Inclusão de crianças com necessidades educativas especiais no jardim-de-infância : estratégias utilizadas pelo educador de infância

Relatório de estágio apresentado para obtenção do grau de mestre na Especialidade Profissional de Educação Pré-Escolar

Viver com perturbação de hiperatividade e défice de atenção: um estudo de caso

Relatório de Estágio apresentado à Escola Superior de Educação de Paula Frassinetti para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Educação Pré-Escolar e Ensino do 1º CEB.

Das bildungstheoretische Potenzial inklusiver Pädagogik. Meilensteine der Konstruktion von Bildung und Behinderung am Beispiel von Kindern mit Lernschwierigkeiten

Inklusion erfordert Veränderungen, Umbau und Umdenken auf vielen Ebenen. Ob Teilhabe gelingt, entscheidet sich letztlich im pädagogischen Alltag. So muss in einem inklusiven Bildungssystem auch geklärt werden, was Bildung ausmacht, wenn sie alle Kinder adressiert. Was bedeutet hier Bildung und in welchem Zusammenhang stehen die Konstrukte von Bildung und Behinderung? Wurden doch traditionell die Grenzen des ersten systemwirksam mit der Zuschreibung des zweiten markiert. Das vorliegende Buch thematisiert in historischer Perspektive die sich verändernden Vorstellungen über Bildung, Behinderung(en) und Gerechtigkeit im Bildungssystem sowie die damit verbundenen kontroversen Debatten sowie die häufig uneinheitlichen, teils gegenläufigen Entwicklungen der sogenannten Sonder- und der sogenannten Regelpädagogik. Die Analyse arbeitet die Beiträge integrations- und inklusionspädagogischer Theorien (Reiser, Feuser, Prengel, Wocken, Reich) zu einem gemeinsamen Bildungsverständnis für alle Kinder heraus. Diese Potenziale integrations- und inklusionspädagogischer Theoriebildung werden eingeordnet in bildungstheoretische Dimensionen sowie in die aktuellen Debatten um Inklusion und Bildung als Menschenrecht. (DIPF/Orig.)

A little learning is a dangerous thing: Factors influencing the increased identification of special educational needs from the perspective of education policymakers and school practitioners

This article considers the increased identification of special educational needs in Australia’s largest education system from the perspectives of senior public servants, regional directors, principals, school counsellors, classroom teachers, support class teachers, learning support teachers and teaching assistants (n = 30). While their perceptions of an increase generally align with the story told by official statistics, participants’ narratives reveal that school-based identification of special educational needs is neither art nor science. This research finds that rather than an objective indication of the number and nature of children with SEN, official statistics may be more appropriately viewed as a product of funding eligibility and the assumptions of the adults who teach, refer and assess children who experience difficulties in school and with learning.

The modus operandi of special education: teachers' ability to analyse student needs and apply it to classroom planning

The contemporary debate about quality education for children with disabilities and impairments has continued to focus on mainstream schools, and, more recently, the emphasis on inclusion considers the reproduction of exclusionary practice within school structures. While the socio-cultural construction of disability is recognised as disabling, this paper argues that a constructive approach to policy implementation can be accomplished by drawing on 'insider' information constructed by teachers involved in inclusive practice.

Mothers of young children with special health care needs : maternal well-being and engagement in work

This thesis reports research focused on the well-being and employment experiences of mothers who have a child with special health care needs. Data are drawn from Growing Up in Australia: The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC). This is a public access database. The thesis uses the social ecological theory of Bronfenbrenner (1984) and the work of Zubrick et al. (2000) on human and social capital to inform the conceptual framework developed for the research. Four studies are reported. LSAC has a nationally representative sample of Australian children and their families. The study is tracking the development of 10,000 children, with data collected every two years, from 2004 to 2018. This thesis uses data from the Kindergarten Cohort of LSAC. The 4,983 children in the Kindergarten Cohort were aged 4 years at recruitment into the study in 2004. The analyses in this thesis use child and family data from Wave 1 (2004) and Wave 2 (2006) for a subsample of the children who are identified as having special health needs. This identification is based on a short screening questionnaire included in the Parent 1 Interview at each wave of the data collection. It is the children who are identified as having special health care needs which can be broadly defined as chronic health conditions or developmental difficulties. However, it is the well-being and employment experiences of the mothers of these children that are the primary focus in three of the four studies reported in this thesis.

How stable is the well-being of Australian mothers who care for young children with special health care needs?

Ninety-seven percent of children who have special health care needs are cared for by their mothers. These mothers cite that their informal care work can be intrinsically rewarding, however, the role is not without substantial difficulties and consequences. We investigated differences in the health and well-being of mothers whose young children do and do not have special health care needs. Quantitative data are drawn from Growing Up in Australia: The Longitudinal Study of Australian Children. This study employs a matched-case control methodology to compare the experiences of a group of 292 mothers whose children are identified as having long term special health care needs to those mothers whose children are typically developing at two time points; Wave 1 (2004) and Wave 3 (2008). The findings support previous research that mothers of children with special health care needs have poorer general health and mental health than mothers whose children do not have special needs. Mothers of children with special health care needs also perceived life as more difficult. Longitudinally, this study also shows that maternal well-being remains relatively stable during the years when children are transitioning to formal schooling. Implications for policy makers, practitioners and early childhood professionals are discussed.

The enactment of the New Basics Project in a special school

This study investigates the impact of the New Basics Project on teachers at a special school for students with intellectual impairments. The study is aimed at exploring the complex nature of the work of special educators as they enact the New Basics curriculum with a particular focus on the teachers’ opinions about challenges that arose for their curriculum, pedagogy and assessment practices. Attention is also paid to how the principal’s leadership supported the enactment of the New Basics in respect to what he did and why he used particular strategies. The nine teachers and their principal were involved in a series of in-depth, semi-structured interviews from one of only three special schools in phase one of the New Basics trial in Queensland, Australia. These interviews produced data from the special educators as they were confronted with a new curriculum that challenged their previous teaching practices. The enactment of the New Basics curriculum occurred within the context of a state-sanctioned mandate to provide alternative programs to those offered in mainstream schools, for students with special needs. This thesis explores these teachers' experiences using critical theory as a basis for analyzing their opinions on issues such as the role of the special educator, tensions between old and new curricula, pedagogical and assessment practices, and connections between the at-school learning experiences for intellectually impaired students and the realities of post-school life. The investigation also examines the leadership conduct of the principal in changing times at the school. The findings suggest that the New Basics has played a significant role in providing structures for developing communities of practice amongst teachers; in supporting special educators to focus more on the educational needs of the students (e.g., literacy, numeracy, financial planning) and less on their medical needs (e.g., toileting, feeding, personal hygiene); and supporting school leadership that empowers and listens critically to teachers as essential components of the successful enactment of curriculum reforms like the New Basics.

Attracting and retaining specialist teachers and non-teaching professionals in Queensland secondary schools : a report to the Queensland Department of Education and Training

This report provides the Queensland Department of Education and Training (DET) with independent evidence based data to enable the identification of barriers and enablers to effective attraction and retention of suitably qualified people to specialist teaching and non‐teaching roles in Queensland secondary schools. The scope of this report is to consider the strategic imperatives, trends, and drivers as they apply to the recruitment and retention of specialised teachers and non‐teaching professionals. The research was specifically designed to inform DET on innovative and novel strategies to recruit and retain staff within Education Queensland in areas specifically identified as at risk of experiencing shortages in the near future. Those areas considered to be at risk of experiencing shortages included: • Teaching principals • Specialist teachers in mathematics, science, industrial technology and design, and special education • Non‐teaching professional roles, such as speech pathologists, occupational therapists, physiotherapists and registered nurses providing services in schools to students with special needs.

The Yonder project: Stories of impact, change, and capacity building through engagement in arts education

This thesis examined the long-term impact of the community arts education project Yonder, a collaboration between Education Queensland and Queensland Performing Arts Centre. The findings from the data reveal that the project was still having impact twelve months after its completion and that in some instances the project served as a 'circuit-breaker', especially for special needs students and struggling students. The intervention of a rich arts project proved to be an opportunity for these students to learn in a different way and to perceive themselves in a new and reinvented light. This confidence was found to transfer into other aspects of their learning.

Hidden Contradictions and Conditionality: Conceptualisations of Inclusive Education in International Law

The nature of education that children with disabilities should receive has been subject to much debate. This article critically assesses the ways in which the international human rights framework has conceptualised ‘inclusive education’. It argues that the right to education for children with disabilities in international law is constitutive of hidden contradictions and conditionality. This is most evident with respect to conceptualisations of ‘inclusion’ and ‘support’, and their respective emphases upon the extent of individual impairment or ‘deficit’ rather than upon the extent of institutional or structural deficit. It is vital that the new Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities pays close attention to the utilisation of these concepts lest the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities further legitimises the ‘special needs’ educational discourse to which children with disabilities have been subject.

Introduction to Special Section on Education in Archaeology

Malone, C.A.T. Introduction (with Stone and Baxter) to Special Section Education and Archaeology (19 papers).

Examining current facilitative practices and projections of activity-based physical education degree programs regarding the participation of individuals with disabilties /

Individuals with disabiliiies are increasingly accessing post secondary education opportunities to further develop their educational and career goals. This study examines the current facilitative practices of Canadian university activity-based physical education degree programs on the participation of individuals with disabilities. A critical orientation and descriptive/interpretative approach allows insight into unique stories and experiences of physical education practitioners and special needs professionals as they attempt to provide equitable educational experiences within a least restrictive environment. Leading practitioners are used to triangulate and strengthen the validity of the data while providing direction and advocacy for future development and inclusion of individuals with disabilities. The study concludes with seven recommendations, each providing university activity-based physical education degree programs with viable opportunities for helping create equitable opportunities for individuals with disabilities.

School effectiveness and the displacement of equity discourses in education

An essential aspect of school effectiveness theory is the shift from the social to the organisational context, from the macro- to the micro-culture. The school is represented largely as a bounded institution, set apart, but also in a precarious relationship with the broader social context. It is ironic that at a time when social disadvantage appears to be increasing in Britain and elsewhere, school effectiveness theory places less emphasis on poverty, deprivation and social exclusion. Instead, it places more emphasis on organisational factors such as professional leadership, home/school partnerships, the monitoring of academic progress, shared vision and goals. In this article, the authors evaluate the extent to which notions of effectiveness have displaced concerns about equity in theories of educational change. They explore the extent to which the social structures of gender, ethnicity, sexualities, special needs, social class, poverty and other historical forms of inequality have been incorporated into or distorted and excluded from effectiveness thinking.

Applying social critical literacy theory to deaf education

This article explores social critical literacy theory and its application to deaf education. It argues that critical literacy offers an approach that can lead to engagement with and empowerment over written text, repositioning students as researchers of language. Texts that represent deaf people - if only through their absence - offer an opportunity for deaf students to engage in literate practices in meaningful contexts. An example of critical text analysis is provided using articles on a contested issue: cochlear implantation.