Special education and general education – coordinated or separated? A study of curriculum planning for pupils with special educational needs

Abstract

The central issue of this article is the coordination between special and general education in curriculum planning for pupils with special educational needs. The focus is on individual education plans (IEPs) in special education and work plans in general education. This is also viewed in relation to how special and general education teachers cooperate on planning. The analysis is based on a qualitative interview study with special and general education teachers in four primary and lower secondary schools in two municipalities. A clear pattern is shown in the study, where curriculum planning for special and general education is not very coordinated and cooperation between special and general education teachers is often very limited. Thus, curriculum planning within special and general education appears to be more separated than coordinated. The two groups of teachers appear to adopt traditional and partly separate roles, and tend to plan individually rather than together. Responsibility for the education of pupils with special needs seems to be more divided than shared. ARTICLE HISTORY

Inside but still on the outside? Teachers’ experiences with the inclusion of pupils with special educational needs in general education

“…This is leading to a concern among teachers that the lack of cohesion is creating an academic disconnect for both the teaching and learning process. For pupils with SEN, there is a risk that general and special education will be perceived as segregated more than coordinated (Nilsen 2017a).…”

“…The results of this study illustrate that the main tendency is that that the work plans are often the same for the whole class, and that work plans are seldom adapted. Practising a common work plan can lead to all pupils in the school class being offered the same learning experiences, with the consequence that pupils with SEN have insufficient opportunities to have learning experiences in accordance with their abilities and needs (Nilsen 2017a). It is clear that the teachers experience a curriculum dilemma: to find the right balance between curriculum commonality and differentiation (Norwich 2013).…”

“…This study is based on semi-structured interviews with a sample of eight teachers from a total of four schools in Norway. In each of the two participating municipalities, two teachers from a primary school and two from a lower secondary school were interviewed (Nilsen 2017a).…”

“…Pupils with SEN thus spend the greatest part of their 5 lessons in general school classes without extra provision. Success in inclusive education for pupils with SEN is therefore heavily dependent on the general education also endeavouring to meet their needs and the general and special education being well coordinated (Nilsen 2017a).…”

The effect of school leadership on implementing inclusive education: how transformational and instructional leadership practices affect individualised education planning

“…However, collaboration between different actors is emphasised as an important aspect (Mitchell, Morton, and Hornby 2010;LISUM 2010;Eller and Grimm 2008). The more different actors are involved, the more likely is the perception of the specific student in a holistic approach (Nilsen 2017). A holistic view of the student should foster different aspects of the implementation of IEP.…”