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Article
Publication date: 4 February 2019

Mary Shine Thompson and Ann-Katrin Lena Svaerd

This paper aims to trace parallels in the unintended consequences of interpretations of special-needs law in Ireland and Sweden.

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to trace parallels in the unintended consequences of interpretations of special-needs law in Ireland and Sweden.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper is conceptual, based on Irish and Swedish legal reports, studies and national planning documents on supports for people with disabilities. It begins by discussing unintended consequences, and then analyses the Irish court decision in Sinnott v. Minister for Education (2001), which stated that the State’s obligation to provide for education for people with special education needs (SENs) ceases when they reach 18 years. It considers how economic considerations influenced that decision. The focus then diverts to Sweden’s human rights culture and the 1994 legislation, LSS (Sweden’s Act Concerning Support and Services for Persons with Certain Functional Impairments), which enshrines equality and support for people with disabilities, including personal assistance (PA). Cost-saving restrictions on PA allowances are discussed.

Findings

While the Irish State enacted a law on education rights following the Sinnott case the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act (2004), or EPSEN (2004), it restricts those rights, and sections remain uncommenced. The case may have exhausted litigation as a remedy for people with SENs. In Sweden, austerity diluted the impact of LSS, leading to reduced entitlements and intrusions on privacy. It allowed legal discourse to dominate discussion. Families were negatively affected. In both countries, human rights may have suffered. Identifying which consequences of the legal actions were unintended, and which party did not intend them, can be problematic.

Practical implications

The paper concludes that the courts limited entitlement to the detriment of people with disabilities, and that caution must be exercised in having recourse to law courts in settling entitlements.

Originality/value

The paper is an original analysis of unintended consequences of legal interventions in special-needs policy. It illustrates difficulties in matching visions and systemic requirements in legal and the educational domains.

Book part
Publication date: 7 July 2017

Michael Shevlin and Richard Rose

While national policies generally support the development of inclusive learning environments, schools can struggle to implement these policies in practice. This longitudinal study…

Abstract

While national policies generally support the development of inclusive learning environments, schools can struggle to implement these policies in practice. This longitudinal study offers a unique opportunity to examine at ground level the strengths and limitations of school attempts to implement inclusive practices in relation to children and young people who have special educational needs. This chapter will address the following: government and school policies addressing provision for children and young people with special educational needs; school leaders and implementing policies in practice; types of support provision developed to support those who have literacy difficulties.

Details

Inclusive Principles and Practices in Literacy Education
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78714-590-0

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 29 June 2023

Richard Rose and Michael Shevlin

Significant progress towards the provision of a more equitable and inclusive education system in Ireland has been made in recent years. National policy initiatives have been…

Abstract

Significant progress towards the provision of a more equitable and inclusive education system in Ireland has been made in recent years. National policy initiatives have been supported by the implementation of new assessment and resourcing models and procedures that aim to ensure appropriate support of children described as having special educational needs. A focus upon teacher training and professional development and consideration of education in the post-compulsory years have resulted in changes aimed at improving access and quality of services. This chapter through an interrogation of the research that has influenced changes in national policy and practices, and a scrutiny of associated literature, discusses both the successes achieved towards addressing national inclusive education priorities, and those areas which remain a challenge and in need of further investigation. Building upon a method for reviewing the literature developed by the authors and applied in Ireland as part of a major longitudinal study (Rose, Shevlin, Winter, & O'Raw, 2010) a discussion of the current situation is presented in relation to progress towards the Education for All Goals and key issues for further scrutiny are proposed.

Details

Interdisciplinary Perspectives on Special and Inclusive Education in a Volatile, Uncertain, Complex & Ambiguous (Vuca) World
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80382-529-8

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 4 February 2015

Richard Rose and Michael Shevlin

This chapter draws upon research conducted in the Republic of Ireland to discuss the views of students who have been identified as having a range of high and low-incidence special

Abstract

This chapter draws upon research conducted in the Republic of Ireland to discuss the views of students who have been identified as having a range of high and low-incidence special educational needs. The data reported within the chapter are taken from Project Inclusive Research in Irish Schools (IRIS), a longitudinal research investigation using a mixed methods approach conducted within the country. The chapter provides evidence that students with a range of needs are able to articulate their views of their learning needs, to comment upon approaches that they find helpful and to reflect upon their personal growth. The authors suggest that the insights that can be provided by students should inform the development of the curriculum and approaches to teaching.

Details

Including Learners with Low-Incidence Disabilities
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78441-250-0

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 20 September 2023

Richard Rose and Michael Shevlin

Significant progress towards the provision of a more equitable and inclusive education system in Ireland has been made in recent years. Through an interrogation of the research…

Abstract

Significant progress towards the provision of a more equitable and inclusive education system in Ireland has been made in recent years. Through an interrogation of the research that has influenced changes in national policy and practices, this chapter includes a discussion of associated literature, which addresses national inclusive education priorities in Ireland. Building upon a method for reviewing the literature applied in Ireland as part of a major longitudinal study (Rose et al., 2010), a discussion of the current situation is presented in relation to progress towards the Education for All Goals and key issues for further scrutiny are proposed.

Book part
Publication date: 18 January 2021

Joanne Banks

Increasingly, countries around the world are reforming their traditional ‘special educational needs’ funding models, many of which contradict the overarching principles of…

Abstract

Increasingly, countries around the world are reforming their traditional ‘special educational needs’ funding models, many of which contradict the overarching principles of inclusive education as set out in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with a Disability (UNCRPD). There is growing awareness across countries that the way education systems are financed directly shapes the extent to which schools can be inclusive. Spiralling costs have also influenced governments who have begun calling for ‘cost control’ and greater transparency and accountability in how resources are distributed and monies are spent. In Ireland, calls for a more equitable resource model for students with disabilities in mainstream education resulted in the introduction of a new system of funding which removed the need for diagnosis to receive supports. However, since ratification of the UNCRPD in 2018, Ireland's system of special education is being considered for full reform with the possibility of moving to a system of inclusive education and the removal of special schools and classes. This raises the question: can two separate funding streams, one for general education and one for special education ever exist in an inclusive system? Having one funding model for all students, although the logical choice, is the source of much concern among parents and disability advocates, many of whom fear it will lead to children with disabilities ‘falling through the cracks’ and used by government as a mechanism to reduce spending overall.

Details

Resourcing Inclusive Education
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-80043-456-1

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 16 September 2014

Ron Smith, Lani Florian, Martyn Rouse and John Anderson

This chapter aims to provide a critical analysis of special needs education within the United Kingdom today. Central to such an analysis is an understanding of the rapidly…

Abstract

This chapter aims to provide a critical analysis of special needs education within the United Kingdom today. Central to such an analysis is an understanding of the rapidly changing social and political milieu within which special needs education is embedded, including the rapidly changing demographics of schooling, and the devolution of political power into four separate but linked countries – England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Following a discussion of such wider social, political and educational issues, the authors explore the convergences and divergences in policy and practice across the four devolved administrations. The authors describe a plethora of contemporary policy developments within each of the four administrations that speak to the need for special needs education to change in response to 21st century concerns about the problems of access to, and equity in, education for all children. Despite this, the authors remain extremely circumspect about the potential of many of these developments to lead to successful inclusive practices and developments on the ground – and explain why. The analysis in the concluding section focuses on the issue of teacher education for inclusion and some very innovate UK research and development projects that have been reported to successfully engage teachers with new paradigm thinking and practice in the field of inclusive special needs education.

Details

Special Education International Perspectives: Practices Across the Globe
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78441-096-4

Book part
Publication date: 28 August 2019

Thomas Walsh and Rory Mc Daid

This chapter explores the issue of ethnic diversity and race discrimination among elementary school teachers in Ireland. It examines both the historical precedents of this…

Abstract

This chapter explores the issue of ethnic diversity and race discrimination among elementary school teachers in Ireland. It examines both the historical precedents of this discrimination and uses the current experiences of Immigrant Internationally Educated Teachers (IIETs) living in Ireland to explore the phenomenon contemporaneously. The chapter begins by delineating the historical context of immigration in Ireland and more recent population data. It then explores the relevant legislative provisions to address employment and race discrimination in the Irish context. Owing to the deep-seated and historical origins of the current race discrimination, a particular focus is placed on delineating the evolution of the selection and recruitment of elementary teachers in Ireland imbued with the right to teach in elementary schools. Drawing on data ascertained through semi-structured interviews with a range of IIETs, positioned within the aforementioned analyses of relevant historical documents, the chapter then moves to explore some experiences of IIETs seeking to work in the Irish elementary school system. The chapter analyses these data through a Bourdieuian lens, paying particular attention to ways in which power has been, and continues to be, exercised by the State in regulating access to prestigeful mainstream teaching positions. The chapter proceeds to root these analyses within Kitching’s work on ‘race moves’, arguing that immigrant teachers have been racialized as other on the basis of an absence of proficiency in the Irish language.

Details

Race Discrimination and Management of Ethnic Diversity and Migration at Work
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78714-594-8

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 September 1963

WE are pleased to devote this Special Number of THE LIBRARY WORLD to a discussion of Irish libraries and librarianship. Our contributors are all distinguished members of the…

Abstract

WE are pleased to devote this Special Number of THE LIBRARY WORLD to a discussion of Irish libraries and librarianship. Our contributors are all distinguished members of the profession in Ireland, none more so than Dermot Foley, to whom we are greatly indebted for having convened this issue.

Details

New Library World, vol. 65 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0307-4803

Abstract

Details

Teacher Preparation in Ireland
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78714-512-2

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