Changing legislation and its effects on inclusive and special education: Scotland

Abstract

burgh, analyses recent policy developments and outcomes in the field of additional support needs in Scotland in the context of devolution and austerity, drawing on a critical analysis of policy and administrative data. While there is a growing tendency in Scottish policy discourse to 'decentre' England as a main point of comparison, in the field of special and additional support needs policy there appear to be strong correspondences between the two jurisdictions. England appears to be following Scotland's lead in producing new types of statutory support plans and placing greater emphasis on children's rights. At the same time, these policy changes are being implemented in different policy contexts, with homogenous governance arrangements characterising the Scottish school system, compared with increasing complexity within the English system. In terms of the growth of the category of social, emotional and behavioural difficulties (SEBD in Scotland, BESD in England) there are strong crossborder parallels. Children in these categories tend to live in deprived areas and are unlikely to have statutory support plans. Overall, this indicates the importance of analysing not just policy discourse, but also policy outcomes.

An exploration of the concept of reasonable adjustments in pre-registration nursing education in Scotland

“…Several factors influenced decisions to disclose (section 5.4) and consequently caused tension (Nolan et al, 2014). One of the key factors which influenced the decisions was identity (Riddell & Weedon, 2014b;Evans, 2014b;Evans, 2015) and the associated impact of labelling. People with invisible disabilities have more choice about whether their disability features in their identity (Riddell & Weedon, 2014a).…”

Examining the attitudes of physical education teachers towards special education (the handicapped)

“…These differences are sometimes so deep that some of the students' social, emotional, physical, and cognitive competences and developments in the teaching process do not proceed at the same level as their peers. Children who need additional support services due to their social, emotional, physical and cognitive difficulties also need additional resources to benefit from the training they receive [7]. These sources are daily instructional processes and teacher-student relations and other factors shaping the classroom setting [8].…”

A Small Country with Big Ambitions: Does This Include the Gifted?

“…Indeed, the inclusion of labels could have led to the exclusion of the gifted and talented/highly able, as research suggests that the gifted and talented/highly able are unlikely to be considered when a deficit view of support is applied [65]. Although policy has moved away from an 'individual deficit' focus [66], approaches to Additional Support for Learning which focus on individual deficits do persist in Scottish education [65]. The Morgan Report on Additional Support for Learning in Scotland [30] noted that even the language of additional support perpetuates a focus on deficits, which stigmatizes young people, and could exclude the gifted.…”