Consulting with students: evaluating a mainstream inclusion centre

Abstract

The Government Standards Fund made resources available to schools in 2000 to help reduce the number of exclusions and, as a result, many schools established inclusion centres with this purpose in mind. In this article Dawn Preece and Paul Ti m m i n s describe literature and research that support the value of these centres and identify features of a support centre that students felt contributed to their inclusion in school. The results of an evaluation canvassing the perceptions of students attending one such centre are presented and discussed.

Quelles sont les perceptions des élèves présentant des difficultés comportementales quant aux conditions qui influencent leur scolarisation en classe ordinaire?

“…Pour d'autres, les participants ont été identifiés selon la perception d'un adulte (ex. : enseignant ou directeur) (Flynn, 2014;Flynn, Shelvin et Lodge, 2011;Graham, Van Bergen et Sweller, 2015;Krull et al, 2014;Penna Bray, 2010;Whitley, Lupart et Beran, 2009 (Lloyd et O'Regan, 1999;Preece et Timmins, 2004…”

Making evaluations realistic: the challenge of complexity

“…Both of the evaluations discussed below were projects supported by the Standards Fund, developing practice with children with special educational needs. One (Preece and Timmins, 2004) explored students' views of an inclusion centre newly established in a mainstream school. The other (Miller, 2002) investigated some of the changes occurring when speech and language therapists began to work in mainstream schools.…”

“…This would lead to a clearer and more effective Programme Specification. Preece and Timmins (2004) describe an invitation from senior staff to conduct an evaluation of an inclusion centre in a mainstream secondary school. The centre used a mixture of in-centre and in-school support to help with the process of inclusion for pupils with emotional, social, and behaviour difficulties (SEBD), attendance and medical difficulties.…”

“…We show, in Table 1, how the evidence base relating to effective inclusion centre provision would inform Programme Theory, which in turn would have led to the design of provision or to evaluation of existing provision. In their study, Preece and Timmins (2004) reviewed literature in order to identify what was already known of effective inclusion centre provision, in the tradition of providing background theory to the research, with the possibility that outcomes of their study could make a further contribution to this. There was no attempt to tease out contexts, mechanisms and outcomes in the studies reviewed.…”

“…In Table 1 we select from Preece and Timmins' (2004) review of literature as it relates to SEBD provision and identify factors likely to be associated with the success of inclusion centres. These results are then used to construct Programme Theory relating to the design of inclusion centres and their evaluation.…”