Pub Date : 2021-04-03DOI: 10.1080/13632752.2021.1930909
Sarah Martin‐Denham
ABSTRACT In the UK, there is growing concern regarding the increasing prevalence of social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) difficulties experienced by children and young people. Using thematic analysis, this study sought ‘to determine how a sample of headteachers (HTs) define, identify and recognise underlying causes of SEMH difficulties’. The analysis found no consensus among the HTs regarding a definition for SEMH, but identified three themes: common characteristics used to define SEMH difficulties; information seeking to identify SEMH difficulties; and how HTs recognise origins and outcomes of SEMH difficulties. The results suggest that headteachers identify behavioural ‘problems and difficulties’ as a SEN, despite this not being a category within the SEND code of practice. To improve identification and response to SEMH difficulties, it is recommended that the Department for Education revises language in statutory guidance from ‘should’ and ‘could’ to ‘must’, to enforce a legal duty on schools for prompt identification of needs.
{"title":"Defining, identifying, and recognising underlying causes of social, emotional and mental health difficulties: thematic analysis of interviews with headteachers in England","authors":"Sarah Martin‐Denham","doi":"10.1080/13632752.2021.1930909","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/13632752.2021.1930909","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT In the UK, there is growing concern regarding the increasing prevalence of social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) difficulties experienced by children and young people. Using thematic analysis, this study sought ‘to determine how a sample of headteachers (HTs) define, identify and recognise underlying causes of SEMH difficulties’. The analysis found no consensus among the HTs regarding a definition for SEMH, but identified three themes: common characteristics used to define SEMH difficulties; information seeking to identify SEMH difficulties; and how HTs recognise origins and outcomes of SEMH difficulties. The results suggest that headteachers identify behavioural ‘problems and difficulties’ as a SEN, despite this not being a category within the SEND code of practice. To improve identification and response to SEMH difficulties, it is recommended that the Department for Education revises language in statutory guidance from ‘should’ and ‘could’ to ‘must’, to enforce a legal duty on schools for prompt identification of needs.","PeriodicalId":46308,"journal":{"name":"EMOTIONAL AND BEHAVIOURAL DIFFICULTIES","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2021-04-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"84535717","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-04-03DOI: 10.1080/13632752.2021.1923649
Toni Maglica, Katija Kalebić Jakupčević, Ina Reić Ercegovac
ABSTRACT This research aimed to explore the role of parental characteristics and mindful parenting in risk behaviour of adolescents. A total of 604 participants took part in the study, out of which N = 361 were adolescents aged 13 to 18, N = 158 were their mothers, and N = 85 fathers. To achieve the aim of the research, the following questionnaires were used: The General Data Questionnaire for Adolescents and Parents, The Adolescent Risk Behaviour Questionnaire, The Family Satisfaction Scale, and The Mindful Parenting Questionnaire. The results indicated that male adolescents report more often on violent behaviour, while girls report symptoms of eating disorders and they are less satisfied with their life. Related to age, older adolescents report lower life and family satisfaction and more often normative undesirable behaviour. The family satisfaction of adolescents, as well as mindful parenting, are negatively associated with risk behaviour, while the focus of attention on the child, self-efficacy, and empathy is positively related to the satisfaction of adolescents. The results support existing knowledge in this field and have strong practical implications for prevention and treatment interventions targeting family context.
{"title":"Risk behaviours in adolescence: predictive role of mindful parenting","authors":"Toni Maglica, Katija Kalebić Jakupčević, Ina Reić Ercegovac","doi":"10.1080/13632752.2021.1923649","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/13632752.2021.1923649","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT This research aimed to explore the role of parental characteristics and mindful parenting in risk behaviour of adolescents. A total of 604 participants took part in the study, out of which N = 361 were adolescents aged 13 to 18, N = 158 were their mothers, and N = 85 fathers. To achieve the aim of the research, the following questionnaires were used: The General Data Questionnaire for Adolescents and Parents, The Adolescent Risk Behaviour Questionnaire, The Family Satisfaction Scale, and The Mindful Parenting Questionnaire. The results indicated that male adolescents report more often on violent behaviour, while girls report symptoms of eating disorders and they are less satisfied with their life. Related to age, older adolescents report lower life and family satisfaction and more often normative undesirable behaviour. The family satisfaction of adolescents, as well as mindful parenting, are negatively associated with risk behaviour, while the focus of attention on the child, self-efficacy, and empathy is positively related to the satisfaction of adolescents. The results support existing knowledge in this field and have strong practical implications for prevention and treatment interventions targeting family context.","PeriodicalId":46308,"journal":{"name":"EMOTIONAL AND BEHAVIOURAL DIFFICULTIES","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2021-04-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"77363263","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-04-03DOI: 10.1080/13632752.2021.1930907
Gerardo Moreno
ABSTRACT Over the past several decades, public schools across the United States have experienced an increasingly visible diversity rift between student enrollment and teaching faculty. The number of students from diverse backgrounds continues to grow while educator ranks continue to become more homogeneous. This diversity rift presents several challenges that affect the quality of educational experiences for students from diverse backgrounds, often to detrimental longitudinal outcomes including the disproportionate use of exclusionary school discipline. The majority of educator preparation programmes continue to train future professionals in traditional, outdated classroom management practices that invoke reactive actions often resulting in suspension or expulsion. Such practices have disproportionately affected students from diverse backgrounds, most conspicuously Black males. However, there are several recommendations school organisations can implement to better prepare their faculty ranks to meet the behavioural needs of students without immediately resorting to exclusionary school discipline. This paper will discuss professional development options that emphasise educator objectivity (i.e., addressing implicit bias, unconditional positive regard) in tandem with evidence-based practices (i.e., positive-based behaviour management, classroom-based functional behavioural assessment) that can be incorporated in the general education classroom.
{"title":"Stemming exclusionary school discipline: implementing culturally attuned positive behavior practices","authors":"Gerardo Moreno","doi":"10.1080/13632752.2021.1930907","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/13632752.2021.1930907","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Over the past several decades, public schools across the United States have experienced an increasingly visible diversity rift between student enrollment and teaching faculty. The number of students from diverse backgrounds continues to grow while educator ranks continue to become more homogeneous. This diversity rift presents several challenges that affect the quality of educational experiences for students from diverse backgrounds, often to detrimental longitudinal outcomes including the disproportionate use of exclusionary school discipline. The majority of educator preparation programmes continue to train future professionals in traditional, outdated classroom management practices that invoke reactive actions often resulting in suspension or expulsion. Such practices have disproportionately affected students from diverse backgrounds, most conspicuously Black males. However, there are several recommendations school organisations can implement to better prepare their faculty ranks to meet the behavioural needs of students without immediately resorting to exclusionary school discipline. This paper will discuss professional development options that emphasise educator objectivity (i.e., addressing implicit bias, unconditional positive regard) in tandem with evidence-based practices (i.e., positive-based behaviour management, classroom-based functional behavioural assessment) that can be incorporated in the general education classroom.","PeriodicalId":46308,"journal":{"name":"EMOTIONAL AND BEHAVIOURAL DIFFICULTIES","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2021-04-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"80600578","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-03-17DOI: 10.1080/13632752.2021.1894743
L. Hickinbotham, A. Soni
ABSTRACT This article reports the findings from a systematic review of qualitative research evidence exploring the views of children and young people identified as having Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) needs and their experiences of the SEMH label. A systematic search identified seven papers that were reviewed using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) checklist. Thematic synthesis of the literature identified the impact of the SEMH label for children and young people as well as their perceptions of this label. Key themes included the negative and positive impact of labels associated with SEMH and the impact on children and young people’s identity. Implications for practice are considered including the importance of promoting the voice of children and young people in a description of their needs and working systemically with schools to raise awareness of the implications of language and to consider the impact of wider contextual factors on pupil’s difficulties.
{"title":"A systematic literature review exploring the views and experiences of children and young people of the label Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH)","authors":"L. Hickinbotham, A. Soni","doi":"10.1080/13632752.2021.1894743","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/13632752.2021.1894743","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT This article reports the findings from a systematic review of qualitative research evidence exploring the views of children and young people identified as having Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) needs and their experiences of the SEMH label. A systematic search identified seven papers that were reviewed using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) checklist. Thematic synthesis of the literature identified the impact of the SEMH label for children and young people as well as their perceptions of this label. Key themes included the negative and positive impact of labels associated with SEMH and the impact on children and young people’s identity. Implications for practice are considered including the importance of promoting the voice of children and young people in a description of their needs and working systemically with schools to raise awareness of the implications of language and to consider the impact of wider contextual factors on pupil’s difficulties.","PeriodicalId":46308,"journal":{"name":"EMOTIONAL AND BEHAVIOURAL DIFFICULTIES","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2021-03-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"83805803","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-02-26DOI: 10.1080/13632752.2021.1880731
Kevin Tan, Caitlin Yore, M. Hillen
ABSTRACT Office disciplinary referrals (ODRs) during students’ first year of high school have been understudied despite research indicating they undermine graduation rates. Based on two cohorts of 9th grade students from one high school in one American Midwestern state, trends in ODRs were analysed in relation to students’ and teachers’ ratings of students’ social, emotional, and behavioural needs. During a typical school day, ODRs steadily increased in the first two hours of the day, then stabilised between 10am and 2pm. ODRs also peaked on Wednesdays and in November, February, and April. Analyses comparing students without any ODRs to those referred once and two times or more showed that students’ self-rating of their positive social skills and teacher rating of problem behaviours were associated with lower likelihood of having an ODR. Implications for school supports to improve student experience during the first year of high school are discussed.
{"title":"Ninth grade office discipline referrals: the critical role of teachers in addressing students’ social, emotional, and behavioural needs","authors":"Kevin Tan, Caitlin Yore, M. Hillen","doi":"10.1080/13632752.2021.1880731","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/13632752.2021.1880731","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Office disciplinary referrals (ODRs) during students’ first year of high school have been understudied despite research indicating they undermine graduation rates. Based on two cohorts of 9th grade students from one high school in one American Midwestern state, trends in ODRs were analysed in relation to students’ and teachers’ ratings of students’ social, emotional, and behavioural needs. During a typical school day, ODRs steadily increased in the first two hours of the day, then stabilised between 10am and 2pm. ODRs also peaked on Wednesdays and in November, February, and April. Analyses comparing students without any ODRs to those referred once and two times or more showed that students’ self-rating of their positive social skills and teacher rating of problem behaviours were associated with lower likelihood of having an ODR. Implications for school supports to improve student experience during the first year of high school are discussed.","PeriodicalId":46308,"journal":{"name":"EMOTIONAL AND BEHAVIOURAL DIFFICULTIES","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2021-02-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"79060456","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-01-02DOI: 10.1080/13632752.2021.1898761
S. Power, Chris Taylor
ABSTRACT This paper contributes to our growing understanding of the processes underpinning contrasting rates of school exclusions both within and across the different jurisdictions of the UK. Wales is often compared favourably to its larger neighbour England, where rates of permanent exclusions have risen dramatically in recent years. One explanation for Wales’ lower rates might lie in the very different values which underpin its education policies. However, the prevailing policy discourse can only be part of the explanation and cannot account for the high levels of variation in rates of ‘official’ school exclusions across Wales, nor the many forms of ‘hidden’ exclusion going on in Welsh schools. Drawing on interview data with policy-makers and practitioners, this paper points to the need to explore how policy is enacted at the local level. This entails taking into account the often unacknowledged conditions in which schools operate and the unintended consequences of policy imperatives which can lead to outcomes that frustrate and undermine anti-exclusionary practices and processes.
{"title":"School exclusions in Wales: policy discourse and policy enactment","authors":"S. Power, Chris Taylor","doi":"10.1080/13632752.2021.1898761","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/13632752.2021.1898761","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT This paper contributes to our growing understanding of the processes underpinning contrasting rates of school exclusions both within and across the different jurisdictions of the UK. Wales is often compared favourably to its larger neighbour England, where rates of permanent exclusions have risen dramatically in recent years. One explanation for Wales’ lower rates might lie in the very different values which underpin its education policies. However, the prevailing policy discourse can only be part of the explanation and cannot account for the high levels of variation in rates of ‘official’ school exclusions across Wales, nor the many forms of ‘hidden’ exclusion going on in Welsh schools. Drawing on interview data with policy-makers and practitioners, this paper points to the need to explore how policy is enacted at the local level. This entails taking into account the often unacknowledged conditions in which schools operate and the unintended consequences of policy imperatives which can lead to outcomes that frustrate and undermine anti-exclusionary practices and processes.","PeriodicalId":46308,"journal":{"name":"EMOTIONAL AND BEHAVIOURAL DIFFICULTIES","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2021-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"89519899","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-01-02DOI: 10.1080/13632752.2021.1903182
G. McCluskey, D. Fry, S. Hamilton, A. King, M. Laurie, Lesley Mcara, Tracy M. Stewart
ABSTRACT Schools often provide structure and safety to students but particularly for vulnerable children and young people. The Covid 19 pandemic has caused unprecedented upheaval across society as a whole but it is clear that the effects are uneven and that some groups have been more directly and negatively impacted, both in the UK and globally. While there are now much helpful quantitative data on the effects of Covid 19 on education, there has been little in-depth qualitative study which examines the experiences and attitudes of young people as students and specifically the effect of school closures and exam cancellations on their mental health and wellbeing. This paper discusses findings from online group interviews with a total of 45 young people and aims to understand the impact on mental health and wellbeing and what young people, themselves, suggest would help mitigate the effects of the global pandemic on their mental health and wellbeing in school.
{"title":"School closures, exam cancellations and isolation: the impact of Covid-19 on young people’s mental health","authors":"G. McCluskey, D. Fry, S. Hamilton, A. King, M. Laurie, Lesley Mcara, Tracy M. Stewart","doi":"10.1080/13632752.2021.1903182","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/13632752.2021.1903182","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Schools often provide structure and safety to students but particularly for vulnerable children and young people. The Covid 19 pandemic has caused unprecedented upheaval across society as a whole but it is clear that the effects are uneven and that some groups have been more directly and negatively impacted, both in the UK and globally. While there are now much helpful quantitative data on the effects of Covid 19 on education, there has been little in-depth qualitative study which examines the experiences and attitudes of young people as students and specifically the effect of school closures and exam cancellations on their mental health and wellbeing. This paper discusses findings from online group interviews with a total of 45 young people and aims to understand the impact on mental health and wellbeing and what young people, themselves, suggest would help mitigate the effects of the global pandemic on their mental health and wellbeing in school.","PeriodicalId":46308,"journal":{"name":"EMOTIONAL AND BEHAVIOURAL DIFFICULTIES","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2021-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1080/13632752.2021.1903182","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"72469864","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-01-02DOI: 10.1080/13632752.2021.1913351
L. Ferguson
ABSTRACT This article draws on the impact of the ongoing pandemic to highlight the failure of the English legal regime to adequately protect children’s right to education, particularly equal access to education by especially vulnerable children. Ifirst outline key domestic and international legislative provisions positioned as securing children’s and parents’ rights in this context. Prior to the pandemic, there was growing recognition of the current regime's failings regarding illegal exclusions from school, children missing from education, and the lack of inclusive education for children with special educational needs and disabilities (‘SEND’). The protection of children’s rights relied on the benevolent exercise of discretion and key decision-makers not exploiting limited oversight and scrutiny in order to meet results-driven accountability measures. Second, I critically analyse pandemic law-making and regulation, particularly in relation to the exclusion process, the legal duty to provide education in an online environment, the law on Education, Health, and Care Plans (‘EHCPs’), and the de-registration and fines for non-attendance. Third, I argue that the educational impact of the pandemic highlights the need for law reform, rather than merely revisions to statutory guidance and focus on best practice. Such reform may also trigger improvement via the ‘reflexive regulation’ of the education system.
{"title":"Vulnerable children’s right to education, school exclusion, and pandemic law-making","authors":"L. Ferguson","doi":"10.1080/13632752.2021.1913351","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/13632752.2021.1913351","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT This article draws on the impact of the ongoing pandemic to highlight the failure of the English legal regime to adequately protect children’s right to education, particularly equal access to education by especially vulnerable children. Ifirst outline key domestic and international legislative provisions positioned as securing children’s and parents’ rights in this context. Prior to the pandemic, there was growing recognition of the current regime's failings regarding illegal exclusions from school, children missing from education, and the lack of inclusive education for children with special educational needs and disabilities (‘SEND’). The protection of children’s rights relied on the benevolent exercise of discretion and key decision-makers not exploiting limited oversight and scrutiny in order to meet results-driven accountability measures. Second, I critically analyse pandemic law-making and regulation, particularly in relation to the exclusion process, the legal duty to provide education in an online environment, the law on Education, Health, and Care Plans (‘EHCPs’), and the de-registration and fines for non-attendance. Third, I argue that the educational impact of the pandemic highlights the need for law reform, rather than merely revisions to statutory guidance and focus on best practice. Such reform may also trigger improvement via the ‘reflexive regulation’ of the education system.","PeriodicalId":46308,"journal":{"name":"EMOTIONAL AND BEHAVIOURAL DIFFICULTIES","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2021-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"78330925","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-01-02DOI: 10.1080/13632752.2021.1900998
Gavin Duffy, G. Robinson, Tony Gallagher, Michelle Templeton
ABSTRACT Across the four UK jurisdictions, there are distinct disparities in exclusion rates of school students. Northern Ireland, alongside Scotland and Wales, has demonstrated over time, lower rates of permanent exclusions and temporary exclusions compared with England. This paper examines these disparities from the perspectives of representatives from various system-level educational bodies and third sector organisations representing children and families who experienced the exclusion process. The paper will also present policy and legal frameworks associated with exclusion in Northern Ireland. We interviewed 9 stakeholders, associated with practices of school exclusion in Northern Ireland, from a range of system-level education bodies and advocacy groups. Findings include positive strategies perceived to keep exclusion levels low, types of obstacles or resistance to anti-exclusion policy, participants’ perspectives on unofficial exclusion practice, and perspectives on official exclusion data. What emerges from interviews is a series of tensions between implementing a child-centred approach and diminishing support services and resources. We conclude that those working within the Northern Ireland education system, are committed to an inclusive approach. However, the development and implementation of effective supporting frameworks take time and consultation, and there is evidence of tension between the perceptions of those working at a system-level and those working in schools.
{"title":"School exclusion disparities in the UK: a view from Northern Ireland","authors":"Gavin Duffy, G. Robinson, Tony Gallagher, Michelle Templeton","doi":"10.1080/13632752.2021.1900998","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/13632752.2021.1900998","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Across the four UK jurisdictions, there are distinct disparities in exclusion rates of school students. Northern Ireland, alongside Scotland and Wales, has demonstrated over time, lower rates of permanent exclusions and temporary exclusions compared with England. This paper examines these disparities from the perspectives of representatives from various system-level educational bodies and third sector organisations representing children and families who experienced the exclusion process. The paper will also present policy and legal frameworks associated with exclusion in Northern Ireland. We interviewed 9 stakeholders, associated with practices of school exclusion in Northern Ireland, from a range of system-level education bodies and advocacy groups. Findings include positive strategies perceived to keep exclusion levels low, types of obstacles or resistance to anti-exclusion policy, participants’ perspectives on unofficial exclusion practice, and perspectives on official exclusion data. What emerges from interviews is a series of tensions between implementing a child-centred approach and diminishing support services and resources. We conclude that those working within the Northern Ireland education system, are committed to an inclusive approach. However, the development and implementation of effective supporting frameworks take time and consultation, and there is evidence of tension between the perceptions of those working at a system-level and those working in schools.","PeriodicalId":46308,"journal":{"name":"EMOTIONAL AND BEHAVIOURAL DIFFICULTIES","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2021-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"73502792","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2021-01-02DOI: 10.1080/13632752.2021.1900999
J. Porter, J. Ingram
ABSTRACT Pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) are disproportionately over-represented in official statistics on exclusion suggesting that mainstream schools are failing to meet their needs. We argue for the importance of looking at the cultures of schooling. School belonging (or connectedness) has been widely associated with a raft of positive outcomes although there is relatively little research that has focused on pupils with SEND. This paper contributes to that gap presenting questionnaire data collected on the barriers and supports to inclusion and girls’ feelings of belonging in school. The needs of girls who identify as having SEND can be more difficult to discern, their strategies for coping effectively masking their difficulties. Our data reveal that the girls in the study with SEND feel less connected to school than other girls. Their scores for their sense of belonging were significantly associated with the barriers and supports they encounter across a range of school contexts. It was the relational aspects of schooling that were most important for girls with SEND. Feeling you belong means that you feel safe to be yourself, that you don’t need to hide your “quirky bits,” with the attendant demands on mental health.
{"title":"Changing the exclusionary practices of mainstream secondary schools: the experience of girls with SEND. ‘I have some quirky bits about me that I mostly hide from the world’","authors":"J. Porter, J. Ingram","doi":"10.1080/13632752.2021.1900999","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/13632752.2021.1900999","url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) are disproportionately over-represented in official statistics on exclusion suggesting that mainstream schools are failing to meet their needs. We argue for the importance of looking at the cultures of schooling. School belonging (or connectedness) has been widely associated with a raft of positive outcomes although there is relatively little research that has focused on pupils with SEND. This paper contributes to that gap presenting questionnaire data collected on the barriers and supports to inclusion and girls’ feelings of belonging in school. The needs of girls who identify as having SEND can be more difficult to discern, their strategies for coping effectively masking their difficulties. Our data reveal that the girls in the study with SEND feel less connected to school than other girls. Their scores for their sense of belonging were significantly associated with the barriers and supports they encounter across a range of school contexts. It was the relational aspects of schooling that were most important for girls with SEND. Feeling you belong means that you feel safe to be yourself, that you don’t need to hide your “quirky bits,” with the attendant demands on mental health.","PeriodicalId":46308,"journal":{"name":"EMOTIONAL AND BEHAVIOURAL DIFFICULTIES","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":1.0,"publicationDate":"2021-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"82186582","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}