Educator perceptions of children who present with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties: a literature review with implications for recent educational policy in England and internationally

Wicked problems in special and inclusive education

“…Responding in an effective way to behaviours by students with a disability which warrant adult concern or action and in a manner which avoids educational exclusion This wicked problem includes, for example: concerns that many educators have uninformed, research-poor, views of child and adolescent behaviour which are profoundly unhelpful for their practice and that of colleagues (O'Neill and Stephenson, 2014;Sullivan, Johnson, Owens, et al, 2014); how to effectively meet the often pressing social, emotional and academic needs of students affected by the disabilities SEBD, BESD or EBD (Algozzine and Algozzine, 2013;Armstrong, 2014); the often unacknowledged role of poor mental health in behavioural (SEBD, BSED, EBD) classifications commonly used in education settings (Armstrong, Price and Crowley, 2015); the implications of recent initiatives to change or even discard these behavioural categories (Norwich, 2014), for example, recent policy efforts in England to introduce 'social, emotional and mental health' in replacement for SEBD, BSED, EBD (DFE, 2016;Norwich and Eaton, 2015); negative perceptions held by some professionals about psychologically distressed children or young peoplethat they are 'mad, sad or bad' (Macleod, 2006); the adverse psychological, social, emotional and academic impact of educational exclusion on individuals with a disability (Pirrie, Macleod, Cullen, et al, 2011); the role played by un-identified mental health needs in individuals labelled as having disruptive or challenging behaviour (McMillan and Jarvis, 2013;Oldfield et al 2015); the evidence base for ethical and effective interventions to reduce challenging or disruptive behaviour by students with a disability (Armstrong, Elliot, Hallett, et al, 2015); identifying replicable, beneficial systemic (whole-school, whole system) initiatives to better respond to challenging or disruptive behaviour in schools by students with a disability and avoiding educational exclusion (Macleod, 2010;McIntosh, Predy, Upreti, et al, 2014); how best to equip educators with the professional skill and understanding necessary to reduce the likelihood of negative behaviours occurring in the classroom and reduce the severity of conduct should it occur (Cooper and Jacobs, 2011); reducing negative behavioural labelling of students with a disability (Grosche and Volpe, 2013;World Health Organization, 2015); reducing the inappropriate use of sanctions by schools for behavioural transgressions by students with disability, especially given research studies suggesting that '...…”

Classroom behaviour management strategies in response to problematic behaviours of primary school children with special educational needs: views of special educational needs coordinators

“…This is of particular concern for children identified with SEN, because research suggests that the global attachment orientation of children identified with learning disabilities is less likely to be classified as secure than that of their peers without identified learning disabilities (Al-Yagon & Mikulincer, 2004). According to a review of educators' perceptions, teachers serve as a more critical influence for children identified with SEN than for children without identified SEN (Armstong, 2014). Yet, teachers report feeling unprepared for inclusion settings after completing their initial teacher education, and classroom behaviour management tops their list of areas in which additional support/instruction is required (Winter, 2006).…”

“…Yet, teachers report feeling unprepared for inclusion settings after completing their initial teacher education, and classroom behaviour management tops their list of areas in which additional support/instruction is required (Winter, 2006). Armstong (2014) also shows that professional development opportunities can positively influence teachers' perceptions of children identified with SEN. Given the international movement towards inclusion of children with all types of identified SEN in mainstream schools (Ainscow, Dyson, & Weiner, 2014;UNESCO, 1994), school-or teacher-based interventions might support the prevention of problems as children enter adolescence.…”

The role of experience in teachers’ social representation of students with autism spectrum diagnosis (Asperger)

“…Using the biological impairment as a starting point for educational support for students with different needs is assumed to act inconsistently with the notion of enhancing inclusion (Gibbs, 2007). If teachers perceive behaviors as disruptive it is likely that students with AS receive non-mainstream provision instead of developing better practice around the behavior since teachers are the key agent for successful inclusion (Armstrong, 2013;Sharma et al, 2008). The difference between the two subgroups indicates that there is a risk that teachers without experience of children with AS may form a biased image of these learners which some researchers e.g.…”

“…One factor that may determine how successful teachers are in providing an inclusive environment for students with AS is their experiences and beliefs (Armstrong, 2013;Avramidis & Norwich, 2002;Emam & Farrell, 2009). Indeed, experiences generated from a traditional medical approach that focuses on "deficits" might result in low expectations and more exclusion.…”