Comparison of the effects of mainstream and special school on National Curriculum outcomes in children with autism spectrum disorder: an archive‐based analysis

Abstract

The literature dealing with the inclusion of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in mainstream schools has increased over recent years, propelled by the argument that it will improve the quality of life, educational performance and social development of ‘included’ children. This area of research is currently an important one for the development of policy and practice. The literature on inclusion dealing with the inclusion of children with ASD is limited, so the implementation of inclusion has preceded research. The current study investigated whether children in mainstream placements show enhanced performance, relative to those in specialist provisions. The study used a combination of primary and secondary data analysis to explore the impact of inclusion on children with ASD in four authorities in the south east of England. The results suggest that mainstream children have no greater academic success than children in specialist provision. The study suggests that a number of specific provisions are involved in promoting success, such as Speech and Language Therapy, and the impact of Learning Support Assistants, and these are also reviewed and discussed.

Inclusion: the role of special and mainstream schools

“…Nevertheless, evidence commending inclusion for children with special educational needs emphasises the negative impact of special schools on children in terms of the stigma faced by pupils, parents and teachers (Simmons & Bayliss, 2007;Frederickson et al, 2007;Georgiadi et al, 2012;de Graaf et al, 2013). However, research highlights deficiencies in mainstream provision relating to resources, teacher and TA expertise, bullying and peer acceptance, the latter particularly for girls (Waddington & Reed, 2016;de Boer et al, 2013). Also impacting on the success of inclusion is the visibility and severity of the disability (Tuersley-Dixon & Frederickson, 2016).…”

“…They recommended that special schools for children with Down's syndrome should devote more time to academic learning. Conversely, Waddington and Reed's () comparison of the effects of mainstream and special school on National Curriculum outcomes in learners with ASD in four local authorities in England concluded that mainstream learners have no greater academic success than learners in special schools. Similar to Webster and Blatchford (), they reported that access to TAs correlated negatively with academic outcomes for those children in mainstream provision.…”

“…Secondly, research highlighting the benefits and challenges faced by special schools is investigated (Hornby & Witte, 2008;Parsons et al, 2009;Parsons, 2015;Day et al, 2012;Reed et al, 2012;Kelly et al, 2014;Black, 2014;Cook et al, 2016). Thirdly, research emphasising the value and challenges of inclusion in mainstream settings is reviewed (Frederickson et al, 2007;Lindsay et al, 2016;O'Hagan & Hebron, 2016;Broomhead, 2013Broomhead, , 2014de Graaf et al, 2013;Waddington & Reed, 2016;de Boer et al, 2013;Glazzard, 2014;Webster & Blatchford, 2015). Research that listens to the voice of 'disabled' and 'non-disabled' children regarding mainstream and special school provision is the final theme (Griffiths, 2007;Prunty et al, 2012;Gasson et al, 2015;Geordiadi et al, 2012;Tuersley-Dixon & Frederickson, 2016;Roberts & Simpson, 2016;Feiler, 2013;Skovlund, 2014).…”

Inclusive Education for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Elementary Schools in Vietnam: The Current Situation and Solutions

“…Across the world, studies of IE for children with ASD focus on (a) the effects of subjective and objective factors on the ability to learn inclusively for children with ASD (subjective factors include childrens' functional level, whether high functioning or low functioning autism, and the developmental history of each child; objective factors include education history, especially whether the child has had early intervention, and forms of IE; Eldar, Talmor, & Wolf-Zukerman, 2010;Zuki & Rahman, 2016); (b) effective IE measures (Davidson, 2015;Denning & Moody, 2013;Gavaldá & Qinyi, 2012;Simpson, de Boer-Ott, & Smith-Myles, 2003;Wilson & Landa, 2019); (c) the effect of IE on the development of the areas of school skills, communication, and social interaction (Lal, 2005;Ncube, 2014;Runcharoen, 2014); (d) comparing the effectiveness of IE to specialized separate education (Waddington & Reed, 2017);…”

Supporting all children to reach their potential: practitioner perspectives on creating an inclusive school environment

“…Wren (2017) found that TAs were deployed to work within academic support but their role included social and behavioural support as well, which may be on a one to one basis or working with small groups (Bignold and Barbera 2012). However, Blatchford et al (2012) and Waddington and Reed (2017) acknowledge that children who received more support from TAs than the class teacher, were more likely to make less academic progress than other children within the class. Research by challenged the existing models of TA deployment within a number of school settings.…”