Session Information
ERG SES C 01, Inclusive Education
Parallel Paper Session
Contribution
The British government’s Green Paper, Supportand Aspiration (2011), advocated a series of changes to the SEN system, it clearly stated that, “Every child deserves a fair start in life, with the very best opportunity to succeed. Currently, life chances for the approximately two million children and young people in England who are identified as having a special educational need (SEN), or who are disabled, are disproportionately poor” (p.14) The percentage of ‘children formally assessed as having SEN varies across European countries, for example in Sweden it was 2% whereas in Denmark it was nearly 12% (Meijer et al, 2003, p.9). However there is “a common trend in all countries to move towards the inclusion of these pupils into mainstream schools” (Brusling & Pepin, 2003, p.198), although of course some countries are further down this road than others. In England, despite national laws (Equalities Act – 2010) and both European Union and International declarations encouraging inclusion, (UNESCO Salamanca Statement - 1994 and Key Principles for Promoting Quality in Inclusive Education - 2009), children with SEN in England are still often educated away from their local communities.
In legal terms however the English education system encourages children to be educated in mainstream schools unless such an education is incompatible with either the ‘efficient education of other children’ or the ‘wishes of the child’s parents’ (DfES, 2001). Indeed the Support and Aspiration paper refers to a ‘bias towards inclusion’ (p.5), a claim that remains unsubstantiated. However, despite this apparent ‘bias’, many parents of children with special needs choose to send them to special schools and Department for Education figures (www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/index.shtml) show that the number of special school places has remained consistent over the last 10 years. The reasons behind how parents, whose children have a wide range of SEN, choose special schools, many of which are outside of their local communities, instead of their local mainstream schools, remain unclear. Previous studies have largely focused on children with specific needs, such as Whittaker ‘s 2007 study on children with ASD or Palmer et al (2001)writing about the inclusion of students with severe disabilities. Ainscow et al (1999) suggest that well resourced special schools can appear to encourage parents to see them as the ‘safest’ option for their child, thus perhaps preventing a barrier to inclusion?
This project gathered data from a sample of relevant parents to elicit the reasons behind the school choices they made and to establish how well their choices were working out for their children. The study investigated the following questions:
1. How do parents of children who have a SEN Statement make decisions to send their children either to mainstream or special schools?
2. What are the aspirations of parents of children who have a SEN Statement?
3. In choosing either mainstream or a special school what in-school factors do parents of children who have a SEN Statement perceive as being important for the support of their children in schools?
Method
Expected Outcomes
References
Ainscow, M., Farrell, P., Tweddle, D. & Malki, G. (1999) The Role of LEAs in Developing Inclusive Policies & Practices. British Journal of Special Education 26 (3) 136-140 Brusling, C. & Pepin, B. (2003) Inclusion in Schools: Who is in Need of What? European Educational Research Journal 2 (2)1-5 Creswell, J., and Plano Clark, V. (2007) Designing and Conducting Mixed Methods Research. London: Sage Department for Education (DfE). (2011) Support and Aspiration: a New Approach to Special Educational Needs and Disability. London: TSO. Department for Education and Skills (2001) The Special Educational Needs and Disability Act (SENDA) Nottingham: DfES Meijer, C., Soriano, V. and Watkins, A. (eds.) 2003. Special Needs Education in Europe: Thematic Publication, Middelfart: European Agency for Development in Special Needs Education European Agency for Development in Special Needs Education, 2009. Key Principles for Promoting Quality in Inclusive Education – Recommendations for Policy Makers, Odense, Denmark: European Agency for Development in Special Needs Education Palmer, D., Fuller, K., Arora, T. & Nelson, M. Taking Sides: Parent Views on Inclusion for their Children with Severe Disabilities. Exceptional Children. 67 (4) 467-484 Whittaker, P. (2007) Provision for youngsters with autistic spectrum disorders in mainstream schools: what parents say- and what parents want. British Journal of Special Education. 34 (3) 170-178
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