Despite the considerable institutional changes schools have made to accommodate the individual needs of pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), as underpinned by key principles of inclusion, there is still international concern about the mainstream experiences pupils with SEND have in school settings. This study helps us gain a clearer understanding of the schooling experiences of pupils with social emotional and mental health (SEMH) difficulties and moderate learning difficulties (MLD) by investigating whether they have a sense of school belonging and positive social relations as well as whether these vary according to the level of inclusiveness of the school ethos at the institution they attend. Perceived social relations and feelings of belonging of 1,440 (282 SEND) pupils, attending the 7 th to 10 th grades, from three secondary mainstream settings that differ in inclusivity, were analysed using a self-reporting questionnaire. Findings demonstrated that pupils with SEND are not a homogeneous group, as pupils with behavioural difficulties were found to have less of a sense of belonging, and social relations than those with learning difficulties. It was also found that the sense of school belonging of both groups of SEND is associated with their positive perceived relations with teachers, as well as their inclusiveness of school ethos. These findings contribute to the literature of special education, as they offer ways of enhancing the sense of school belonging of pupils with behavioural and learning difficulties in mainstream settings.
Since the advent of the ideology of inclusion, several concerns have been raised worldwide regarding the effectiveness of its implementation. In the UK, governmental evidence suggests that maintaining pupils with special educational needs and/or disability (SEND) within mainstream school settings, is one of the greatest challenges (DfE, 2018). There is now, more than ever, the need to explore pupils with SENDs’ mainstream experiences and understand the challenges they encounter. This study explores the voices of secondary‐aged pupils with social emotional mental health difficulties and moderate learning difficulties as a way of understanding their needs and thus, facilitating their inclusion. Thematic analysis was employed to analyse data from semi‐structured interviews with 37 pupils with SEND and 8 typical pupils as a comparable group. The findings indicate that the school experiences of pupils differ based on their type of need. Yet, despite the differences, all the pupils expressed similar views on what makes a positive school experience. The four emerged themes were interesting lessons, effective control of challenging behaviour, equal allocation of teachers’ support and positive relations. The study concludes by proposing that listening to the voices of pupils with SEND can be a powerful tool to inform inclusive practice.
Assessing the inclusivity of three mainstream secondary schools in England: challenges and dilemmas Author0 F *a The notion of inclusion has gained momentum worldwide, with most countries around the world embracing inclusive policies and practices in their educational systems. However, there is still an ongoing debate as to what is inclusion and hence, the consequent challenge of coming up with an agreed definition, which could then be used to plan for and subsequently, evaluate, inclusion. This study adds to our understanding of inclusion by contrasting objective (i.e. School Census Statistics) and subjective (i.e. self-report questionnaire) measures of inclusivity in three mainstream secondary schools in England and by comparing the perceptions of school inclusivity of different groups of educational practitioners and pupils. Interviews with school psychologists were also conducted for triangulation purposes. The results of this study indicate that inclusion is a 'slippery' construct as the perception of inclusion of educational practitioners was found to be affected by their role at school while pupil perception on this matter depended upon their SEN category. However, despite these subjective differences in the way inclusion is perceived, there was also substantial agreement across the different categories of participants with regard to the relative ranking of inclusivity across the three schools suggesting that coming up with overarching themes on what is inclusion is achievable. The article ends with explaining the benefits of reaching an agreed definition at a national level.
School closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic uncovered the overriding need to create engaging online learning environments to facilitate students' learning. This paper focuses on the online evaluation of Own-Voice Intensive Phonics (OVIP) approach, a computer-assisted instruction programme used during the COVID restrictions to help 15 pupils aged 7-12 with reading difficulties improve their reading. Analysis of Single Word Reading pre-and-post-test revealed a 3.2-year mean word reading age gain over a 19-to 22week period. Questionnaire data from pupils and parents and the end of OVIP session and parentreported data at a one-year follow-up demonstrated an overall increase in pupil reading skills and self-confidence that transferred into wider confidence and engagement for some pupils. Findings indicate that OVIP might be an effective teacher-mediated programme in supporting pupils with reading difficulties to enhance their reading skills through online tutoring. Further research is necessary to compare teacher-mediated own voice approaches to unmediated programmes, using a larger sample.
This article derives from a study exploring the voices of young people with learning disabilities (LD) on their experiences of mainstream education and adulthood in the UK. It is based on the accounts of five young people with LD between the age of 25 to 35 and their families that were used as proxies. A phenomenological based approach was conducted employing photo participation, Talking Mats, and photo albums to elicit their views. The findings show that the young people held overall positive perceptions about their primary education, a view that changed considerably for secondary settings. Registration for post-16 education was reported by most families in this study to be an agonising task, whereby gaining acceptance by colleges was difficult. Adulthood was not without its challenges, in that, whilst the participants were in favour of the idea of finding a job and living independently, limited work opportunities and personal insecurities prevented most of them from taking these steps. There is currently a need for further research to find ways to facilitate the inclusion of young people with LD in accessing mainstream settings and society as a whole.
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