Legislation and policy within Croatia, the Republic of North Macedonia and Poland supports the educational inclusion of children with autism; however, such inclusion is nascent in these countries. A survey of experienced teachers working directly with children with autism in both inclusive and special schools was undertaken in winter 2018-19. Five…

The closure of schools worldwide in response to the COVID-19 pandemic required parents to undertake key pedagogical roles to support their children's education and movement to a remote, often virtual world of online teaching presented many challenges for families. For the parents of children attending special schools, the loss of educational, as…

This paper is about English parents' experiences of making decisions about special school placements in the national context of rising special school placements and more parental choice and school diversity. The aim of this research was to investigate whether the current legislative focus on optimising parent choice operates as intended from the…

This article explores two aspects of special needs education (SNE) for pupils in compulsory schools in Finland and Norway, who according to official procedures, have been granted SNE. The two aspects are "educational settings" for the implementation of SNE and "formal competence" among those who implement the SNE to which the…

Cross-country comparisons in education using statistics have become increasingly common; however, they are not without difficulties. This paper explores comparative data published by the Educational Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education (EASIE) focusing on the indicator showing the percentage of pupils with Special Educational Needs…

Paraprofessional support to enable access to education has developed in differing directions in a range of countries. In Ireland, the role of the special needs assistant has focused on supporting the additional care needs of children with special educational needs to ensure their participation in lessons. The role of the special needs assistant…

A lot of legislative changes have taken place on inclusive education. This had consequences at all educational levels (primary, secondary and higher education (HE)). In the context of these changes, there was a need for more research focused on attitudes towards inclusion and the preparation of pre-service teachers for inclusive education. Recent…

The paper aims to explore ways in which mothers of children with cerebral palsy (CP) attempt to voice their concerns about current discourses and power imbalances enshrined in special education policy and provision. Mothers' narratives are important in making transparent the multiple forms of 'disablism' experienced by them in their attempts to…

In 2014 a new policy for special educational needs and disability (SEND) provision was introduced in England. As it has been the case in countries where SEND reforms were introduced, these changes raised challenges and opportunities for the professionals supporting children with SEND. However, to date, little systematic and large-scale evidence…

According to government policy in Ireland, special needs assistants (SNAs) may be employed in post-primary schools to support students deemed to have chronic and serious care needs. There is currently no national policy regarding the continuing professional development (CPD) of SNAs, to meet the requirements of their role. This study investigated…

Relying on Bronfenbrenner's ecological model, this paper attempts to identify school-level factors that contribute to effective implementation of inclusive education. We also explored how government policy, with emphasis on individual education plans, school teams, Roma assistants and inter-sectorial committees, is implemented at the school level.…

This paper considers the role of Special Educational Needs Coordinators (SENCOs) in mainstream post-primary schools (12-18 years) in Ireland. Little is known of the role in the Irish context and it is hoped that this research will inform policy. The Irish educational landscape has witnessed seismic change recently with further transformation…

This article presents findings from a recent national study supported by Association for Higher Education Access & Disability and the National Learning Network (2016) to investigate the experiences of students with mental health difficulties in higher education in Ireland. The data investigation was a combination of both survey and qualitative…

Implementing the principles of inclusive education within higher education can be challenging. Inclusive education was originally developed for younger students, prior to its application within higher education. However, as more students with disabilities successfully complete their early schooling, the need to move towards inclusive practices…

Policy and practice in relation to meeting the diverse needs of all children, including those with special educational needs (SEN) and disabilities, is in a state of change in the UK. As a result, there is growing interest in and understanding of the need to focus on factors which impact on teachers' levels of self-efficacy in meeting the needs of…