British Journal of Special Education最新文献

Students with special educational needs face challenges in developing second language writing skills. These students lack specialised instruction and support, especially in mainstream classrooms, due to a lack of expertise and understanding of inclusive education. This article explores two teachers' conceptualisations of inclusive education and special educational needs, as well as investigating the application of a multiliteracies pedagogy in the context of fostering inclusivity within a second language writing classroom. Through duoethnography, the teachers share their experiences of tailoring lessons for students with special educational needs. The study highlights the complexities of inclusivity in second language writing classrooms with multiliteracies pedagogy and promotes professional learning through duoethnography. The analysis illustrates the challenges and opportunities for teachers catering to students with special educational needs. The article discusses whether using multiliteracies pedagogy for inclusive classrooms is a possible reality or an ideological pipedream.

This article is different. Original testimonies are reproduced, in full, from three autistic adults who reflect on their education experiences. These accounts evolved from a webinar which explored autistic ‘voice’ through research presentations and lived experiences, and this co-authored article seeks to communicate these reflections to a wider audience. The testimonies are brought together, interpreted and analysed through the lens of the social model of disability exposing the ableist systems in which these adults had to operate. All share the challenge of trying to fit in to a socially, neuronormatively constructed education system, experiencing marginalisation, lack of understanding and lack of appropriate support. However, all three writers emerge as more than ‘sea-glass survivors’, weathered and worn, having developed survival strategies, but demonstrate their determination to improve lives for those who follow in their wake. This article draws attention to the need to listen to autistic people more frequently, but more importantly to involve them as architects of change for the future. The article was co-created by three autistic people, who identify as neurodivergent, in discussion and collaboration with the lead author who is an autism ally, autism and education researcher, and parent to an autistic son.

Continuing professional development (CPD) is considered an important part of improving professional practice and its importance has been highlighted in Department of Education policies in England. However, very little research has explored what CPD school staff access and consider as effective for their roles. This research addressed this gap by conducting an online survey of child-facing school staff in England. The survey was completed by 637 participants. The results indicate that there is a mismatch between what the staff consider as impactful CPD and the CPD to which they have most access. School leaders and SENCos are key people in delivering CPD in schools, and the findings of this study show that it is important to provide them with appropriate skills and knowledge to ensure that the most accessible CPD is also the most effective for the school workforce.

There has been a rise in autistic pupils in the mainstream classroom. Teachers have often reported frustration caused by a lack of training on managing autistic pupils' presentations. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of an online training programme comprising the main paradigms and resources of the Zones of Regulation™ curriculum on teachers' sense of self-efficacy when managing autistic pupils' self-regulation needs in the mainstream primary school classroom. Purposive sampling was used to identify primary 5, 6 and 7 teachers with at least one autistic pupil with self-regulation needs in their current class. An occupational therapist with post-graduate qualifications in autism and sensory processing provided a 2.5-hour online training session on the Zones of Regulation™ curriculum for participants. The Teachers' Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES) was completed pre- and post-training and at two-month follow-up. The Usage Rating Profile-Intervention Revised was completed post-training and a survey exploring participants' experience of implementing the Zones of Regulation™ curriculum with their autistic pupils was completed at two-month follow-up. Findings showed that online training in the use of the Zones of Regulation™ curriculum significantly improved TSES scores for teachers (p < 0.001). The curriculum was also shown to be an acceptable, understandable and feasible intervention for primary school teachers in the mainstream classroom. This study suggests that education authorities should consider providing training opportunities on the Zones of Regulation™ curriculum to support teachers in the mainstream classroom. It also demonstrates the important role occupational therapists, with post-graduate qualifications in autism and sensory processing, have in capacity building within education.

According to Government guidance in the UK, improving attendance is everyone's business. This article sets out the work of one local authority to develop their own multi-agency approach to reduce rates of emotionally based school non-attendance. The Research and Development in Organisations model provided a structure for the action research process, which consisted of cycles of action and reflection, including awareness raising, reflections on current practice, and the integration of stakeholder views, resulting in an organisational culture shift and the production of professional guidance materials. Content analysis suggests that the development of a localised approach required time, with multi-agency collaboration to promote shared ownership of the products and processes across all stakeholders and to enhance uptake of positive changes to practice. Factors that facilitated the process included response to local need, multi-agency collaboration and positive feedback, while diminished capacity and misconceptions about roles and responsibilities in monitoring and improving attendance were barriers to change. The findings provide further evidence for the role of multi-agency working in the development of strategic support for school attendance difficulties to promote organisational change. Future research should evaluate the effectiveness of these approaches to better inform future support at an organisational level.