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The authors of this position paper argue that there is currently very little evidence-based practice in relation to learners with severe learning disabilities (SLD) and profound and multiple learning disabilities (PMLD), and that which there is, has often been badly used and/or abused. More specifically, we argue that relevant educational research undertaken so far has a strong tendency towards: (1) conflating the need for common strategies to be universally used in teaching, with the 'need' for a common curriculum; (2) quoting research that applies to children with certain types of SEND as though it applies to all children with SEND; (3) assuming there is a homogeneity of learning disability among people with the same condition (for example Down Syndrome, autism) and (4) encouraging assumptions that any academic progress, no matter how small the gain, is axiomatically superior in value for all pupils. The authors conclude that there is need for a new look at 'evidence-based practice' for these populations.

This paper describes daily report cards and the evidence relating to their use in schools for children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This intervention typically involves teachers evaluating a student's behaviour at school against pre-determined targets and parents subsequently providing reinforcement at home for positive reports. Research suggests that the daily report card has been effective in treating a range of ADHD symptoms and improving school outcomes, including academic achievement in some cases. The daily report card also encourages collaboration between teachers and parents, and evidence suggests that the intervention benefits from the inclusion of reinforcement at home. Daily report cards are easy to implement and research finds that teachers consider them an acceptable intervention for ADHD. This paper also considers challenges in using daily report cards, including barriers to their use over the long-term and the risk of stigma for children with a report card. Ideas to address these issues are suggested.

This paper addresses current issues in deaf education including poor academic progress and employment outcomes of individuals who are deaf and hard of hearing (D/HH) as well as provides suggestions for improving overall academic achievement of this population. Specifically, three instructional strategies are recommended for teachers: choral responding, response cards, and peer tutoring. These three strategies have been shown to increase active student responding in classrooms for children who are typically developing and children who have disabilities. For international deaf students in countries that may rely on volunteers who lack basic requisite skills these general education teaching strategies are easy to use even by novice teachers. Recommendations are tendered for how teachers can include these simple teaching strategies in classrooms serving students who are D/HH.

Children and young people who have been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) can often experience difficulties within an education setting. ADHD can impact upon their educational achievements and subsequent future employment. This paper draws upon data gathered from a small scale study and has sought to elicit the "voice" of young people who have ADHD and their experience within a school setting. Findings of this study indicate that there is a need for teachers to be more informed about the impact that ADHD can have on a pupil and teachers need to develop positive strategies to support these individuals within the classroom. Ideally, adequate training around ADHD should begin within initial teacher training prior to entering the teaching profession.

Inclusive education (IE) is a term that has been part of the educational discourse in Australia for almost two decades. While there is no overarching definition under which IE operates in that country, it is accepted that the meaning behind the term has shifted from being exclusively about students with a disability to now encompassing the delivery of a high-quality education to all students. The public education system is carrying the burden of an increasingly diverse student population (Gonski et?al., 2011), and as such, each of the eight educational jurisdictions responsible for the schools within their borders have developed policies and increased funding levels in the name of IE (Graham, in press). Despite this, there are currently no standards or guidelines provided at the state or federal level to measure the success (or not) of IE practices within Australian educational sectors. This article aims to do just that, by providing a "report card" on IE in Australia. An extensive review of the current literature and related educational policies and reports was conducted, and Loreman's (2014) three guides for measuring IE--student participation, student achievement and post-school options--were adopted to evaluate the performance of Australia's public education system. The findings indicate that, despite operating under the same national legislative acts, the eight educational jurisdictions in Australia are managing and enacting IE in different ways, leading to inconsistent levels of access and educational outcomes for students. Rates of segregation and exclusion (through both the provision of education in "alternative" settings and disciplinary action) are on the increase, with disproportionate representation of students from minority groups. This has been exacerbated by the inception of a national testing regime, which some have argued is in breach of the Disability Discrimination Act as it excludes participation by particular groups of students. On the flip side, for the first time Australia has a consistent curriculum that has provided a set of outcomes for all students, and the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous students in the areas of literacy and numeracy is on the decrease, albeit a slow decrease. However, there is still a long way to go, and this paper discusses the need for a national approach to IE to enable the continued development of effective schooling for all students across Australia.

In July 2006, the House of Commons Education and Skills Committee reported on Special Educational Needs. The report expressed concern over the Government's policy on SEN, especially as it relates to inclusion and to the confusion this has created for special schools. In this article I shall attempt to tease out what I believe to be the government's policy on special schools, drawing on the 2004 report "Removing Barriers to Achievement: the Government's Strategy for SEN" and other related documents. From an analysis of the texts and drawing on my own lengthy experience working in special schools, I believe two central themes emerge for the role of special schools: (a) that of providing schooling for pupils with the most severe and complex SEN; and (b) using their expertise to provide outreach support to mainstream schools for pupils with SEN.

The authors of this position paper argue that there is currently very little evidence‐based practice in relation to learners with severe learning disabilities (SLD) and profound and multiple learning disabilities (PMLD), and that which there is, has often been badly used and/or abused. More specifically, we argue that relevant educational research undertaken so far has a strong tendency towards: (i) conflating the need for common strategies to be universally used in teaching, with the 'need' for a common curriculum; (ii) quoting research that applies to children with certain types of SEND as though it applies to all children with SEND; (iii) assuming there is a homogeneity of learning disability among people with the same condition (for example Down's syndrome, autism) and (iv) encouraging assumptions that any academic progress, no matter how small the gain, is axiomatically superior in value for all pupils. The authors conclude that there is need for a new look at 'evidence‐based practice' for these populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses current issues in deaf education including poor academic progress and employment outcomes of individuals who are deaf and hard of hearing (D/HH) as well as provides suggestions for improving overall academic achievement of this population. Specifically, three instructional strategies are recommended for teachers: choral responding, response cards, and peer tutoring. These three strategies have been shown to increase active student responding in classrooms for children who are typically developing and children who have disabilities. For international deaf students in countries that may rely on volunteers who lack basic requisite skills these general education teaching strategies are easy to use even by novice teachers. Recommendations are tendered for how teachers can include these simple teaching strategies in classrooms serving students who are D/HH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes daily report cards and the evidence relating to their use in schools for children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This intervention typically involves teachers evaluating a student's behaviour at school against pre-determined targets and parents subsequently providing reinforcement at home for positive reports. Research suggests that the daily report card has been effective in treating a range of ADHD symptoms and improving school outcomes, including academic achievement in some cases. The daily report card also encourages collaboration between teachers and parents, and evidence suggests that the intervention benefits from the inclusion of reinforcement at home. Daily report cards are easy to implement and research finds that teachers consider them an acceptable intervention for ADHD. This paper also considers challenges in using daily report cards, including barriers to their use over the long-term and the risk of stigma for children with a report card. Ideas to address these issues are suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children and young people who have been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) can often experience difficulties within an education setting. ADHD can impact upon their educational achievements and subsequent future employment. This paper draws upon data gathered from a small scale study and has sought to elicit the 'voice' of young people who have ADHD and their experience within a school setting. Findings of this study indicate that there is a need for teachers to be more informed about the impact that ADHD can have on a pupil and teachers need to develop positive strategies to support these individuals within the classroom. Ideally, adequate training around ADHD should begin within initial teacher training prior to entering the teaching profession. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In many western countries, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has achieved celebrity status, such that it probably no longer requires introduction. The disorder is a global phenomenon, spreading rapidly as result of the increasing dominance internationally of US psychiatric models, the need for new markets for major pharmaceutical companies, increasing use of the internet by parents and professionals and changing approaches to schooling. There is a broad consensus among international experts and organisations that ADHD is a genuine neurodevelopmental disorder based on empirical research. However, many critics have questioned the legitimacy of ADHD. This paper reviews the arguments for and against the ADHD construct. First, the review examines the literature and research endorsing ADHD as a 'real' disorder. Second, the criticisms levelled against the ADHD construct are examined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the results of the evaluation of the 20-month Story Links project delivered by the University of Chichester in collaboration with the Centre for Therapeutic Storywriting and funded by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation and the Training and Development Agency for Schools ( TDA). Story Links is a ten-week intervention that involves pupils at risk of exclusion and with poor literacy, along with teachers and parents, in co-creating stories that address the pupils' emotional and behavioural issues. These stories are then used to develop the pupils' reading skills. The theoretical background draws on Bowlby's concept of attachment and research that highlights the relationship between parental involvement and academic achievement. Analysis of the co-created stories showed a high correlation between the story metaphor and the child's presenting of emotional issues as identified by the parents and professionals. The findings also showed a significant increase in parental involvement in their child's learning and improvement in both pupils' behaviour and pupils' attitudes to learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

More than five million children suffer from brain injuries each year. While the majority of these children are treated and released without permanent consequences, many children return to the classroom with lasting effects. Symptoms of brain injury can be misconstrued as common behaviour or academic problems. Therefore, teachers need to recognize how traumatic brain injury can be manifested in the classroom. This paper presents information regarding the nature of brain injury for the educational professional. It describes types of brain injuries, introduces the con sequences of brain injuries in school-age children and adolescents, and provides examples of common cognitive, physical, psycho-social, behavioural, and emotional manifestations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This small‐scale research project explored the perceived impact which selective mutism (SM) training, delivered by an educational psychologist (EP), had on school practitioners' understanding of the condition and their subsequent professional practice. Three teachers were interviewed and a thematic analysis elicited four superordinate themes. Participants recognised that they had little previous knowledge of SM and many misconceptions; they also identified key ways in which their understanding of SM, and their practice as school professionals, had developed. In addition, staff highlighted central challenges which nevertheless remained, one of which involved working with parents. This research highlights the limited knowledge which teachers have of SM, whilst demonstrating how staff training and school development might contribute to improved outcomes for children with the condition. Implications for teacher training programmes and future research are considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the process by which children attending mainstream UK primary schools can achieve social inclusion. It presents the findings from a systematic literature review, followed by empirical research, exploring the concept of social inclusion with particular regard to the experiences of pupils identified with SEND. The article draws upon research conducted for the author's doctoral study, which explored management of the role of Teaching Assistants on the social inclusion of pupils identified with SEND in mainstream primary schools. Reviewing relevant literature has informed the presentation of two researcher‐ devised models, tentatively depicting the process of social inclusion for pupils identified with SEND in mainstream primary communities, as 'fuzzy generalizations', to inform future research. Firstly, an 'ideal' model of social inclusion is presented, highlighting the likely process by which pupils may achieve the end goal of social inclusion: participation. Secondly, a 'current' model of social inclusion is presented, which draws upon the empirical research conducted in three mainstream primary contexts for the author's doctoral study. The two models highlight the frequent disparity between the 'ideal' goal of social inclusion and the current outcome of the process of social inclusion for many pupils identified with SEND in mainstream primary contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Up to 50% of children starting mainstream school have speech, language and communication needs (SLCN). Furthermore, evidence links SLCN to poor academic performance and social, emotional and mental health needs. This research aimed to systematically review the literature for school‐based oral language interventions, intended for KS1 children, in a mainstream setting, to provide an evidence base of filtered information assessed for methodological quality and relevance. Studies were assessed using a quantitative assessment framework and data were reported using PRISMA guidelines. Seventeen studies met the inclusion criteria, although just ten were classified as 'best evidence' and included in the final synthesis. Nine of the studies reported significant positive effects of the intervention, suggesting improvements to children's general language skills/specific vocabulary acquisition are possible if deliverers are trained and adhere to the programme. Recommendations for future research also emerged from the review. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Education of girls in India lags behind that of boys and several communities in India fare worse than others. Because of their secondary status in the society, Indian girls tend to suffer from low self-esteem. Thus, it is necessary to study the reasons why girls are being discouraged from attending and completing school as well as what are the expectations mothers have from them when compared to their male siblings. Data was collected using structured questionnaires and semi-structured interviews with the participants. Of 15 mothers, 12 completed the questionnaires; of these, five mothers were interviewed, and their data was used to present the findings of a comparative study on the maternal expectations on academic achievements in primary school children residing in Urban Bangalore, South. This study also throws light on some of the peripheral issues that emerge while considering maternal expectations on academic outcomes. The study examines how maternal expectations might differ in the case of boys versus girls within an Indian context, particularly within an urban setting in Bangalore, Karnataka. No differences were seen in the expectations mothers had of their sons compared to their daughters, but several other issues emerged. The results of this study may not be used conclusively as this is just a small-scale research project and hence no generalisation can be made to address such prevalent cultural issues in India, particularly in Urban South Bangalore, Karnataka, South India. The results of this study illustrate the need for more literature within the Indian context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the extent to which the issue of special educational and training needs for persons with disabilities is addressed in the education and training policy of Ethiopia, with a specific focus on technical and vocational education and training ( TVET). Focus group discussions and interviews were used to assess the content of the policy and related strategic documents, as well as legal frameworks and implementation instruments, in terms of the principle of inclusion. A pair of focus group discussions involved 22 members of the management and governance of four networks and eight indigenous, disability-focused, non-governmental organisations. Moreover, 14 high-profile experts from the ministry were interviewed. Most participants agreed that the issue of disability was not addressed appropriately in issues of strategy and prioritisation. Six recommendations are presented for enhancing the inclusion of individuals with disabilities in education and vocational training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article outlines how home and school working together supported the writing of lower-achieving boys. It describes an activity in which parents and children selected artefacts at home to inspire writing in school. This model of home-school partnership permitted different levels of parental involvement and also allowed the child to take a key role in the process. The activity made a positive impact on the writing of low-achieving boys in terms of the amount and quality of writing produced and also in relation to confidence and motivation to write. Oracy played an important part in the process. Parents gave support through talk in the home and children orally presented their artefacts and discussed how they planned to write about them in school. The importance of the teacher in supporting the writing process through talk is also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Students with dyslexia often experience low self-esteem and, linked with this, low academic achievement. Our research, commissioned by the Higher Education Academy, was carried out by academics in two universities, one in the south-west of England and one in the north-west, over 2009-2010. It set out to address 'transitions and questions of 'access' to higher education for students with identified disabilities'. While we accessed interesting material in this area we were also impressed by the wealth of material provided by our respondents with dyslexia on their school experiences, in particular factors that had impacted on their self-esteem and academic achievement. Thus this article, while not an intended outcome from our work on matters of transition to higher education, emerges as a story telling a rich and illuminating tale of student success and failure and lifting the curtain on factors impacting on self-esteem and academic achievement for students with dyslexia at school. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The revised Code of Practice for Special Educational Needs and the General Statement for Inclusion (DfES, 2001) suggest an increasing emphasis on pupil participation and voice. Drawing on material that formed part of a research project entitled Sustaining Pupils’Progress in Learning at Year 3, Eve Bearne considers how young pupils’ voices can contribute to debates about inclusive school and classroom practice. What can young learners tell us? And, importantly, are we prepared to listen? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]