There is a great need in many countries for extended and new teacher competence to meet the challenges of inclusive education. This paper presents a national programme for developing new teacher competence in secondary schools in Norway. The programme was developed and implemented during the 1990s, its aim being to start a continuing process in…

When a child has some hearing loss, a great number of interdependent factors of human development, and more particularly linguistic development that come into play, is apparent. From a school perspective, some requirements can be met in order to make school the best place to enhance this linguistic development, while at the same time the deaf…

The present study examined whether ADHD children exhibit low verbal IQ (VIQ) and distinguishable test profile on the Verbal comprehension (VC) and Freedom from distractibility (FFD) factors, and whether gender influences their verbal abilities. At the Laboratory of Neuropsychology of the Department of Special Education, University of Thessaly,…

The aim of this paper is to discuss processes of inclusion and exclusion in compulsory classrooms where both Norwegian and Norwegian Sign Language (NSL) are used. The Norwegian Education Act 1998, section 2?6, gives deaf pupils who have acquired sign language as their first language 'the right to tuition in the use of sign language and through the…

This paper summarizes an action research project in five local areas in the south-west of England which aimed to support parents of children with dyslexic difficulties who were experiencing problems in obtaining appropriate provision in mainstream schools. It was based on the importance of effective parental partnership and quality inclusive…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceived high turnover of teachers working with pupils with severe and profound general learning disabilities in Ireland. Questionnaires and interviews were used to explore the situations in which teachers worked and their reasons for leaving or staying in teaching this group of pupils. The study…

The aims of the research were to identify the environmental factors that relate to the work of regular school teachers who have students with special needs in their classroom, and to find out the correlation between these factors and teacher burnout. A total 330 primary school teachers filled in a questionnaire that had three parts: (1) personal…

Do young men and women diagnosed with special educational needs succeed in finding full-time employment that provides sufficient income to live on? The analyses presented in this paper are based on interviews conducted between October 2001 and April 2002 of nearly 500 young people with various types of disabilities. The young people who were…

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the relationship between personal variables of physical education students and their attitudes towards participation of children with disabilities and self-efficacy (SE) in teaching students with disabilities in regular classes. A total 153 PE majors (95 females and 58 males) participated in the…

This paper considers the role of the Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO), the teacher responsible for the implementation of policies relating to the teaching and learning of children with special educational needs (SEN) in mainstream schools in England and Wales. SENCOs also have a role to play in the inclusion of children with learning…

Children with specific speech and language difficulties (SSLD) pose a challenge to the education system as a result of their language needs and associated educational and social-behavioural difficulties. Local education authorities (LEAs) in England and Wales have developed language units to meet their needs but previous research has indicated…

Within the UK educational authorities have a legal duty to undertake an assessment of children who are deemed to have 'special educational needs' and to draw up plans for meeting these needs. The procedures used are currently under review, and as a contribution to this a study of parental views was commissioned in Northern Ireland. Over 1000…

This study investigated the possibility of enhancing the level of preschoolers number sense by introducing two intervention programmes, "Lets think!" and "Young children with special educational needs count, too!" Forty-five preschoolers, mean age 66.4 months, were randomly assigned to the experimental and control groups. The experimental group…

This article argues that if the policy of inclusion in Great Britain is to have value, impact, and longevity it needs to be considered in the light of the prevailing real-world context of special education-focused teacher education. Recommendations are made for addressing special education in teacher education programs. (Contains references.) (CR)

This article questions whether the British National Literacy Strategy is raising the achievement of lower attainers and suggests adaptations, based on a Literacy Acceleration program. Literacy Acceleration is described as providing secondary-age students with reading difficulties with daily, specific teaching and individual attention within groups…