Capturing students’ needs through collaboration - exploring challenges experienced by Norwegian educational-psychological advisers

Kolnes, Joachim; Midthassel, Unni Vere

doi:10.1080/08856257.2021.1885175

Cited by 7 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…As there are no national guidelines regarding the educational background of EPS advisors (Moen et al, 2018), it is difficult to be sure of their competence in hearing young children and children with limited verbal language. A previous study illustrates that EPS advisors may lack competence in communicating with students about their situations (Kolnes & Midthassel, 2022, p. 395).…”

Section: Special Educational Support and Documentation In Norwegian Ececmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A study from Finnish ECEC reveals that references to children's opinions are uncommon in IEPs (Paananen & Lipponen, 2018) and that young children's voices are mostly heard on a symbolic level, without influence (Heiskanen et al, 2021). Previous research has primarily focused on older children in school, for instance, in England regarding the Educational Health Care Plan (e.g., Palikara et al, 2018; Pearlman & Michaels, 2019; Sharma, 2021) and in Norway regarding pupils' participation in special education decisions and documents (Heide & Løkås, 2020; Kolnes et al, 2021; Kolnes & Midthassel, 2022; Tveitnes, 2018). International studies have explored educational psychologist's practical challenges in eliciting and reporting children's views (e.g., Harding & Atkinson, 2009; Smillie & Newton, 2020), but I have been unable to find research on how the Norwegian Educational Psychological Service (EPS) hear and document the views of children in ECEC.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Special education documents and young children's right to be heard

Franck

2023

Research in Spec Educ Needs

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The aim of this article was to explore whether and how special education documents incorporate efforts to hear young children. The study is based on an in‐depth analysis of expert assessments and individual education plans (IEP) pertaining to 17 children enrolled in early education and care (ECEC) institutions in Norway. The documents are scrutinized for explicit attempts to hear young children, as well as in‐depth analysis of descriptions of children to see if the text convey efforts to include their perspectives. The findings reveal a clear absence of explicit attempts to listen to children during the assessment process. However, the assessments include information obtained from parents and ECEC regarding children's preferences and interests, suggesting an attempt to represent children's voices by proxy. Although the documents contain various descriptions of children's verbal and non‐verbal expressions, these descriptions primarily serve as illustrations of their challenges. The assessments portray children as individuals with difficulties, positioning them as mere ‘cases’. At the same time, recommendations and plans for support emphasize listening to children's voices. The findings of this study suggest a need to redefine special education documents in order to listen to children's views and to incorporate alternative understandings into the assessment process.

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Section: Special Educational Support and Documentation In Norwegian Ececmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Special education documents and young children's right to be heard

Franck

2023

Research in Spec Educ Needs

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“…Whether or not the EPS critically discussed these issues in other arenas, but refrained from writing about them in the document, is outside the scope of this study. It is worth noting that previous research found that EPS advisors experience contrasting expectations, in which teachers maintain an individual perspective and want expert assessments to obtain resources, while EPS has a mandate to uphold a systemperspective (Kolnes and Midthassel 2021). Such contrasting expectations may make it challenging for EPS advisors to communicate critical reflections and shortcomings (cf.…”

Section: Critically Assessing the Ecec Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Such contrasting expectations may make it challenging for EPS advisors to communicate critical reflections and shortcomings (cf. Kolnes and Midthassel 2021).…”

Section: Critically Assessing the Ecec Contextmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Policies now call for prioritising EPS's mandate to assist the ECEC with competence and organisational development for early intervention and prevention (Norwegian Ministry of Education 2020). Prioritising system-level changes is in line with the notion of inclusion, and EPS advisors are now expected to include the children's environment in their assessments and guide changes on a system-level (Kolnes and Midthassel 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The educational context in expert assessments. A study of special education documents of children in ECEC institutions

Franck

2021

European Journal of Special Needs Education

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The aim of this study was to critically examine how expert assessment documents describe and assess the early childhood education and care (ECEC) context in reports about a child's need for special educational support. Adhering to a shift towards inclusive education, the focus is on how educational-psychological services assess, or fail to assess for, potential shortcomings in the educational environment. The study is based on in-depth document-analysis of 23 expert assessments of children with 1-10 weekly hours of special educational support in various ECEC institutions in Norway. The analysis outlines five different ways in which expert assessments refer to the educational context: from concealing, separating, situating the child in, accentuating, to critically assessing the ECEC context. The results illustrate how assessments at times refer to the ECEC context in, for example, descriptions of a child's behaviour during routine activities or providing information about the institutions organisational qualities and practices. However, the documents hardly ever discuss potential shortcomings of the ECEC context.

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Early Identification of Social, Emotional, and Behavioral Difficulties in Primary Schools: Explanations for Special Educational Needs Coordinators’ Different Practices

Jaspers-van der Maten,

Rommes

2024

School Mental Health

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Early identification of social, emotional, and behavioral difficulties (SEBDs) in children is essential to provide support and reduce the risk of negative outcomes. Schools are considered ideal settings to identify SEBDs, and in many countries special educational needs coordinators (SENCOs) play a pivotal role in this respect. Although SENCOs may contribute to improving school-based identification of SEBDs by adopting a more systematic approach, they have a multitude of tasks and considerable professional discretion. As a result, there are differences between SENCOs in the quality of their identification practices in terms of the frequency of observations, the maintenance of a four-eyes principle, and the utilization of specialist knowledge, affecting whether and when SEBDs are identified. The aim of this study was to examine what factors can explain differences in these practices for early identification of SEBDs. Using a narrative qualitative approach, we interviewed 34 primary school professionals, studied school policy documents and observed team meetings. Thematic analysis revealed that an interplay of the factors: (1) (conformity to) school regulations, (2) team continuity, and (3) personal characteristics, explains why SENCOs decide differently on who conducts observations, and when. Generally, SENCOs are more likely to conform to frequent observations by at least two observers utilizing specialist knowledge, when schools have regulations that clearly define by whom and when observations should take place, with competent, committed, proactive school staff conforming to those regulations, within a stable team. Although each factor is important but not essential to ensure these practices, personal characteristics of the SENCO can compensate for a lack of clear school regulations or team discontinuity. Implications for school policy and practice are discussed.

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Capturing students’ needs through collaboration - exploring challenges experienced by Norwegian educational-psychological advisers

Cited by 7 publications

References 29 publications

Special education documents and young children's right to be heard

Special education documents and young children's right to be heard

The educational context in expert assessments. A study of special education documents of children in ECEC institutions

Early Identification of Social, Emotional, and Behavioral Difficulties in Primary Schools: Explanations for Special Educational Needs Coordinators’ Different Practices

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