Session Information
04 SES 10 B, Collaboration between Organizations
Paper Session
Contribution
Introduction: The educational placement of young people with significant disabilities is a contested issue in many countries around the world, with many supporting inclusion in mainstream education (Norwich, 2008). Nonetheless, in several western countries a proportion of the school-age population are educated in separate settings. Educational partnerships are seen as important opportunities by headteachers in special schools (Baker, 2009), and can be considered as a way to mitigate against the social separation of students in special education centres from the mainstream (Norwich, 2008). Furthermore, separate settings are often smaller than mainstream settings and as such are more limited in the breadth of their provision, so partnerships with other schools are a viable way to increase opportunities for their students. In England, policy reforms in 14-19 education under the 1997-2010 New Labour Government placed an implicit requirement on schools, colleges and other organizations to join together in order to deliver more choice and flexibility in young people’s education (DCSF, 2008), and the new coalition government expects schools and colleges to work together according to need. Special schools are using this policy context as an opportunity to develop and cement relationships with mainstream institutions.
Theoretical Perspective: The literature on partnership approaches in education, particularly with respect to vocational learning, has been growing steadily over recent years. Partnerships have been conceptualised in terms of the ways in which they develop (Billet et al, 2007); their structure (Hodgson and Spours, 2006); and purpose (Higham and Yeomans, 2010). Partnerships processes across a range of mainstream schools and colleges can be conceptualised in terms of how “joined up” the institutions are: to what extent they have developed shared working processes and decision making, and whether those joint processes go beyond a single focus or piece of work (Rose, 2011). This paper focuses on partnership processes in separate education settings, in particular how they work with other organisations to enhance provision for their students.
Context: This paper reports research undertaken as part of a much larger longitudinal project, the Centre Research Study (CReSt), looking at responses to policy reforms in the field of 14-19 education in 52 schools, colleges and other centres in England. The participating centres were selected as a cross-sectional representation of the different types of educational provision available for 14-19 year olds in England, and included seven special schools or alternative provision. The research in this paper is based on interviews and focus groups from case-study visits to four of the special centres.
Research Questions: In what ways do four different special centres use partnerships to develop educational opportunities and support the needs of their students?
Method
Expected Outcomes
References
Baker, J. (2009). Special school headship in times of change: impossible challenges or golden opportunities? British Journal of Special Education, 36(4), 191-197. Billet, S., Ovens, C., Clemans, A. and Seddon, T. (2007) Collaborative working and contested practices: forming, developing and sustaining social partnerships in education. Journal of Education Policy, 22(6), 637-656. Higham, J. and Yeomans, D. (2010) Working together? Partnership approaches to 14-19 education in England. British Educational Research Journal, 36(3), 379-401. Hodgson, A. and Spours, K. (2006). The organisation of 14-19 education and training in England: beyond weakly collaborative arrangements. Journal of Education and Work, 19(4), 325-342. Norwich, B. (2008). Dilemmas of difference, inclusion and disability: international perspectives on placement. European Journal of Special Needs Education, 23(4), 287-304. Rose, J. (2011). Partnerships. In J. Baird, J. Elwood, G. Duffy, A. Feiler, A. O’Boyle, J. Rose, G. Stobart and A. McWhirter, 14-19 Centre Research Study: Educational Reform in Schools and Colleges in England. Report for the QCDA.
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