Out of Sight, Out of Mind/Out of Mind, Out of Site: Schooling and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is a diagnostic term now indelibly scored on the public psyche. It is one of the most widely researched topics in the world today. In some quarters, a diagnosis of "ADHD" is regarded with derision. In others, it can be a god-send. It appears the jury is still out with regards to the "truth" of ADHD. As such, the rapid increase in diagnosis over the past fifteen years, coupled with an exponential rise in the prescription of restricted class psychopharmaceuticals has stirred virulent debate. Provoking the most interest, it seems, are questions regarding causality. Typically, these revolve around possible antecedents for "disorderly" behaviour – bad food, bad tv and bad parents. Very seldom is the institution of schooling ever in the line of sight. This paper draws on doctoral research that attempts to investigate this gap by questioning what might be happening in schools how this may be contributing to the definition, recognition and classification of particular children as a particular kind of "disorderly"

Disproportionate over-representation of Indigenous students in New South Wales government special schools

A significant gap exists in the Australian research literature on the disproportionate over-representation of minority groups in special education. The aim of this paper is to make a contribution to the research evidence-base by sketching an outline of the issue as it presents in Australia’s largest education system in the state of New South Wales. Findings from this research show that Indigenous students are equally represented in special schools enrolling students with autism, physical, sensory, and intellectual disabilities, but significantly over-represented in special schools enrolling students under the categories of emotional disturbance, behaviour disorder and juvenile detention. Factors that might influence the disproportionate over-representation of Indigenous children and young people are discussed, and based on these observations, some practical implications for policy and practice are provided

From ABCs to ADHD: the role of schooling in the construction of behaviour disorder and production of disorderly objects

Discussion of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in the media, and thus much popular discourse, typically revolves around the possible causes of disruptive behaviour and the “behaviourally disordered” child. The usual suspects - too much television and video games, food additives, bad parenting, lack of discipline and single mothers – feature prominently as potential contributors to the spiralling rate of ADHD diagnosis in Western industrialised nations, especially the United States and Australia. Conspicuously absent from the field of investigation, however, is the scene of schooling and the influence that the discourses and practices of schooling might bring to bear upon the constitution of “disorderly behaviour” and subsequent recognition of particular children as a particular kind of “disorderly”. This paper reviews a sample of the literature surrounding ADHD, in order to question the function of this absence and, ultimately, make an argument for an interrogation of the school as a site for the production of disorderly objects

From vision to reality: views of primary school principals on inclusive education in New South Wales, Australia

This paper discusses the findings of a research study that used semi-structured interviews to explore the views of primary school principals on inclusive education in New South Wales, Australia. Content analysis of the transcript data indicates that principals’ attitudes towards inclusive education and their success in engineering inclusive practices within their school are significantly affected by their own conception of what “inclusion” means, as well as the characteristics of the school community, and the attitudes and capacity of staff. In what follows, we present two parallel conversations that arose from the interview data to illustrate the main conceptual divisions existing between our participants’ conceptions of inclusion. First, we discuss the act of “being inclusive” which was perceived mainly as an issue of culture and pedagogy. Second, we consider the mechanics of “including,” which reflected a more instrumentalist position based on perceptions of individual student deficit, the level of support they may require and the amount of funding they can attract

Wherefore art thou, inclusion? Analysing the development of inclusive education in New South Wales, Alberta and Finland

Over the last two decades, moves toward “inclusion” have prompted change in the formation of education policies, schooling structures and pedagogical practice. Yet, exclusion through the categorisation and segregation of students with diverse abilities has grown; particularly for students with challenging behaviour. This paper considers what has happened to inclusive education by focusing on three educational jurisdictions known to be experiencing different rates of growth in the identification of special educational needs: New South Wales (Australia), Alberta (Canada) and Finland (Europe). In our analysis, we consider the effects of competing policy forces that appear to thwart the development of inclusive schools in two of our case-study regions

Developing capabilities for social inclusion: engaging diversity through inclusive school communities

The effort to make schools more inclusive, together with the pressure to retain students until the end of secondary school, has greatly increased both the number and educational requirements of students enrolling in their local school. Of critical concern, despite years of research and improvements in policy, pedagogy and educational knowledge, is the enduring categorisation and marginalization of students with diverse abilities. Research has shown that it can be difficult for schools to negotiate away from the pressure to categorise or diagnose such students, particularly those with challenging behaviour. In this paper, we highlight instances where some schools have responded to increasing diversity by developing new cultural practices to engage both staff and students; in some cases, decreasing suspension while improving retention, behaviour and performance

The Inclusion Lottery: who's in and who's out? Tracking inclusion and exclusion in New South Wales government schools

The last few decades have witnessed a broad international movement towards the development of inclusive schools through targeted special education funding and resourcing policies. Student placement statistics are often used as a barometer of policy success but they may also be an indication of system change. In this paper, trends in student enrolments from the Australian state of New South Wales are considered in an effort to understand what effect inclusive education has had in this particular region of the world

Getting creative in the languages classroom

The following principles are central to the work of ‘Linguistic Creativity in Language Learning’, a research strand of Creative Multilingualism: We create language every day. Language diversity facilitates creative diversity. Linguistic diversity nurtures diverse expression of feelings, thoughts and identities, and diverse ways of knowing and seeing the world. In this chapter we outline how they might be considered in relation to classroom language learning. One of the authors of this chapter..

Reach for the stars! Realising the value of creative arts internships

There is an increasing emphasis on students to improve their own employability.  Entering any workplace is competitive and to the student a complex and unknown environment.  In recognition of this, there is an influx of ideas to support the transition to employment.  In an attempt to demystify the workplace, students are encouraged to gain experience to help reach their potential and reach their career aspiration.  This paper reflects on the Career Accelerated Internship Programme as an enrichment of the student experience.  It provides an overview of creative arts internships and, in particular, the experiences of dance interns as they engage with LJMU cultural partners

Community literacy as seen through the eyes of families

This study is a series of interviews conducted with three families participating in a family literacy program in rural NH. These families were asked a series of questions about their participation in community literacy events and supports to reach a synthesis of what families do that is inherently strong. Readings from across the literature on early childhood education, literacy and poverty and families were supported by the interviews. It is in the cross referencing that strengths were identified and weaknesses documented. Strengths were seen in friendships, storytelling, book exchanges and the use of outdoors. Weaknesses were seen in access to systems and the ability to move forward educationally. There were implicit strengths in these families and their attraction for the interviewer was in their ability to make sense of their lives