, or by building special units attached to mainstream schools. Several reasons are presented and discussed to support this point of view. It is suggested that there is a clear need in this field of ‘special education’ for adequate resourcing and advice to be made available to schools and teachers working with the disabled. This resourcing must be made available at local authority level. Some of the many problems encountered in mainstreaming on an individual basis are then highlighted. The author concludes that there are risks to be taken and that these must be accepted within the educational system     

Integration, integrity and effectiveness

Until the mid-1990s, debates about integration tended to focus on the rights of disabled children to attend mainstream schools. However, more recent research has raised new concerns about the politics of integration from the 'standards' perspective. This Internet-based research project was designed to follow the 20 secondary schools in England, where more than 10% of the pupils had statements of special educational needs (SEN). Several of these schools are now being threatened with closure. This is either because they are failing to meet the Government's benchmark targets of 5+GCSEs at grades A-C, or because they are failing to attract sufficient numbers of mainstream pupils. However, these schools may well be seen as popular and successful by the parents of pupils with statements of special educational needs. Little appears to be known about how schools juggle these competing priorities successfully, and the author calls on readers of this journal to promote our understanding and their survival through a national conference.     

Moving on from ramps? The utility of the social model of disability for facilitating experiences of nature for disabled children

Experiences of nature have been shown to be beneficial for disabled children; however, opportunities for disabled children to experience nature are often limited. The social model of disability may provide a theoretical base for increasing access to nature for pupils at Special Educational Needs (SEN) schools. Using results from interviews conducted with teachers from seven SEN schools, considered alongside responses from interviews with staff from six environmental centres, this paper seeks to identify the specific constraints that may act upon the opportunities for disabled pupils to visit environmental centres. The research finds that a ‘medicalised’ approach to access may impede upon environmental centres’ ability to cater effectively to the needs of SEN school groups. Dialogue between environmental centres and SEN school teachers is recommended as a means of facilitating SEN school group access.     

Integration versus segregation: the experiences of a group of disabled students moving from mainstream school into special needs further education

Although the latest education policy for disabled students is one of inclusion, some students are moving out of mainstream schools into specialist colleges for their further education. This research uses a combination of group and individual interviews to explore why this move away from mainstream education is made. Results show that these students' moved into specialist education because of the inadequate physical accessibility of their mainstream colleges, the quality of disability services available to them and their previous experiences whilst in mainstream school. These students were able to identify both strengths and weaknesses within mainstream and special education for disabled students, and believed that educational placement should therefore be a matter of choice depending on the physical, academic and emotional needs of the individual. It would appear, however, that for the students participating in this research, their local mainstream colleges were unable to cater for their needs, indicating that their decision to move into a special needs college was not based on a real choice. Mainstream colleges are challenged to create a truly inclusive environment so that disabled students are offered a real choice.     

Autism in Special and Inclusive Schools: 'there has to be a point to their being there'

What kind of schools are most suitable for pupils affected by autism? This article reviews meanings of autism and autistic spectrum disorders (ASD). We report evidence from observations in schools and interviews with pupils and adults, drawing on a qualitative study of special education in two contrasting education authorities one with special autistic schools, the other with inclusive schools. Current theory, policy and practice in the education of pupils with autistic tendencies are discussed in relation to the data.     

Where Are the Children's Experiences? Analysing Social and Cultural Exclusion in 'Special' and 'Mainstream' Schools

In this paper we employ ethnographic data to illustrate that disabled children encounter discriminatory notions of 'normality' and 'difference' in both 'special' and 'mainstream' schools, and that these experiences relate to both the structural forces in schools, and the everyday individual and cultural practices of adults and children. In contrast to much of the literature in the field, this paper examines the everyday life experiences of adults and disabled children from their own perspective. We highlight disabled children's own criticisms of 'special' and 'mainstream' schools to illustrate the fluid nature of disabled children's lives within educational settings. We argue that schools will be prevented from becoming fully inclusive until adults who control schools take account of children's views of specific educational processes and until educational policy makers adopt a more nuanced multi-level approach to inclusion. Children should be enabled to challenge the structural, cultural and individual conditions which create disability.     

Roma pupils’ attitudes towards education – a case study

When analysing the reasons behind the academic underachievement of Roma pupils, some teachers suggest that Roma people do not value education and that Roma children have negative attitudes towards school. With increasing frequency, Roma pupils from low socio-economic backgrounds are being researched and the research primarily adopts the perspectives of teachers and schools’ professional staff. The present study analyses attitudes towards education held by Roma pupils whose socio-economic status is comparable to the majority population and considers their perspective. The research was conducted with Roma pupils attending primary school in Maribor, Slovenia. To collect data, interviews were conducted. The study results suggest that the majority of Roma pupils from Maribor like attending school and value formal education; the majority indicated that they want to complete primary school and continue their education. The results also show that Roma pupils can be highly academically motivated if improved life conditions and improved education opportunities are provided to the Roma population.     

Time for justice: safeguarding the rights of disabled children

This article reviews two core strategies for safeguarding the rights of disabled children and examines the extent to which these processes advance justice for children in accessing an inclusive and equitable education. The article evaluates the adequacy of the legal system in the face of increased evidence of exclusionary practices of schools, and the low uptake of the disability tribunal as a vehicle for redressing discriminatory practices. It reviews the work undertaken with schools to develop procedures and processes to support them in identifying disabled pupils in order to monitor the impact of their policies and practices. Although there were some limitations, this work provided a platform from which to ensure that schools engaged with their responsibilities and understood more about the ways in which a child’s impairment impacted on their participation in school life. Instead we are dependent on the work of voluntary associations to safeguard children’s rights.     

What's So Special? Teachers' Models and Their Realisation in Practice in Segregated Schools

The concept of 'special' has played a crucial role in the development of educational policy and practice, and the meaning of the term has been the subject of far-reaching debates and controversy. This paper is based on research which explored the meaning of 'specialness' in theory and practice from the point of view of practitioners working in segregated schools, providing education for young people designated as having moderate and severe learning difficulties. The research demonstrates the articulation of the individual model of special in teachers' thinking about pupils, themselves and their relationships with pupils, and also in the learning environment provided for different categories of young people. We argue that the dominant discursive practices of practitioners construct and maintain 'otherness' in special education, and pre-empt alternative discourses.     

What do the parents of tomorrow know about child care? A survey of 14–16 year olds

What do the parents of tomorrow know about child care? This study aimed to obtain a baseline measurement of child care knowledge, to ascertain any differences in knowledge between adolescents with and without mild to moderate learning difficulties (MLD). In addition, we were interested to establish the effect of school nurse health education health input on knowledge in the learning difficulties subgroup. Assessment was by self‐completed questionnaire and interview of a random sample of 14–16 year olds attending mainstream and special schools. Sixty pupils from secondary school and 33 from a MLD school took part in the study. Pupil knowledge in basic parenting and child care was dependent on the type of school attended, reading ability of those attending the MLD school and the provision of health education in the special school by the school nurse. No associations were found between pupils knowledge and their gender, family position or family size. Pupils from both schools scored lower in the areas of health service organisation and personnel, health promotion and management of common childhood conditions. Adolescents have insufficient knowledge of basic child care and services available for new parents. The effect of school based health education in these areas is promising. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Development of Special Education in Brazil

This paper examines the development of special education in Brazil within a wider context of educational systems, societal changes, and the international scenario. Attention is focused mainly on the provision for pupils categorised as educable mentally deficient, as more than three-quarters of the special education clientele enrolled in the regular school system are classified as having educable mental deficiency. From the beginning of the institutionalisation of special educational services in Brazil, the public sector has placed more emphasis on special class type provision, therefore, the majority of these pupils are found in special classes within regular schools. However, although this type of provision might be regarded as mainstreamed provision, it is argued that if children are to be fully integrated into the 'normal' school life, reforms in the education system and more fundamental social changes are needed.     

Challenges for the school in a migration society – a critical incidents analysis

The large number of newly arrived people from other countries, particularly children and youth, represents a major challenge for schools and school systems in the EU-28. The present study, conducted in Germany, investigated this situation using the critical incident technique. Critical incidents were collected in group discussions with teachers and principals about challenging events in the context of growing migration. The incidents, including their perceived causes and consequences, were categorised using qualitative content analysis. Events that were frequently present in teachers’ everyday work included various types of conflicts concerning pupils, difficult cooperation between teachers and parents and parents banning their children from taking part in particular school activities. The identified causes for such events were diverse, including misunderstandings, diverging cultural and religious concepts, language barriers, structural constraints and some pupils’ traumatic experiences influencing the school community. The described incidents had far-reaching consequences, especially for parent–school cooperation and for pupils’ integration in the classroom community and academic and personal development. The final part of this article discusses and illustrates how the results can contribute to developing ideas and measures to deal with the identified challenges.     

Special Education and the Explanation of Pupil Performance

Among those who study education systems there has been a general concern with schooling outcomes, which has encouraged a focus on the main classroom and general education. This deflects attention from another important issue, the ways that schools understand differences in pupil performance and identify pupils in terms of that understanding. Concern with this issue encourages a focus on educational psychology and special education, where such understandings are developed overtly and such identifications are made explicitly. The purpose of this paper is to present some of the work in the sociology of special education that bears on this neglected issue. It does so by describing three main themes within the field. These are: cultural understandings of ability and disability, the social processes by which children are identified as disabled, and extra-school influences affecting the development and operation of special education.     

Forging a Multicultural Education Ethos in Cyprus: Reflections on policy and practice

Contemporary Cypriotic society is no longer homogeneous. Increasingly, Cypriots are coming into contact with people from different cultures. We also see this in Cypriotic schools. In this paper, we investigate educational reality as it effects foreign and repatriated pupils in Cyprus. We do this by means of an ethnographic study in which we focus on one particular primary school classroom. It is hoped that this research will serve as a stimulus for possible changes and reforms in the Cypriotic educational system. In this manner, the Cypriot system will be able to keep pace with international developments in this area of education.     

‘The boys and girls not calling me names and the teachers to believe me’. Name calling and the experiences of Travellers in school

This paper is about name calling and bullying of Gypsy and Show Travellers in school and the response of schools. The data discussed were gathered as part of a small‐scale study of the experiences of Gypsy and Show Travellers in school in Scotland and of the views of school and Traveller support staff. The overall focus of the study was on exclusion and perceptions of deviance. There was a difference in the teachers' views of the two groups of Travellers, with Gypsy Traveller pupils perceived as having, and presenting, more difficulties in school. However both Gypsy and Show Traveller children experienced frequent racist bullying and name calling, often not acknowledged by their school. The paper focuses particularly on this latter aspect of our research, raising issues about the ability of schools to support diversity and suggesting that approaches to bullying often fail to address both broader issues of social relationships in school and also the historical and cultural context of prejudice against Travellers. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Opportunities and challenges in secondary education for blind/vision-impaired people in the Republic of Ireland

Until comparatively recently blind/vision-impaired young people were generally assigned to particular education settings based on their impairment. Restructuring of the education system commenced in the Republic of Ireland in the 1990s, resulting in significant changes in special education including a language of inclusive education within policy initiatives. In the research upon which this article is based, the educational experiences of blind/vision-impaired people, the factors that impacted on these experiences and how these facilitated or inhibited their future opportunities were the primary foci for the study. This article explores the themes of how the post-primary school curriculum was experienced by blind/vision-impaired students and their future expectations and aspiration. In terms of policy development and practice, it is paramount to ensure both effective curriculum participation and transition opportunities are enabled rather than disabled for these students.     

Telling stories for a politics of hope

This paper is about listening to voices from an excluded past. The oral history of disabled people challenges accepted, formal history, the history from dominant voices well established in unequal power relations. The paper draws on an oral history project conducted with over 60 visually impaired people who gave detailed accounts, telling stories of their experiences of education. This oral history research was carried out through the medium of the interview. The analysis covers school life, focusing on the recurring themes of abuse and friendships. The paper then turnd to relationships with family and community, and how participants placed schooling within the broader context of their lives. These stories are a small part of the history of disabled individuals' exclusion within which, as we hope to demonstrate, the chinks of collective light were born.     

An education and negotiation of differences: the ‘schooling’ experiences of English-speaking Canadian children growing up with polio during the 1940s and 1950s

In this paper we present oral narratives focusing on schooling experiences of Canadians who lived with polio as children between 1940 and 1959. We argue that disabled students with polio received an education about the differences ascribed to them by individuals in authority (teachers, principals), by other young people, and through the dominant negative discourses of polio and normalizing, ableist practices of schooling. Using narrative accounts from participants’ interviews, we analyze their school experiences of difference: inaccessible physical and temporal spaces, bullying at school, exclusion from classes, and negotiating youth culture related to shoes, clothes and friendships. However, participants were not passive and they discussed how, along with families, they negotiated and occasionally defied normalizing processes. This research gives voice to a generation of disabled English-speaking Canadians, whose stories about school have not been heard before.