Dilemmas of difference and the identification of special educational needs/disability: International perspectives.

This article reports findings from an international study about dilemmas of difference in relation to special educational needs and disability in education. It was part of a larger study of the perspectives of 132 education practitioners and policy makers in England, the USA and the Netherlands to a range of dilemmas of difference. It also compares these current perspectives with ones from similar groups in England and the USA from the early 1990s. Participants were interviewed about their perspectives on a presented dilemma about the consequences of identifying children as having a disability or a special educational need. The data are presented in quantitative terms (degrees of recognition and resolution of dilemma) and qualitative terms (reasons, justifications and suggested resolutions). The findings show variations in responses to the dilemma that relate to national differences, but also commonalities in the recognition of this dilemma, reasons for recognising and ways of resolving the dilemma

Estimating the causal effects of academisation of English schools with the data from the National Pupil Database

Background Over the last 30 years there have been two key policy initiatives in schooling in England. First, there was a move to raise academic standards with a market-oriented model of schooling and the introduction of Academies with higher levels of autonomy. Second, there has been a lesser though nevertheless important trend to providing for more pupils with special educational needs (SEN) in ordinary rather than special schools, what has been called the inclusive education movement. Objectives We explore causal effects of converting English schools into academies on educational inclusiveness in England. Specifically we investigate the implications of a school’s academisation event in converting to a Sponsored Academy or a Converter Academy on the inclusion of pupils with SEN and the impacts on the education trajectory of these pupils. Methods (including data) Using administrative data from the National Pupil Database and combining it with publicly available data on school institutional history, we are able to construct extensive longitudinal samples of pupil cohorts and academisation school cohorts from 2003 to 2015. Utilising both from aggregate school level and individual level features, we study the various aspects of academisation on educational inclusiveness by modelling the admissions, re-classifications and potential exclusions on pupils with SEN from the contemporaneous and follow-up effects of academisation events. In addition, we examine the adequacy and effectiveness in causality modelling in a educational context under various regimes of modelling frameworks. Findings and conclusions The analysis to date suggests that academisation events have small negative impacts in educational inclusiveness. Specifically, we find that pupils with SEN are more likely to register with non-SEN in academised schools in the treatment group. In addition, these negative effects are found to remain statistically significant several periods after occurrence of the event

Cross-Cultural Perspectives on the Classification of Children With Disabilities: Part II. Implementing Classification Systems in Schools

This article is the second in a 2-part synthesis of an international comparative seminar on the classification of children with disabilities. In this article, the authors discuss classification frameworks used in identifying children for the purpose of providing special education and related services. The authors summarize 7 papers that addressed aspects of disability classification in educational systems in the United States and the United Kingdom. They discuss current policies for determining which children receive special education services, the origins and evolution of these policies, and current dilemmas and challenges associated with classification schemes and the provision of special education. The authors also describe emerging data and possible models and practices that might be used in educational systems. They conclude with the recognition that both formal and informal educational classification systems will continue to be required within a system that must address the competing priorities of individual needs and the broader social and community goals of education. However, as was argued in the previous article, by understanding the mix of intentions that underpin these policies, as well as periodically reviewing the norms that underlie them, it may be possible to move classification to descriptors that can be used to efficiently and effectively define educational needs and distribute resources

Parental agency, identity and knowledge: mothers of children with dyslexia

This is a postprint of an article whose final and definitive form has been published in the Oxford Review of Education© 2004 Copyright Taylor & Francis; Oxford Review of Education is available online at http://www.informaworld.comIn this paper we report and analyse findings from part of a two-year evaluation project which focuses on parent-professional communications over the issues of learning difficulties arising from dyslexia. The key concepts in this study are dyslexia friendly schools and parental partnership, which are discussed in the current policy interest in inclusive education and parent partnership. A conceptual framework has been derived from the study which focuses on parental strategies to ensure adequate provision for their children, knowledge about dyslexia and identity, in particular that of the mother of the child with dyslexia. Excerpts from in-depth interviews of parents are then presented to illustrate the framework. The significance of the findings is examined in relation to other studies of parent partnership. Implications for a more inclusive version of extended professionalism are also considered

How lesson study is used in initial teacher education: an international review of literature

© 2022 The Authors. Published by Taylor & Francis. This is an open access article available under a Creative Commons licence. The published version can be accessed at the following link on the publisher’s website: https://doi.org/10.1080/13664530.2022.2063937This article focuses on the use of lesson study (LS) in initial teacher education (ITE) from a mapping review of international research published in peer-reviewed journals. This method enables identification of characteristic features of the research field along with any gaps in the existing evidence base. The authors map out variations in ITE LS practices by employing a seven-dimensional framework of LS to illustrate the range and draw conclusions about the design and use of LS in ITE. They conclude that LS is an example of teacher enquiry-based practice, identified by researchers as one of the means of building the capacity for a self-improving education system. LS and related practices play a crucial role in preparing teachers to adopt a research orientation to their own practice. However, the article also discusses the organisational challenges and the balance between acquiring skills and reflection for beginning teachers when introducing LS into ITE

The Incredible Years® Teacher Classroom Management programme and its impact on teachers' professional self-efficacy, work-related stress, and general well-being: Results from the STARS randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Teaching is a stressful occupation with poor retention. The Incredible Years® Teacher Classroom Management (TCM) programme is a training programme that research has demonstrated may be an effective intervention for improving children's mental health, but little research has explored any impacts there may be on the teachers' own professional confidence and mental health. AIMS: In this paper, we evaluate whether TCM may lead to changes in teachers' well-being, namely a reduction in burnout and an improvement in self-efficacy and mental health. SAMPLE: Eighty schools across the South West of England were recruited between September 2012 and September 2014. Headteachers were asked to nominate one class teacher to take part. METHODS: Eighty teachers were randomized to either attend a TCM course (intervention) or not (control). TCM was delivered to groups of up to 12 teachers in six whole-day workshops that were evenly spread between October and April. At baseline and 9-month follow-up, we measured teachers' mental health using the Everyday Feelings Questionnaire (EFQ), burnout using the Maslach Burnout Inventory-General Survey (MBI-GS), and self-efficacy using the Teachers' Sense of Efficacy Scale-Short (TSES-Short). RESULTS: Using linear regression models, there was little evidence of differences at follow-up between the intervention and control teachers on the outcomes (the smallest p-value was .09). CONCLUSIONS: Our findings did not replicate previous research that TCM improved teachers' sense of efficacy. However, there were limitations with this study including low sample size

Dyslexia-friendly schools and parent partnership: inclusion and home-school relationships

This is a postprint of an article whose final and definitive form has been published in the European Journal of Special Needs Education© 2005 Copyright Taylor & Francis; European Journal of Special Needs Education is available online at http://www.informaworld.comThis paper summarizes an action research project in five local areas in the south-west of England which aimed to support parents of children with dyslexic difficulties who were experiencing problems in obtaining appropriate provision in mainstream schools. It was based on the importance of effective parental partnership and quality inclusive practice for children having dyslexic difficulties. A development officer worked over two years in the five participating LEAs that were selected to represent a range of professional practice with a mix of urban and rural populations. As part of the evaluation, the authors also examined longitudinally the educational experiences of a sample of parents. The paper includes a conceptual framework of parental agency in this field in terms of knowledge, identity and parental strategies, and the conditions under which parents escalate their strategies to secure appropriate provision for their children. The support provided by the development officer is analysed in terms of the kinds of support requests received, the kinds of support offered and qualitative evidence of the impact of this support. This research is theorized in terms of current ideas about parent-partnership and theories about parent-teacher relations in terms of the diversity of parents. It highlights the significance of thinking about inclusive schooling and parent-school relations in terms of the interconnections between general systems for all, for those with special educational needs and those with specific difficulties. The policy and practice implications are interpreted in terms of the importance of a system of extended professionalism, which is inclusive of parents with learning difficulties and disabilities.The research project this paper summarises was funded by the British Dyslexia Association (BDA) and the Buttle Trust