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Article
Publication date: 9 July 2021

Irina Kuznetsova, Layla Garapshina and Laysan Mukharyamova

This paper aims to fill the gap in social sciences research on parents’ strategies in navigating preschool education in Russia. It focusses on the barriers that children with…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to fill the gap in social sciences research on parents’ strategies in navigating preschool education in Russia. It focusses on the barriers that children with developmental disabilities and autism face in preschool education in Russia and highlights the emerging facilitators of inclusive education.

Design/methodology/approach

It uses a modified labelling approach analysing strategies of withdrawal and resistance. The research included semi-structured interviews with parents of children with Down syndrome, Rett syndrome and autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in 2013–2014 and 2018–2019 and semi-structured interviews with professionals in Tatarstan, Russia. The data analysis was based on constructivist methods and grounded theory.

Findings

Although Russian law guarantees equal access to education for every child and requires the development of inclusive education, children with developmental disabilities, including autism, are often stigmatised at the preschool stage, both in special needs and mainstream institutions. Parents use various strategies to navigate access to preschool education and try more than one strategy from secrecy and withdrawal to resistance. Parents challenged the mainstream educational structures in Kazan and established groups for children with autism in some mainstream kindergartens and classes in mainstream schools.

Research limitations/implications

There should be informational support for parents with different options for special needs education, providing integrative and inclusive education. It is necessary to increase the number of trained specialists in special needs and mainstream kindergartens in Russia for children with developmental disabilities and ASD. More study is required to overcome stigmatisation and increase tolerance towards persons with developmental disabilities in Russia both on a national and local level.

Practical implications

The research findings can be useful for countries which have recently recognised ASD and do not have inclusive preschool educational practices and where labelling towards children with developmental disabilities is still common. The study recommends that resources are required to provide free or affordable preschool education for children with developmental disabilities. It is also crucial to help parents navigate preschool education and select the best options for each child’s needs.

Social implications

This study’s findings add value to the importance of addressing the stigma towards people with disabilities within professional groups and broader society, which form barriers for preschool education and in some cases result in withdrawal from preschool education. To overcome the stigmatisation of children with developmental disabilities in preschool education, it is necessary to establish modern targeted pedagogical approaches and training for professionals and informational campaigns for the broader audience.

Originality/value

The paper is novel as there was no sociological research into preschool education of children with developmental disabilities in Russia. It argues that the parents’ experiences are much broader than just interactions with special needs or mainstream education. Parents navigate across special needs institutions, specialised groups in mainstream and private kindergartens, mixed groups in mainstream kindergartens and home education with various strategies from secrecy and withdrawal to resistance and challenge. Preschool education for children with developmental disabilities in Russia is hindered by a lack of professional resources and the stigma embedded into professional and societal responses.

Details

Journal of Children's Services, vol. 16 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1746-6660

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 May 1992

Lorraine Wilgosh

Examines issues related to the integration of children with specialneeds into regular classrooms. A clear definition of integration iscrucial before it can be considered on a…

Abstract

Examines issues related to the integration of children with special needs into regular classrooms. A clear definition of integration is crucial before it can be considered on a system, school, or individual basis, so that all stakeholders can operate within a common frame of reference. Details the Regular Educational Initiative in the United States and the Alberta movement towards a provincial integration policy which offer insight into the need for these matters: (1) clear principles and practices for identifying children′s special needs and determining the best teaching environments for meeting those individual needs; (2) systematic research on service delivery models, and educational change based on demonstrated programme effectiveness; (3) adequate preparation for all classroom teachers on individualizing student educational programmes; and (4) development of adequate school and community support systems for children with special needs and their families.

Details

International Journal of Educational Management, vol. 6 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-354X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 November 2000

Christina Tilstone and Richard Rose

The future provision of education for pupils with special educational needs is at the heart of an international debate, and the inclusion of all pupils in mainstream schools…

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Abstract

The future provision of education for pupils with special educational needs is at the heart of an international debate, and the inclusion of all pupils in mainstream schools (established as a goal in UK legislation) has been the subject of many papers and discussions. In this paper, the authors observe that, despite general acceptance of humanistic arguments, there remains a dearth of research into the efficacy of inclusive practices. In calling for more evaluation, they suggest that the role of special schools for pupils with the most complex learning needs has been overlooked, and that their potential expertise should be harnessed in the move towards inclusion. To make real progress, LEAs and others charged with responsibility for inclusion will need to ensure that the skills developed by teachers in special schools are retained for the benefit of a much larger population ‐ a key challenge in developing a more inclusive education system.

Details

Tizard Learning Disability Review, vol. 5 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1359-5474

Article
Publication date: 16 March 2010

Mark Taylor, Mike Baskett and Chris Wren

The purpose of this paper is to examine mechanisms for managing the transition from school/college/work to university for disabled students

1991

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine mechanisms for managing the transition from school/college/work to university for disabled students

Design/methodology/approach

A research project using a case study methodology in a UK university department was conducted over a four year period

Findings

The paper finds that it is important that students with a disability who enter university identify themselves as early as possible so that appropriate adjustments can be made where required to teaching, assessment and pastoral care. It is also important that the transition to university is appropriately co‐ordinated both centrally by university wide disability support services and within the relevant university department. Ideally there should be anticipation of adjustments that may be required by the students with a disability.

Research limitations/implications

Although the case study reported in this paper focusses on just one university department, the number of students with a disability entering UK higher education is likely to increase and higher education institutions need to be aware of the adjustments that may potentially be required, as well as the timeliness of such adjustments.

Originality/value

In previous decades few students with a disability have attended university in the UK. However, growing numbers of such students are now attending university, but thus far little, if any research has been conducted regarding the adjustments that may need to be made for such students.

Details

Education + Training, vol. 52 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0040-0912

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 25 June 2020

Thomas Peter Gumpel, Judah Koller, Naomi Weintraub, Shirli Werner and Vered Wiesenthal

This article presents a conceptual synthesis of the international literature on inclusive education while expanding upon, and incorporating, the articles in this special issue…

Abstract

Purpose

This article presents a conceptual synthesis of the international literature on inclusive education while expanding upon, and incorporating, the articles in this special issue. The authors present their 3P model (philosophy, policy and praxis) and relate each paper in this special issue to different aspects of their model.

Design/methodology/approach

This article serves as an epilogue to this special issue of the Journal of Educational Administration as well as a discussion of historical and conceptual distinctions between mainstreaming and inclusion while examining global trends in understanding the move toward inclusive education.

Findings

The authors examined the detrimental effects of ableism and a medical model of disability and their effects on the educational system. They conducted an analysis based on examining the philosophy, policy and practice of the inclusive movement, specifically by examining conceptual models and inclusive decisions, conceptual frameworks for describing inclusive policy and a focus of the application to educational administration. The authors examined the global movement from segregation/exclusion to integration and then to inclusionary praxis.

Research limitations/implications

The authors maintain that the inclusion literature lacks a sound positivistic empirical base, and so they present throughout the article possible avenues for such research as well as future directions for comparative research.

Practical implications

Understanding the philosophical underpinnings of the inclusive movement is central to developing viable inclusive educational settings. The authors distinguish between inclusive schools and local educational authorities where stakeholders have moved toward an inclusionary system (the minority) versus locales who are reluctant to move systems to actual change.

Originality/value

This article takes a wider view of inclusionary practices, from one focusing on children with disabilities to one focusing on historical and traditional exclusionary practices. By widening the scope of the inclusion discussion, to one of exclusion, the authors present a viably wider lens to educational administration.

Details

Journal of Educational Administration, vol. 58 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0957-8234

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 9 January 2020

Yanhui Pang

Recently with increased legislative support and evidence-based studies on the importance of education for children with disabilities in China, special education programs and…

Abstract

Purpose

Recently with increased legislative support and evidence-based studies on the importance of education for children with disabilities in China, special education programs and intervention and rehabilitation services have received more and more attention. There are limited studies on special education programs for children with disabilities located in China’s rural areas. This paper aims to select one special education program in China’s northeast rural area with a special focus on its curriculum design, accommodative services and teacher qualifications. Recommendations were provided on how to modify the curriculum to meet each child’s special needs, increase social interaction among children, increase teacher qualifications and improve teacher family collaboration.

Design/methodology/approach

The participating program serves orphans and children with disabilities between 6 and 18 years old and provides them 9-year free education, along with free textbooks, uniforms, food and boarding. Currently, there are approximately 100 students and 40 teachers, one director and one nurse. The teacher/staff and student ratio is 1:3. Data were collected through classroom observation and interviews. Afterward, the interview data were transcribed. Data were analyzed following Braun and Clarke’s (2006) six-step approach. The researcher reviewed the collected data, then coded the data and reviewed, refined and revised the codes, and finally themes and sub-themes were identified with quotations that support each theme/sub-theme.

Findings

The identified themes are accommodations, education plan and curriculum and teacher qualifications. Accommodations include, but are not limited to, visual and hearing aids. National unity textbooks were adopted, along with national syllabus objectives, as a guideline for instruction and evaluation of child progress. Teachers also adjust curriculum-based students’ individual needs. All teachers hold an associate degree in special education, and those who teach specials hold a higher degree in the specialty area. Given that there is no speech language pathologist, physical therapist, or occupational therapist, teachers with rich working experiences in the related field serve as special professionals.

Research limitations/implications

The current research reports the program design, accommodations for children with disabilities, curriculum and syllabus, parent/guardian role and teacher qualifications in the selected school. Given that the current study focuses on only one school located in the rural area of China’s northeast, it may represent special education programs in rural China, but it is hard to be generalized to provide a big picture of China’s special education programs in more developed, metropolitan areas.

Practical implications

The selected school offers accommodative services to students with disabilities; adjusts its curriculum to make it developmentally appropriate; and offers educational, medical and rehabilitation services to promote student development to the maximum. The selected school should improve teacher quality, increase social interaction between children with and without disabilities, modify the curriculum to cater to individuals with different severities of disabilities and increase family professional collaboration.

Originality/value

There is limited study on special education programs for young children with disabilities in China’s rural area. The current study fills this gap and studies a special education school that offers services to children as young as six years old located in a small town in the northeast of China. The special focus of the study includes program curriculum, accommodations, rehabilitation and intervention services and teacher qualifications in this program.

Details

Journal for Multicultural Education, vol. 14 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2053-535X

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 July 1998

Dawn Male

This paper outlines some of the recent changes in the pattern of provision for pupils with special educational needs (SEN), with particular emphasis on incidence, prevalence and…

Abstract

This paper outlines some of the recent changes in the pattern of provision for pupils with special educational needs (SEN), with particular emphasis on incidence, prevalence and placement. Statistics relating to some specific areas of SEN, including severe learning difficulties (SLD), are not readily available, and so information is derived from a number of sources: national surveys into the pupil population of special and mainstream schools, recent findings from the Centre for Studies on Inclusive Education (CSIE), and statistical information from the Department for Education and Employment (DfEE). A brief historical overview of special educational provision is also provided. Key points which emerge from the summary are the increased inclusion in mainstream schools of pupils with SEN, the concomitant downward trend in the number of pupils being placed in special schools, the apparent trend towards a more multiply‐disabled special school population, and a sharp increase in the number of pupils being excluded from mainstream education. In addition, there are indications that the most severely intellectually disabled are the least likely to be included in mainstream school provision.

Details

Tizard Learning Disability Review, vol. 3 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1359-5474

Article
Publication date: 1 July 1998

Jean Ware

What counts as the heart of access to educational opportunities for children with learning disabilities depends on the context in which the issue is viewed. Globally, there can be…

107

Abstract

What counts as the heart of access to educational opportunities for children with learning disabilities depends on the context in which the issue is viewed. Globally, there can be little doubt that addressing poverty and international debt would make most difference. On a more local basis, while poverty remains the single most important factor, physical factors, location, attitudes, curriculum and the nature of the individual's disabilities are also important in facilitating or impeding access. These factors do not operate singly, but in complex interaction with each other. An examination of the literature shows a tendency for different aspects of access to be in the limelight at different times, but a great deal of progress has been made towards understanding how access can be facilitated. This paper concludes that the greatest danger lies in oversimplifying the issues and concentrating on some problems to the neglect of others. Further progress can best be achieved through taking seriously the nature and complexity of the barriers to access, especially for children with the most severe disabilities.

Details

Tizard Learning Disability Review, vol. 3 no. 3
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1359-5474

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.

Article
Publication date: 1 April 2004

Lindy Zaretsky

Reports the findings of a qualitative study investigating the interactions relating to special education between principals and parent advocates. Specifically focuses on…

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Abstract

Reports the findings of a qualitative study investigating the interactions relating to special education between principals and parent advocates. Specifically focuses on variations in perspectives among the principals and parent advocates on disability, special education and inclusion. Places a particular emphasis on exploring the perceived power imbalances in decision‐making processes and in incompatibility or conflict among values and interests. Data collected through a series of individual interviews and group dialogues involving both advocates and administrators, reveal how the participants define and manage their respective professional roles as they engage with one another in resolving ethical dilemmas in special education. The findings provide rich illustrations of shared decision‐making processes, alternative knowledge and understandings of special education and disability, and more politicized forms of parent involvement. These dialogical interactions also reveal the inequities, power imbalances and politics within organizational arenas that promote conflict. Proposes democratic, critical, and collaborative approaches to interactions as appropriate processes for managing such conflict.

Details

Journal of Educational Administration, vol. 42 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0957-8234

Keywords

1 – 10 of over 4000