International studies have raised concerns about the academic and social implications of inclusive policies on school engagement and successful learning and, in particular, on the ways in which friendships are formed between students with SEN and other students. This article stems from research findings which show that Irish children with special…

The aim of this study was to examine the contribution of dynamic testing in the measuring of children's need for instruction and to explore responses of special education teachers to dynamic testing results. Thirty-six 10-12-year-old children with a moderate to mild intellectual disability and their teachers participated. Children in the…

According to Blatchford, learning support assistants (LSA) in schools within England comprise of a quarter of their workforce. In recent years, the inclusion of children with special educational needs (SEN) in mainstream school settings has seen significant rises. Furthermore, the English government has raised expectations on the amount of…

Within categories of special educational needs, emotional and behavioural difficulties have received much attention in recent years, particularly in relation to their definition and identification by parents and teachers. This paper stems from previous research which highlights how children from disadvantaged backgrounds and those attending…

In this study 20 beginning special education teachers were asked to describe their experiences in general education settings. To provide data, each teacher completed approximately three electronic reflective journals during a school year and also participated in a phone interview, which was aimed to give in-depth information regarding the…

Parents' involvement in their children's education is known to be an important predictor of a range of adaptive outcomes. For learners with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), lack of parental engagement and confidence has been highlighted as a problematic issue. Given this, the objectives of the current study were to: (i) determine…

The education of pupils with special educational needs in Ireland has generally been influenced by national and international inclusion policy and legislation so that the majority of these children now take their place alongside peers in mainstream classrooms. In Ireland, a support network comprising the teacher and additional classroom assistance…

This article presents a selection of findings from a literature review of best practice models and outcomes in the education of visually impaired children. The review suggested that a key focus of research in this area has been upon the concept of "access", particularly with regards to barriers children with visual impairment face in accessing…

This paper deals with English teachers who work with deaf and hard-of-hearing (D/HH) students. In France deaf students are required to attend foreign language classes--mostly English classes. The purpose is not to teach them British sign language (BSL) or American sign language (ASL), but written and/or spoken English. Indeed, sign languages are…

The purpose of the present paper is to investigate how different occupational groups explain why children have problems in school, how they believe schools should help these children and the role they believe that special educational needs coordinators (SENCOs) should have in such work. A questionnaire was distributed to all teaching and support…

Under the aegis of inclusion, greater numbers of learning support assistants (LSAs) in mainstream and special schools are increasingly required to assist teachers with pupils who have complex needs across the full age range. Because of the numerous and wide-ranging learning difficulties and learning disabilities in addition to sensory impairment,…

There has been a growing emphasis in recent years on inter-agency working in respect of the care and development of children. This is of particular relevance when considering the needs of children with special educational needs (SEN). Teachers and healthcare professionals are two groups who need to have a clear understanding of the meaning and…

Teaching assistants (TAs) are part of a growing international trend toward paraprofessionals working in public services. There has been controversy over TAs' deployment and appropriate role when supporting the learning of pupils with special educational needs (SEN) in mainstream schools. Such debates have been transformed by findings from a large…

This paper reports a field test of a new system of Graded Learning Support Classification Matrix to determine special educational needs (SEN) in a more systemic way, proposed by the Belgian Ministry of Education (Flanders Region), to put a barrier to the trend of referrals to special education schools. It is not directly determined by a child's…

Provision for pupils with special educational needs in Ireland has undergone considerable change and review in the first decade of the twenty-first century. In response to international demands for a more equitable education system that recognises diversity and considers how schools might address the needs of pupils who have been previously…