British Journal of Special Education最新文献

The increasing use of mobile devices in educational settings is mainly attributable to the significant contributions made by technological advancements. These devices now make it possible to incorporate mobile applications, such as augmented reality (AR), in order to provide students with learning disabilities with assistance in improving their writing skills. A qualitative semi-structured interview was conducted with 12 expert special education teachers who specialised in learning disabilities to identify the challenges faced by students with learning disabilities in improving writing skills and the prospects of using AR to improve writing skills among these students. This study examines the specific challenges faced by students with learning disabilities in improving writing skills and explores the potential of AR to enhance their learning experiences. The research seeks to establish a foundation for designing and developing AR writing interventions designed to meet the distinct requirements of students with learning disabilities, based on analysis of the feedback and observations provided by special education teachers. The results emphasise the importance of incorporating cutting-edge educational technology, such as AR, to facilitate learning in special education settings. Interviews with special education teachers revealed themes related to students' challenges in improving their writing skills. Simultaneously, the study explores the potential of AR in delivering targeted interventions that actively involve students and enhance educational achievements. The findings of this research improve our understanding of how to effectively incorporate AR tools into special education settings to promote the development of students' writing skills.

This doctoral study explored headteachers' lived experiences of leading trauma-informed education in their special schools for pupils with adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) needs throughout and since the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. Five headteachers of SEMH special day schools in England participated in semi-structured interviews in late 2023. Transcripts were examined using interpretative phenomenological analysis. The interviews focused on participants' perspectives on their leadership during and since the pandemic, including in light of Government policy and guidance, and their perceived impacts on their schools, pupils and themselves. Key lessons include recommending that policymakers seek to understand the sector better by consulting those with lived experience of leading, working at, and attending SEMH special schools. In doing so, this understanding should inform smarter policy that better supports pupils with ACEs and SEMH needs in future emergencies. The research also identifies the need to provide more effective support to headteachers during times of crisis.

Flexischooling—the sharing of a child's education between home and school through formal agreement—is one of a range of ‘alternative’ education approaches that may adapt education to meet a child's special educational needs. This study considers qualitative data from an online survey conducted during November and December 2023 regarding parents' reasons for undertaking flexischooling with their child, and the activities they describe their children undertaking during school hours. Findings suggest that parents are concerned about the challenges that they feel their child faces in full-time school, but that they also perceive advantages, both social and academic, to the ‘not-school’ element of the educational approach they are undertaking. Consideration of the potential for flexischooling to support parents as they learn about their child's ever-changing needs is discussed.

We examined the efficacy of two interventions aiming to strengthen argumentative text comprehension in Greek secondary students with specific reading disability or low reading achievement of unspecified cause. The first intervention (control group, n = 29) was based on principles of systematic explicit instruction, whereas in the second one (experimental group, n = 30) the repeated reading strategy (RRS) was added. Both the control and the experimental groups included students with specific reading disability or low reading achievement. The control group received 24 lessons of 60 min each, whereas the experimental group received one extra lesson to ensure participants' familiarisation with the use of RRS. Both groups presented significantly higher achievement at post-test than at pre-test, as shown by measurements for which a standardised and a researcher-made reading comprehension tool were used. The effect size of both interventions was high (control group: 0.85, experimental group: 0.81). Results are discussed in terms of the effectiveness of systematic explicit instruction in teaching argumentative text comprehension to secondary struggling readers.

This study examines the impact of an auditory integration-based developmental support programme on the sensory development and self-regulation skills of children with autism aged three to five years in Turkey. This mixed-methodology research combined quantitative and qualitative methods, and data were collected using a general information form, the individual needs determination form, the adapted autism behaviour checklist (ABC), the Gilliam autism rating scale-2-Turkish version (GARS-2-T), the sense and self-regulation checklist (SSC) and semi-structured interviews. An AB model was used to determine the effectiveness of the auditory integration programme in supporting the sensory and self-regulation skills of children with autism. The quantitative data were graphically analysed, while the qualitative data underwent content analysis. The findings establish that the children's final evaluation results were lower than their initial assessments, signifying that the intervention had a positive impact. The qualitative data obtained from interviews with the participating children's mothers concurred with the quantitative results, and the mothers expressed favourable views regarding the programme.

Inclusive education affords all learners, particularly learners with disabilities, access to equitable educational services. Despite the widespread recognition and extensive scholarly attention of the 2015 Inclusive Education Policy, learners with disabilities in Ghana continue to struggle to fully participate in inclusive schools. Guided by provisions in the Disability Act of Ghana, Act 715 of 2006—a key legal framework protecting the rights of people with disabilities—this study seeks to evaluate the experiences of learners with disabilities and their families in navigating and accessing inclusive education. Employing the critical disability theory lens, the study adopted a qualitative descriptive design and purposively recruited learners with physical disabilities and visual impairments (n = 25) and their families (n = 20). Content analysis was subsequently applied to the data. Despite legal provisions for inclusive education, participants experienced financial barriers, inadequate inclusive education resources, difficulties with the built environment and labelling. This study calls for a multisectoral approach, including policy reforms, improved resource allocation, infrastructural investments and expedited public education, aimed towards promoting access to inclusive education for learners with disabilities.

It is crucial for students with learning disabilities (SLDs) to possess psychological resilience in order to pursue their careers as entrepreneurial individuals. One of the areas where entrepreneurship skills are taught in middle school is in science courses. This shows the importance of teaching psychological resilience in science courses. On the basis of this idea, the present study aims to determine the views and suggestions of science teachers on the psychological resilience of SLDs as well as the course processes they carry out in order to foster this trait. Individual and focus group interviews were conducted with 15 science teachers and observations were recorded with two science teachers. Interview and observation forms were developed, taking into account the indicators of the four dimensions of resilience: coping with stress, communication, assertiveness and problem-solving skills. The study revealed that science teachers did not implement teaching processes to develop the psychological resilience of SLDs and that they considered themselves professionally inadequate in this regard. The science teachers suggested that activities based on learning by practice and experience, collaboration with different businesses and project-based teaching could be effective in improving the psychological resilience of SLDs.