Exploring provision for children identified with special educational needs: an international review of policy and practice

Abstract

This project aimed to create a descriptive map of international research which explores the notion of the continuum of educational provision for children with special educational needs. It also aimed to determine and examine the nature of how the continuum of provision is conceptualised, operationalised and enacted in a sample of selected countries.Commissioned by the National Council for Special Education, it also identified implications for the development of provision within the Irish context. The research involved a systematic identification and thematic review of theory, identifying and examining literature associated with the conceptualisation of the continuum; it examined the policy and provision across 55 administrations as publically reported, primarily to international agencies; it carried out more detailed examination of policy and practice in 10 countries using a survey and vignette study; and it involved a series of interviews with a range of individuals in a range of settings in four countries with differing approaches to supporting children with special educational needs. This paper outlines the overall findings of the research. It focuses in particular upon the need to change how we think about provision associated with continua, recognising the lack of international coherence in approaches to support for pupils with special educational needs. It identifies in particular the opportunities presented by a reconceptualisation of the class and the management of class resources, and the role key personnel can play in creating links between diverse services.

Developing equitable elementary mathematics classrooms through teachers learning about children's mathematical thinking: Cognitively Guided Instruction as an inclusive pedagogy

“…This position reflects international moves exemplified by the Salamanca Statement (UNESCO, 1994) International studies on inclusive education have shown a continuum of educational provision, at a structural level , intended to accommodate all learners through appropriate allocation within that continuum (Rix, Sheehy, Fletcher-Campbell, Crisp, & Harper, 2013;Muskens, 2011;Armstrong, Armstrong & Spandagou, 2010). A more radical view of inclusion recognises inclusive education as the restructuring of schools so that they become places for all children (Slee, 2011;Allan, 2010).…”

The Pedagogic Beliefs of Indonesian Teachers in Inclusive Schools

“…International research suggests that teachers do not readily relate their classroom practice to an explicit theory (Rix et al, 2013) and the interview data supports this view. An issue therefore emerges as to the extent to which these implicit beliefs about how children learn inform the way in which the classroom techniques are used.…”

“…Teaching practices for children with special educational needs vary significantly between schools within relatively local regions (Rix et al, 2013) and, in a nation as diverse as Indonesia, moving beyond these regions can encompass significant cultural, economic and geographical diversity. With this caveat however there was some concurrence between the questionnaire sample (from across Indonesia) and the Surabaya region interviews.…”

“…One concerns, how teachers work together within inclusive classrooms (Cooper & Jacobs, 2011;Rix et al, 2013), which can reflect particular beliefs about pedagogy (Jordan et al, 2010;Sheehy et al, 2009). There has also been considerable debate about the second issue concerning whether particular children require special pedagogies (Lewis & Norwich, 2005) and the effects of teachers' beliefs in the need for such pedagogies (Ring & Travers, 2005).…”

“…At a general level inclusive pedagogy could be conceptualised as "..how to extend what is ordinarily available in the community of the classroom as a way of reducing the need to mark some learners as different. [an approach ] providing rich learning opportunities that are sufficiently made available for everyone, so that all learners are able to participate in classroom life" (Florian & Black-Hawkins, 2011, p14 ) Because nations are developing their own inclusive education practices (Stangvik, 2010), at classroom level, inclusive pedagogies are likely to be constructed differently in different societies and cultures (Rix, Sheehy, Fletcher-Campbell, Crisp, & Harper, 2013).…”