Search

The Bulgarian Government has made a commitment to inclusive early childhood education and care (ECEC) systems for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). High-quality ECEC settings are more inclusive and responsive to children's individual learning needs. In partnership with UNICEF, the Ministry for Education established a pilot project, 'Together from Kindergarten', to enhance quality and support early childhood settings in creating and maintaining quality conditions that support all children's right to access and participate in ECEC. As part of this project, the ECERS-3 was used as a broad measure to explore quality across 40 kindergarten settings. Evidence suggests that despite the positive attitudes of ECEC teachers towards inclusion, the quality of the kindergartens was low, with particular challenges concerning teacher--child interactions and individualised learning supports. The study offers important insights into how ECEC settings in Bulgaria can enhance quality to develop conditions that support children with SEND to participate in mainstream ECEC provision.

Background: The principal destinations for school leavers with intellectual disabilities from special schools in Ireland are further education (FE) through providers such as the National Learning Network or training and employment (TE) within adult day services and rehabilitation centres. In 2015, a number of inherent barriers to participation in FE/TE for young people with intellectual disabilities were identified. These were found to be linked to attitudes, stigma and low expectations of their capabilities. This resulted in the development of a supported transition model WALK PEER (Providing Equal Employment Routes). Methods: This study explored the experiences of school leavers with intellectual disabilities who were engaging with the WALK PEER model. Data were collected from a purposive sample of 31 students with intellectual disabilities from two special schools: Group 1 (Pre-transition) students in the penultimate year of formal education, Group 2 (Transitioning) students in the final year of formal education and Group 3 (Post-transition) had left school two years previously. Findings: Engaging in the supported transition programme provided young people with access to information, options, confidence and some of the hard and soft skills required for successful transition into education and employment contexts. Conclusions: The findings demonstrate a strong correlation between support programmes, transition planning and positive transitions, which is critical if young people with intellectual disabilities are to realise their goals. The research proposes a new model of "Supported Transition" that has clear implications for the development of a national transition policy as directed by the Comprehensive Employment Strategy.

Research has shown that the attitudes of teachers towards pupils can influence their academic and social behaviour. In the context of special education needs (SEN), the same processes likely apply, and there is evidence that teachers' attitudes influence the success of inclusive initiatives. While the literature on attitudes to pupils with SEN is limited, there is also a heavy reliance on self-reported methodologies that are susceptible to presentation bias. Across two studies, the current research employed the Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure (IRAP) to measure the implicit attitudes of teachers in training (N = 20), primary school teachers (N = 20), and post-primary teachers (N = 20) and a group of controls (N = 20) towards pupils with Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties (EBD), versus the implicit attitudes of primary school teachers (N = 20) and post-primary teachers (N = 20) towards typically-developing pupils. Results indicated that teachers possessed greater negative implicit and explicit attitudes towards pupils with EBD, when compared to typically-developing pupils.

Several gaps exist in the standardised assessment of pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) in the Irish mainstream education context at the point of transition from primary to post-primary school. These gaps may lead to a lack of adequate focus on the continuity of resources at this timepoint. The current study examined academic and social attainment in three cohorts of pupils in Ireland (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, ADHD, N = 12; Mild General Learning Difficulties, MGLD, N = 12; and typically developing individuals, N = 11). Four standardised measures were used in a non-experimental design to assess cognitive attainment (Wide Range Achievements Test 4, WRAT-4), learning competency and self-concept (Myself as a Learner Scale, MALS; the Burnett Self Scale, BSS), and perceived control (Multidimensional Measure of Children's Perception of Control scale, MMCPC) across the three groups prior to transition to post-primary school. Results indicated that the typically developing pupils performed strongest on attainment followed by those with ADHD and MGLD. While the latter two groups were weaker on attainment, neither group perceived of themselves as weaker. The results are discussed within the context of formal assessment for pupils with SEND in mainstream education and how these diverse outcomes may have implications for policy.

The experiences of pupils with Special Educational Needs (SEN) and their parents at pre-transition from primary to post-primary school have received little attention in the literature. The current study investigated these experiences using a mixed methods approach within the Irish educational system. Thirty-two pupils with SEN and 42 parents of pupils with SEN participated in focus groups, and also completed a questionnaire which qualitatively complemented the parental focus groups. Emergent themes for pupils included: things I will miss; fitting in and performing as well as others; laying the groundwork: getting to know new people; and experiencing and talking about "going to the new school". Emergent themes for parents included: losing ground?; information is critical: "I'm not asking for the moon, but a bit more information"; I'd like help but I don't want to make trouble for my child; and challenge and support. Critical issues emerging from the data concerning pre-transition experiences for both pupils and parents are discussed.

The Bulgarian Government has made a commitment to inclusive early childhood education and care (ECEC) systems for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). High-quality ECEC settings are more inclusive and responsive to children's individual learning needs. In partnership with UNICEF, the Ministry for Education established a pilot project, 'Together from Kindergarten', to enhance quality and support early childhood settings in creating and maintaining quality conditions that support all children's right to access and participate in ECEC. As part of this project, the ECERS-3 was used as a broad measure to explore quality across 40 kindergarten settings. Evidence suggests that despite the positive attitudes of ECEC teachers towards inclusion, the quality of the kindergartens was low, with particular challenges concerning teacher–child interactions and individualised learning supports. The study offers important insights into how ECEC settings in Bulgaria can enhance quality to develop conditions that support children with SEND to participate in mainstream ECEC provision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pupils with emotional and behavioural difficulties (EBD) are often considered the most challenging group to manage within mainstream education. The challenges perceived by teachers may be due, in part, to negative attitudes towards this cohort of pupils, which may exacerbate feelings of inadequacy and impact negatively upon direct interactions with pupils. The current study comprised a combination of implicit (i.e. the Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure, IRAP) and explicit (The Opinions Relative to Mainstreaming Scale, ORMS) technologies to assess the attitudes of teachers ("N" = 25) and teachers in training ("N" = 20) towards pupils with EBD. When these attitudes proved to be negative (relative to typically developing pupils), the utility of a combined behaviour intervention (BI) and stress-management intervention (SMI), in conjunction with a series of pre and post measures, was examined. The IRAP results for teachers indicated that the SMI enhanced their implicit positivity towards pupils with EBD (EBD PUPIL) to a considerable extent (0.025-0.175), and this was greater than the impact recorded with the BI. The teachers in training showed implicit negativity towards EBD PUPIL (0.13) and this decreased, albeit marginally, at post-BI (0.05) and post-SMI (0.06). Significant differences were recorded in teachers' general attitudes towards inclusion ("p" < 0.001) and efficacy ("p" < 0.008). Significant effects were recorded for teachers in training in relation to their attitudes towards having a child with EBD and having a previously excluded child with EBD in their classrooms (all "ps" < 0.001). For this latter group, reductions were also recorded in their levels of depression, anxiety and stress ("p" < 0.001) and there was an increase in their psychological flexibility ("p" < 0.001). The current results indicate that a range of positive implicit and explicit outcomes was associated with the current BI and SMI package in terms of fostering more effective inclusion of pupils with EBD in mainstream education.

Whilst disability policy in Ireland has advanced in recent years, the under-representation of people with a disability in the workforce continues to be a social and economic challenge. Education and training have been identified as critical factors enabling a move into paid employment yet little is known, in an Irish context, as to the experiences of people living with disabilities as they transition into work. This qualitative study explores the views and perceptions of a diverse group of people with disabilities who are attempting, or have already made, a transition from education or training to work in the context of fluid 21st century labour markets. Key issues identified in the research include self-perceptions of work-readiness, concerns related to disability disclosure and the need for more flexible approaches to work-place accommodations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The experiences of pupils with Special Educational Needs (SEN) and their parents at pre-transition from primary to post-primary school have received little attention in the literature. The current study investigated these experiences using a mixed methods approach within the Irish educational system. Thirty-two pupils with SEN and 42 parents of pupils with SEN participated in focus groups, and also completed a questionnaire which qualitatively complemented the parental focus groups. Emergent themes for pupils included: things I will miss; fitting in and performing as well as others; laying the groundwork: getting to know new people; and experiencing and talking about ‘going to the new school’. Emergent themes for parents included: losing ground?; information is critical: ‘I’m not asking for the moon, but a bit more information’; I’d like help but I don’t want to make trouble for my child; and challenge and support. Critical issues emerging from the data concerning pre-transition experiences for both pupils and parents are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The current research comprised two studies that explored the utility of the Implicit Relational Assessment Procedure (irap) as a measure of children's implicit attitudes to the self. Study 1 (n = 20) involved a sample of children with adhd and typically-developing children, all aged between 8 and 11 years. Across irap trials, each child's own name (e.g., mary) was juxtaposed with a common name of the opposite gender (e.g., peter), and presented in conjunction with three positive or three negative words and the two relational terms similar and opposite. The results indicated that both groups of children showed an implicit pro-self bias in trial-types denoted as Self-Positive and Self-Negative. While the typically-developing children were neither positive nor negative towards the other gender, the children with adhd showed a pro-other bias in the Other-Negative trial-type. Study 2 (n = 20) involved typically-developing children and children with dyslexia, all aged between 9 and 14 years. Again, both groups showed a pro-self bias in the Self-Positive and Self-Negative trial-types, and both were neither positive nor negative in the Other-Positive trial-type. However, the typically-developing children were anti-others in the Other-Negative trial-type, while the children with dyslexia were pro-others. The study highlights the benefits of using both explicit and implicit measures, especially the irap, when assessing the implicit cognitions of children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]