Collaborating to meet special educational needs: Effective clusters (original) (raw)
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Clusters: inter‐school collaboration in meeting special educational needs in ordinary schools
British Educational Research Journal, 1994
This article reports the findings and discusses the implications of a research project on school clusters, a system of inter-school collaboration to meet special educational needs (SEN) in ordinary schools. The project was in two stages. The first stage involved detailed qualitative case studies of four different kinds of cluster arrangement. These were analysed in terms of antecedents, processes and outcomes based on documentation and interviews with key participants as informants. The second stage surveyed a wider sample of cluster arrangements in three regional meetings using a group interview methodology. The overall findings are summarised in terms of the conditions and factors which promote SEN inter-school collaboration and the outcomes for schools, teachers, local education authorities (LEAs) and support services. The significance and implications of these forms of inter-school collaboration are finally discussed in terms of the current changes to the school system and the education of pupils with SEN.
Special Education Today in the United Kingdom
Advances in Special Education, 2014
Understanding that the United Kingdom (UK) is made up of four separate but linked countries: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales is an essential starting point for considering Special Needs Education in the UK today. However, while the strong similarities and links between the different countries and their own educational systems often justifies grouping them for general discussion purposes, this can obscure important differences. Differences in national contexts have resulted in variations in special education policy (e.g. in the language used), and practices (e.g. types of data collected), making some direct comparisons difficult-if not impossible. In this chapter, consequently, the shared concerns that are relevant across all of the countries of the UK are discussed broadly, while differences are identified to make the distinctive nature of each country context explicit. Where data are available, some examples are provided to enable the reader to make comparisons. The chapter will consist of 3 major sections each with a number of relevant subsections. The common, but mistaken, use of the term England to refer to the UK or Britain reinforces the misunderstanding that the island of Britain is one country. This error further compounds confusion about the relationships between Britain and the other devolved countries of the UK. To clarify this situation, section 1 attempts to contextualise UK developments by, for example, describing changes in the broader UK social milieu within which education-and special needs education-are embedded. We will also discuss developments within the general school system and some of the recent educational agendas being forged within the devolved countries. Section 2 focuses on UK developments with respect to special needs education more generally, as well as emerging trends within each of the devolved countries. With respect to special needs education, across the UK, three discursive influences can be seen to have impacted the consciousness and practice of UK educators, ie., "exclusion", "integration or assimilation" and, more recently, since the adoption and international use of the term inclusion (eg UNESCO, 1994; 2000), there has been much talk about "inclusion" 1 We also draw upon an earlier publication by the first three authors entitled: Education for All in the countries of the United Kingdom. In K. Mazurek & M. Winzer (Eds.). Special education in an international perspective, pp. 67-86 and published by Gallaudet University Press, Washington DC. Consequently, here, we record our deepest gratitude to Gallaudet University Press for written permission to make use of this earlier work.
Armstrong D. Ch9 (pp.108-115) in: Armstrong and Squires (eds) (2012) Contemporary Issues in Special Educational Needs. Milton Keynes: McGraw Hill. Calling on research literature this chapter visualised an 'ideal school' for students affected by disability and offers some critical final thoughts on soial justice in education: ' that the education of children should not be determined by what is written on pieces of paper, but should be informed instead by what is right, what is just, and what is compassionate for them and their families'. Thoughts about the future, radical transformation of special education are offered.
Special Educational Needs Coordinators' Practice in England 40 Years on From the Warnock Report
Frontiers in Education, 2019
The Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO) role in England has been formally established since 1994 to support inclusion. In 2009 it became mandatory for every new SENCO in a mainstream school in England to gain a postgraduate qualification in special educational needs coordination within 3 years of taking up a post, which includes a compulsory practitioner research component. This study examined 100 assignment abstracts from 50 SENCOs submitted as part of the postgraduate qualification delivered in one university in England between 2015 and 2017. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis in Nvivo and yielded 4 themes underpinning SENCO practice, namely diversity in SENCO practice, meaningful assessment, evidence informed practice, and evaluating impact. The findings are discussed in the light of developments in policy and practice in the education of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities since the Warnock Report in 1978.