Inclusion of pupils perceived as experiencing social and emotional behavioural difficulties (SEBD) : affordances and constraints

This paper takes as its principal theme barriers to the inclusion of pupils perceived as experiencing social and emotional behavioural difficulties (SEBD) and how these might be overcome. It draws upon an evaluative case study of an initiative, devised by the author, to support pupils - the Support Group Initiative (SGI) - which was conducted over a five-year period in a Scottish Secondary School situated in an area of multiple deprivation. The central focus of the discussion is the range of variables that impacted upon pupil outcomes, illustrating the ways in which these variables acted as affordances or constraints in the pursuit of inclusive practice. The paper takes as its starting point the contested nature of inclusion and introduces, briefly, the Scottish policy context as it pertains to inclusion before exploring the nature of the problem - the barriers to the inclusion of and the difficulties presented by the inclusion of pupils perceived as having SEBD, as discussed in the literature. The findings of the study are discussed in relation to central themes - the ethos of the Support Group; the process of re-signification through which pupils are enabled to effect improvement; the classroom context; and wider variables relating to school policy, practice, ethos and the management of change. The paper concludes by exploring what inclusion has meant to the pupils involved within the intervention, summarising the affordances and constraints to its realisation, before reflecting upon the significance of the study

Engineering - young people want to be informed

Young people in developed nations recognise the contribution that science and technology make to society and acknowledge their importance now and in the future, yet few view their study as leading to interesting careers. Some countries are taking action to raise interest in science, technologies, engineering and mathematics and increase the number of students studying these subjects. One of the barriers to young people pursuing engineering is their limited or distorted perception of it - they associate it only with building and fixing things. Young people rarely encounter engineers, unlike other professionals, engineering has little or no advocacy in the media and there are few opportunities to experience engineering. Many of the pupils surveyed at the start of Engineering the Future, a three year EPSRC-funded project, wrote “don’t know what engineering is” and/or “would like more information”. This paper reports on work with researchers, policy makers and practitioners in Scotland to develop a sustainable model of activities and interactions that develops pupils’ understanding of the nature of engineering, embeds experiences of engineering within the school classroom and curriculum and promotes engineering as a career. After learning about engineering through the activities the pupils’ perceptions had improved. Almost all considered it important that young people know about engineering, because it is an essential part of everyday life and, in the words of one pupil - “If we know more about it, our minds wouldn’t stay closed to it. We would maybe take it up.

NEET in Essex: A Review of the Evidence

This report reviews the published research evidence on the factors and processes that lead some young people into becoming ?Not in Employment, Education or Training? (NEET), and the policy interventions that are deemed to prevent this. It also includes a previously conducted Latent Class Analysis (LCA) of the 2009 Essex NEET cohort, which is analysed alongside the more general published evidence. The literature reviewed was generated from wide rage of bibliographic search engines, academics, policy makers and practitioners working in this field The review will contribute towards the development of more effective policy interventions, and provide an initial foundation for the development of a possible multi-method research project. A primary research project will be able to provide more robust inferences on the causes and processes of becoming NEET and on the interventions designed to prevent this. This will enable Essex County Council to better target and implement effective policy interventions, ultimately reducing the social and economic costs of youth unemployment in Essex