The significance of SEN assessment, diagnoses, and psychometric tests in inclusive education

Barow, Thomas; Östlund, Daniel

doi:10.4324/9781315204048-16

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…Norwich 2013). Thus, our study contributes to a discussion about the current test culture in relation to the policy of inclusion, constituting at the same time an extension of our previous research (Barow and Östlund 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 56%

“The system shows us how bad it feels”: special educational needs assessment in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Barow

Östlund

2019

European Journal of Special Needs Education

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In the context of the North Rhine-Westphalian school reform towards an inclusive education system, this article problematises the practice of categorisation. Our research aims to investigate the assessment of special educational needs (SEN) and thereby enrich the discussion of the relation between inclusion and diagnostics. For this study, we interviewed 14 SEN investigators and five decision-makers. We discuss the results on the basis of a qualitative content analysis and against the background of Fleck's concept of thought styles. We mainly found inertia in special education traditions, expressed in the use of intelligence tests, the dominance of SEN teachers in the assessment process and the lack of participation of parents and pupils. We conclude that it is necessary to reform the SEN assessment rules. At the same time, we see major challenges in transforming existing thought styles into a more flexible and decategorising approach.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 56%

“The system shows us how bad it feels”: special educational needs assessment in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Barow

Östlund

2019

European Journal of Special Needs Education

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“…Recently, in discussions on inclusive education, questions of testing and diagnostic cultures have attracted attention (Hamre, Morin, & Ydesen, 2018). Within the framework of this project, we examined SEN assessment in the Swedish region, Scania, and the German state, North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) (Barow & Östlund, 2018(Barow & Östlund, , 2019a. By contrasting two countries, international comparative studies promise deeper insight into varying developments, e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stuck in failure: comparing special education needs assessment policies and practices in Sweden and Germany

Barow

Östlund

2020

Nordic Journal of Studies in Educational Policy

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The definition for special education needs (SEN) and the policies for its assessment varies widely between countries. This paper aims to investigate similarities and differences through a Swedish-German comparative approach. Based on the distinction between categorical and relational perspectives as expressions of specific thought styles, 58 SEN assessment reports from both countries were qualitatively analysed. The results demonstrate the maintenance of the categorical perspective in terms of focusing on the pupil's 'failure'. This result is even more notable in the German examples than the Swedish cases. Exceptionally and in both countries, a relational perspective emerges, taking teaching and the social environment into account. In conclusion, we suggest a flexible SEN approach with a stronger emphasis on the relation between the individual and the learning environment.

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Resolving dilemmas: Swedish special educators and subject teachers’ perspectives on their enactment of inclusive education

Paulsrud

2023

Journal of Education Policy

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The significance of SEN assessment, diagnoses, and psychometric tests in inclusive education

Cited by 4 publications

References 1 publication

“The system shows us how bad it feels”: special educational needs assessment in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

“The system shows us how bad it feels”: special educational needs assessment in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

Stuck in failure: comparing special education needs assessment policies and practices in Sweden and Germany

Resolving dilemmas: Swedish special educators and subject teachers’ perspectives on their enactment of inclusive education

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