The Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 aimed, among other things, to increase parents' rights in relation to the education of their children. In addition to the creation of the Additional Supports Needs Tribunals for Scotland, parents were given new rights to challenge local authority decisions through mediation and…

Increasingly, children with Down Syndrome are attending mainstream schools, but evidence suggests that these children are more prone to peer rejection and other problems when compared with their non-disabled counterparts. However, relatively little is known about children's attitudes toward their peers with moderate to serious learning…

The present study examined how vulnerability and protective factors at the individual level (child's disabilities; patterns of attachment), and at the family level (fathers'/mothers' affect), help explain differences in socioemotional and behavioural adjustment among children aged 8-12 years with comorbid learning disability (LD) and attention…

To support the national and international aims of inclusion, "special teacher" training in Sweden was replaced in 1990 by "special educator" training. These special educators would supervise the teachers in their school and would not exclusively teach students. The aim of this study was to investigate what the principals of 14 municipal compulsory…

This paper examines developments in inclusive education in Bulgaria (BG) and Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) in the context of actual and desired accession to the European Union respectively. It seeks to provide insights into the national special education traditions in these countries and aims to establish how these have influenced current…

The number of pupils with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) who receive their education in mainstream schools in the UK has increased considerably over the last 10 years. Despite this increase, teachers and other support staff face a number of challenges in order to ensure that these inclusive arrangements bring maximum benefits to the children…

The focus of this study was a parent-teacher collaborative teaming model in which knowledge and practice of designing and implementing supports was based on a dynamic and creative interaction of people committed to the inclusion of a child with disabilities in a general education setting. The effectiveness of the teaming model on the academic and…

Drawing on the perspectives of pupils with physical disabilities, their parents and teachers, this study explored the adult support provided to pupils with physical disabilities in regular schools. Data were collected through observations at schools and qualitative interviews. In all, 49 individuals participated in this study: 14 pupils with…

This study investigated the benefits of computer-assisted instruction (CAI) for middle-school students attending remedial reading classes. As a supplement to a strong language-based reading curriculum, a CAI programme that works on strengthening phonics word identification skills was provided to students in the treatment group. These students were…

The aim of the present study was to evaluate six characteristics of effective special pre-school teachers, similar to those used in the relevant literature. The study participants were all special teachers (n = 226), serving in Greek state and community pre-primary educational institutions (i.e. kindergartens and day nurseries) for children with…

The objectives of the study were to examine the characteristics of non-referred children with behaviour difficulties (BD) (such as verbal and physical aggression towards children and objects), aged 9-12 years and attending mainstream schools, and to compare them with children with no BD. The second objective was to evaluate the contribution of a…

A presupposition of inclusive education is that all children have the right to attend the school of their neighbourhood. The implication of this is that schools begin to be organised in ways to provide equal opportunities for teaching and learning of all children. However, to achieve this, it is implied that schools need more teachers or at least…

A recent review of educational provision for children with special educational needs by the House of Commons Education and Skills Committee in 2006 singled out children with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) as being in need of special attention and highlighted the frustration felt by parents. One implication is that parents of children with ASD…

The ambiguous results of existing intervention programmes show the need for new ways in research on aggression among children. The present study focuses on the children's own perspective on their aggressive behaviour. Based on a constructivist approach, the inner logic of narratives about peer conflicts of 64 children in Dutch special education…

Since the 1989 revolution in Romania, the educational system has experienced tremendous reform efforts. These reform efforts continue with Romania's admission into the European Union. The area of special education has been particularly engaged in systemic reform given that students with disabilities were particularly underserved prior to the…