Statements of special educational needs and mainstream secondary physical education in north-west England

This article, by Anthony Maher of the University of Central Lancashire, explores, from the perspective of SENCos and learning support assistants (LSAs) in north-west England, the perceived adequacy of Statements of special educational needs as they relate to physical education (PE). The findings, generated via online surveys, suggest that most SENCos and some LSAs believe that Statements are appropriate for all curricular subjects, with PE being no different. Thus, two groups who play an integral role in facilitating the inclusion of pupils with special educational needs in mainstream secondary schools in England do not differentiate between classroom based and more physically orientated subjects such as PE, which could have a negative impact on the experiences of pupils with special educational needs in PE because of the contextual and dynamic nature of special educational needs. Indeed, because most Statements do not provide PE-specific information or learning targets, teachers and LSAs are often unable to collaboratively plan and deliver inclusive lessons or monitor and evaluate the progress made by Statemented pupils in PE

Teacher attitudes in Italy after 40 years of inclusion

In 1977, Italy adopted a policy to fully include students with disabilities in mainstream classrooms. This study surveyed the attitudes of Italian teachers towards inclusive education 40 years after this reform. The data were collected from 153 basic school teachers using the Teachers' Attitudes towards Inclusion Scale (TAIS). The results indicate that the Italian teachers had a high level of commitment to inclusive education. Approximately 90% of the respondents agreed that students with special educational needs should be educated in mainstream classrooms, and only 7% felt that they should be transferred to special education classrooms instead. To improve the quality of inclusive education, the teachers most frequently mentioned the need for more in‐service training, smaller class sizes, and additional help from support teachers and therapists in the classroom.peerReviewe

Training Teachers to Become Effective Life Design \u2018Agents of Change\u2019: Suggestions and Directions for Future Actions

Several efforts have been devoted in the last decades to identify the essential skills, knowledge, attitudes and values that characterize inclusive teachers and to develop training programmes and curricula that take all this into account. According to the UN 2030 Agenda for sustainable development, teachers are also called to renew their visions and skills in order to provide career education to all their students, thus promoting positive development and reducing the risks of complex transitions. After reviewing the most relevant literature, this chapter deals basically with the question of the relevance and the feasibility of training teachers to become effective life designing agents of change and prevention. Conceptual bases currently relevant are described together with possible steps and actions suggested by past and recent Italian experiences for positively addressing these issues