As students who have difficulty in acquiring the basic processes in reading are significantly disadvantaged in later schooling, there is a need for effective interventions for young at-risk students. Reading Recovery is the most widely known and extensively promoted intervention for young struggling readers. However, serious reservations have been…

A review is provided of recent research literature on the topic of troublesome classroom behaviour, published over the past decade or so with particular reference to research carried out in Australian schools. Nine Australian studies are reviewed, as well as a further seven from the USA, Hong Kong, Jordan, Greece and Malta. Seven of the studies…

The aim of this article is to promote discussion and professional development around the topic of learning difficulties in mathematics, particularly as these pertain to teaching and learning in the middle school years. The article has three sections. In the first section, a review of literature about learning difficulties (LD) in mathematics is…

An alternating treatments design was used to compare the effectiveness of activity-based intervention and didactic instruction to teach sight word reading to four young children with developmental delays attending an inclusive child care centre. Following the collection of baseline measures, the two interventions, counterbalanced for word lists…

Given concern about the decreasing numbers of staff with qualifications in special education in Victorian government specialist schools (schools for students with special educational needs), a survey was distributed to all 81 of these schools to gather information about teacher qualifications and age. A very high response rate of 94% was obtained.…

This study examined the perceptions of teacher aides regarding their roles and responsibilities in supporting senior students with special needs in mainstream secondary school settings. Fourteen teacher aides were interviewed using a semi-structured interview guide to determine their views regarding their roles and responsibilities, the challenges…

In this article, the author gives an overview of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is an international human rights convention that sets out the fundamental human rights of people with disabilities. The Convention sets out general and specific obligations for…

This brief report describes recent data on the enrolment of students in New South Wales (NSW) government special schools and special classes. There has been an increase in both special school and special class enrolments since 1998 with large increases among students with emotional disturbance. This pattern is briefly discussed in relation to…

Increasing numbers of students in Higher Education (HE) have dyslexia and are particularly over represented in the visual and creative arts. While dyslexia has been associated with artistic talent, some applicants may perceive their academic opportunities as limited because of negative learning experiences associated with their dyslexia. This…

Evaluation of the Get REAL programme in an inclusive primary school setting has indicated its effectiveness in promoting pro-social behaviour for children with high functioning Autism. However, two children with co-morbid diagnoses and complex personal circumstances showed less consistent improvements. In order to explain their unique…

This study explored deaf and hearing university students' metacognitive awareness with regard to comprehension difficulties during reading and classroom instruction. Utilising the Reading Awareness Inventory (Milholic, V. 1994. "An inventory to pique students' metacognitive awareness of reading strategies." "Journal of…

Schools in England (as elsewhere in Europe) have a duty to promote equality for disabled people and make reasonable adjustments for disabled children. There is, however, a degree of uncertainty about how well-placed parents are addressed to use the legislation to ensure their child's needs. This paper presents data drawn from a national…

Teacher education for inclusive education is a key priority in the UK and internationally, with much research exploring how pre-service teachers can be prepared to educate pupils with Special Educational Needs (SEN). However, this has resulted in less consideration of how pre-service teachers can be prepared to work with the "parents" of…

Positive changes to pre-service teacher education programmes (PSTEPs), driven in part by changing worldwide policy frameworks around inclusion, are occurring, albeit slowly. After briefly reviewing international trends and key policy and legislation platforms in New Zealand and Australia, this paper explores some of the challenges in enhancing…

This study reports on the development and use of an analytical framework for interrogating the practice of newly qualified mainstream teachers recently graduated from a one-year Professional Graduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) that was informed by a concept of inclusive pedagogy. Inclusive pedagogy is an approach to teaching and learning that…