Session Information
04 SES 10 A, Collaborative Teaching
Paper Session
Contribution
The overall aim of this study is to investigate changes within a school system when the introduction of a new occupational group, Special Educational Needs Coordinators (SENCOs), challenges established structures.
Traditionally, in Swedish schools, special teachers have been the occupational group that worked with children in need of special support. They usually taught children individually or in small groups outside the classroom. The introduction of SENCOs, in the early 1990´s was a challenge towards this traditional way of dealing with school difficulties where school problems often have been seen as individual deficits (Malmgren-Hansen, 2002). SENCOs are supposed to take care of educational difficulties at several levels in schools, in addition to the immediate work with pupils. This is done by e.g. removing obstacles in the learning environment, supervising teachers and staff and developing the school´s organization. The role of SENCOs is of special interest since SENCOs are often seen as having a pivotal role in changes towards more inclusive practices (e.g. Abbot, 2007, Malmgren-Hansen, 2002). However, little is known about how different occupational groups perceive the new occupational role and how this change turned out in practice. More specifically, questions concerning where and in what ways SENCOs work and what role and assignments different groups within the school system want them to fulfill are analyzed.
In a European perspective, some studies on SENCOs´ work have been conducted in Great Britain. Together, several studies show (Lingard, 2001, Cole, 2005, Abbot, 2007, Hargreaves et al, 2007, Szwed, 2007a, 2007b, Pearson, 2008) that there are difficulties for SENCOs to establish their occupational role and work towards inclusive practices. There are also differences in how SENCOs work and how they perceive their situation.
Research in this field shows that the special needs task is complex and solutions are carried out differently in different school contexts (Hargreaves et al, 2007). Nilholm et al (2007) found that work with children in need of special support was decentralized which made it possible for Swedish municipalities to use different working procedures in different schools. Thus, the variation in how schools deal with school difficulties and the way SENCOs work makes encompassing studies concerning SENCOs´ role and situation important. Internationally, there is a lack of comprehensive research investigating how SENCOs and other occupational groups view the role and work of SENCOs. Therefore, this paper can also make contributions in an international perspective.
Our theoretical point of departure is a socio-cultural perspective (Säljö, 2000). This implies that school practices will appear differently depending on place and time, i.e. schooling will have specific spatiotemporal characteristics. Schooling and special needs education should be understood both as outcomes of socio-historical developmental processes (Vislie, 1995) and as situated in particular socio-cultural settings (Slee, 2006). Following this line of reasoning, professionals might remain in their knowledge tradition with a commitment to a particular way of viewing the world and operating in it (Skrtic, 1991). Thus, we investigate and analyze the ways different occupational groups in the school system view how and where SENCOs should work.
Method
Expected Outcomes
References
Abbot, L. (2007) Northern Ireland Special Educational Needs Coordinators creating inclusive environments: an epic struggle. European Journal of Special Needs Education, 22(4), 391-407. Cole, B.A. (2005) Mission impossible? Special educational needs, inclusion and the re-conceptualization of the role of the SENCO in England and Wales. European Journal of Special Needs Education, 20(3), 287-307. Hargreaves, L. et al. (2007) The Status of Teachers and the Teaching Profession in England: Views from Inside and Outside the Profession. DfES research report RR831 B. 2007. Lingard, T. (2001) Does the code of practice help secondary school SENCos to improve. British Journal of Special Education, 28(4), 187-190. Malmgren-Hansen, A, (2002) Specialpedagoger – nybyggare i skolan. Stochkholm: HLS förlag. Nilholm, C. et al.(2007). Kommuners arbete med elever i behov av särskilt stöd – en enkätundersökning. Insikt, 2. Rapporter från Högskolan i Jönköping. Jönköping: Jönköping University Press. Pearson, S. (2008) Deafened by silence or by the sound of footsteps? An investigation of the recruitment, induction and retention for special educational needs coordinators (SENCOs) in England. Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs, 8(2), 96-110. Skrtic, T. (1991) Behind special education. Denver: Love Publishing Company. Slee, R. 2006. Critical analyses of inclusive education policy: an international survey (Part 2). International Journal of Inclusive Education 10: 293–294. Szwed, C. (2007a) Remodeling policy and practice: the challenge for staff working with children with special educational needs. Educational Review, 59(2), 147-160. Szwed, C. (2007b) Managing from the middle? Tensions and dilemmas in the role of the primary school special educational needs coordinator. School leadership and management, 27(5), 437-451. Säljö, R. (2000) Lärande i praktiken. Ett sociokulturellt perspektiv. Stockholm: Prisma. Vislie, L. (1995)Integration policies, school reforms and the organisation of schooling for handicapped pupils in western societies. I C. Clark, A. Dyson and A. Millward (ed), Towards inclusive schools. London: David Fulton.
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